Older HW3 Teslas can't run the new 360-degree vandalism surveillance in Sentry mode

Tesla vehicles with the old Hardware 3.0 (HW3) set of computer and cameras that still form the vast majority of its cars on the road are only getting the new Dashcam Viewer with the 2025.14 Spring Release update.

The enhanced Sentry mode video surveillance that Tesla expanded due to the increased number of vandalism cases against its cars just isn't supported on older HW3 vehicles, it turns out. Apparently, they don't have the resources to deal with the two extra video streams from the B-pillar cameras that turn Sentry mode into a true 360-degree video surveillance system instead of paying for a third-party solution like a Vantrue dash camera.

This is why Tesla is only bringing the greatly improved Sentry features that it touted as an arson-, theft-, and vandalism-prevention measure, to its newer vehicles with a HW4 kit that Tesla now calls AI4.

The lack of support for the new 360-degree Sentry mode surveillance option is valid even on those HW3 vehicles whose FSD computer runs on the faster Ryzen processor. They, however, will get the new Dashcam Viewer that brings many display improvements, such as grid view that splits the screen into four camera feeds at once, or allows faster previews of the Sentry footage in 15-second jumps.

Interestingly enough, the Cybertruck which has the newest AI4 kit doesn't get the B-pillar camera Sentry mode update, either. It is a much taller vehicle, and Tesla may need extra time to work on a true 360-degree surveillance feature there.

Cybertrucks have been a frequent target of vandalism even before Elon Musk's stint at the federal government that induced a backlash against the Tesla brand, so the HW4-exclusive Sentry mode improvements will most probably be pushed to it with an OTA update later this year.