Sentry Saver
Tesla Sentry Mode, on a schedule
Sentry Mode keeps your Tesla's cameras watching while it sits parked. Left on around the clock it is one of the largest silent drains there is — on a low-mileage week it can use more energy than your actual driving does. This app shows you what Sentry Mode costs you in range, works out which hours have never recorded anything, and reminds you to switch it off and back on.
One slider, four answers
Drag the Sentry Mode hours down from 24 and pick a day, a week or a month:
- kWh the energy you would save
- km the range that energy is worth
- cost at your own electricity price
- days how much extra driving it adds up to
See what Sentry Mode costs
Pick the shape of your car and the figures follow. When Sentry Mode is using more energy than your driving, the app says so outright — computed from your own numbers, not a marketing claim.
Find the hours it never records
Add the times your Sentry Mode events happened — type them in, or hand over screenshots of the clip list and let the app read them. It plots them by hour and shows the longest stretch in which nothing has ever been recorded.
Then actually schedule it
Set when the cameras should switch off and come back on. A reminder arrives at each end of the window, so it becomes routine rather than something you meant to get around to.
Honest about what it knows
- A suggested window appears from your very first event, always shown with how much evidence stands behind it. It can only narrow as you add more, never widen.
- Recognise something harmless — a parking attendant's nightly round, a neighbour coming home? Remove it, and it stays removed.
- The Sentry Mode standby draw is labelled as the estimate it is. No carmaker publishes a figure, so the app uses a conservative middle and lets you replace it with your own.
- The final call is yours. The app knows what time events happened. Only you know how overlooked your parking spot is.
Your screenshots never leave your phone
Timestamps are read on the device itself. Images are never uploaded, never stored by us, and never seen by anyone but you — only the times are kept, and only on your phone. You can skip photos entirely and type the times in instead.
Sentry Mode questions, answered
How much battery does Sentry Mode use?
No carmaker publishes a figure, and the honest answer depends on your car and how warm it is. The commonly reported range is roughly 1–2 miles of range per hour, which on a full day is comparable to — and for a low-mileage driver often more than — the energy actually spent driving. Sentry Saver starts from a conservative middle estimate, labels it as an estimate, and lets you replace it with a figure you have measured yourself.
Does Sentry Mode drain the battery overnight?
Yes — it keeps the cameras and computer awake, so the drain continues for as long as it is on, parked or not. That is why the overnight hours are usually where a schedule pays off most, and it is exactly the stretch this app measures for you.
Can I schedule Sentry Mode to turn off automatically?
Your car has Sentry Mode exclusions for locations you mark as home or work, and the Tesla app offers a Sentry Mode action inside Apple's Shortcuts that you can automate on a timer. Sentry Saver works out which hours are worth scheduling, from the events your car has actually recorded, and reminds you at both ends of the window. You build the automation itself in Shortcuts.
Does Sentry Saver connect to my Tesla?
No. There is no sign-up, no server and no vehicle connection of any kind. It never contacts your car or any vehicle service — it works entirely from what you tell it and the screenshots already on your phone.
Is turning Sentry Mode off risky?
That is your call, and the app is built to say so. It can tell you what time events have happened; only you know how overlooked or well lit your parking spot is. Treat every suggested window as a starting point, not an instruction.
An independent tool for owners, published by AInfo. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tesla, Inc. Tesla and Sentry Mode are trademarks of Tesla, Inc., used here only to describe what this app works with. This app does not connect to, control, or communicate with any vehicle.