Support & FAQ

Footage may still be recoverable after a format if video data remains. A quick format can leave data behind, but recovery is not guaranteed. Stop using the drive and save recovered clips to another drive. Repaired containers, timing and estimated camera labels may differ from the original files; check the exported footage.

Scan time depends on the drive and its connection. ClipSalvage checks MP4 signatures at filesystem cluster boundaries.

Recovery assessments help you judge the footage found. Available confidence scores use structural integrity checks; they are guidance, not recovery probabilities or guarantees of perfect playback. Some clips may have no score while assessment is pending. Verify exported footage in a video player.

No. ClipSalvage operates in read-only mode and never writes to your source drive. You can also open an existing disk image. Keep the original untouched until the exports are checked and backed up.

Every position, on both Tesla hardware generations. AI4/HW4 cars (2023+) record 6 — Front, Back, Left Repeater, Right Repeater, Left Pillar, and Right Pillar; AI3/HW3 cars (pre-2023) record 4 — Front, Back, Left Repeater, and Right Repeater (no pillar cameras). When the original Tesla filename survives on the drive, the camera is read from that directly. When the filename has been overwritten, an on-device AI vision model identifies the camera from the clip's thumbnail — AI-labelled clips are badged in the preview so you can tell filesystem-recovered from model-predicted.

ClipSalvage's free scan shows available thumbnails and recovery assessments. Existing clips export free when no repair is needed, and deleted and repaired clips share 3 free recovery exports. ClipSalvage Pro, a one-time purchase, adds unlimited recovery exports. Decrypting existing encrypted clips is free and unlimited.

Decryption of existing encrypted clips is free and unlimited. Existing clips export free when no repair is needed; deleted and repaired clips share 3 free recovery exports. Pro adds unlimited recovery exports.

Your existing ClipSalvage Decrypt licence stays valid and keeps working. The separate Decrypt licence and paid Decrypt-to-Pro upgrade are no longer sold. Decryption of existing encrypted clips is free and unlimited. Existing clips export free when no repair is needed; deleted and repaired clips share 3 free recovery exports. Pro adds unlimited recovery exports. Questions about your licence: support@clipsalvage.com.

Enter your purchase email and activation code. For a new purchase, activate with the email you bought with and the SR-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX code from your confirmation email. After an upgrade, click "I've upgraded — refresh my license" in the app — or re-enter your email and code; either way it's the same code, and even if you do nothing the app's automatic weekly license check picks it up within about 7 days.

No — and you don't need to risk it. We don't offer refunds or discounts. ClipSalvage is free to scan, preview, decrypt and export (Decryption of existing encrypted clips is free and unlimited. Existing clips export free when no repair is needed; deleted and repaired clips share 3 free recovery exports. Pro adds unlimited recovery exports. No time limit; repeat recovery exports count toward the allowance.) specifically so you can confirm it recovers your footage before you pay. Because every license unlocks immediately on purchase, all sales are final. EU & UK customers: by completing your purchase you give express consent to immediate delivery and acknowledge you thereby lose the 14-day withdrawal or cancellation right (Art. 16(m), Directive 2011/83/EU; reg. 37, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013). Rights that cannot be excluded where you live are unaffected — see Terms.

Video processing runs on your computer; footage, thumbnails and disk contents are not uploaded. Encrypted clips may need Tesla sign-in for missing keys; license activation and verification need internet access. Network activity includes license activation and verification, update checks, Tesla sign-in and requests for missing clip keys, and usage reporting when you consent. Footage, thumbnails and disk contents are not uploaded.

macOS 14 or later (Apple Silicon) and Windows 10/11 (64-bit) — native builds for both Windows x64 (Intel/AMD) and Windows Arm64 (Snapdragon X / Copilot+ PCs).

Yes — on supported vehicles (those with the AMD Ryzen infotainment computer: Model 3, Model Y, the refreshed Model S and Model X, Cybertruck), Tesla encrypts newly recorded clips by default — since software 2026.20 and in every release since; it can be switched off under Controls > Safety > Encrypt Dashcam Recordings. Every clip recorded after the update installs, with that setting on, is a per-file encrypted container rather than a plain MP4, and the decryption keys are held by Tesla, released only to an authenticated Tesla sign-in. ClipSalvage finds encrypted clips, shows available thumbnails and recovery assessments, and decrypts them with available Tesla keys. It can recover surviving footage from partly overwritten clips; repair does not recreate overwritten data. Cached keys may avoid repeat requests for the same clips; other recordings may need another sign-in. Clips recorded before the update, with the setting off, or on cars without the feature remain standard MP4 files and are recoverable as always.

EncryptedClips contains Tesla’s encrypted recordings, which cannot be played directly as plain MP4 files. Tesla sign-in retrieves available keys for recordings linked to your account.

Sign in to Tesla when prompted to fetch the keys for the selected clips. Cached keys can avoid repeated requests for the same clips; other recordings may require another sign-in. All recovery and decryption run entirely on your machine — footage, thumbnails and disk contents are not uploaded. The login window is Tesla's own: your email and password go straight to Tesla — ClipSalvage receives only the resulting access token — the same one Tesla's own dashcam viewer runs on, so Tesla issues us nothing broader. That token is issued to Tesla's own dashcam sign-in client and carries identity permissions only. It does not include vehicle_device_data or vehicle_cmds — the permissions Tesla's Fleet API requires to read from or send commands to a car — so it cannot unlock, drive, locate or otherwise control your vehicle. It is spent on a single request: asking Tesla to unseal the keys for the clips you selected. It expires on its own in about eight hours and is kept in your operating system's credential vault (macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager), encrypted by your OS — never in a plain file, never in a log. Signing out deletes it from your machine. If you'd like to verify any of this before you trust the app with a sign-in, email support@clipsalvage.com and we'll walk you through exactly what to check. You don't have to take our word for it either: run any network monitor while you recover a clip and you'll see your Tesla token go to one place — Tesla's own dashcam endpoint — and nowhere else.

Choose Decrypt USB or image, select the source and click Show clips. Sign in to Tesla when prompted, wait for processing, filter by Recent, Saved or Sentry, select clips and click Decrypt. Save to another drive, then verify and back up the MP4s before reusing the USB. Decryption of existing encrypted clips is free and unlimited. Existing clips export free when no repair is needed; deleted and repaired clips share 3 free recovery exports. Pro adds unlimited recovery exports.

Your Pro license is a one-time purchase and is perpetual — there is no subscription and you will never be charged again. The "renewal date" shown in the app is not a billing date. It's part of the software's license-protection mechanism: the app carries a short-lived, digitally-signed license token that it quietly re-verifies with our server whenever your computer is online (about once a week). That's what stops a single purchase from being copied onto unlimited machines. You don't have to do anything — re-verification is automatic and silent while you're online, and the date simply rolls forward each time. You can also use ClipSalvage fully offline for about two months (a 14-day token plus a 60-day grace period); after about two weeks offline the app shows a gentle "reconnect" reminder, but nothing stops working. Only if a machine stays offline past the grace window will it ask you to reconnect once and re-activate with your existing code — still free, no new purchase. Video processing runs on your computer; footage, thumbnails and disk contents are not uploaded. Encrypted clips may need Tesla sign-in for missing keys; license activation and verification need internet access. The periodic check is only for the license token.

No — it is a desktop application. ClipSalvage is a data-recovery app for macOS and Windows, published by Qloud LTD (Company No. 12951828). It is not a video downloader, not a browser extension and not an online service, and it is unrelated to any similarly named app or website. It runs entirely on your computer, needs no ClipSalvage account to scan or preview ordinary clips, and is code-signed — see the Security & Trust page for signing identities, checksums and VirusTotal reports.