Nextbase 622GW Review: Is the 4K Dash Cam Still Worth £269?
Six years after launch, the 622GW is still Nextbase’s 4K windscreen camera at £269 — and the footage still impresses everyone who tests it. The catches are in the small print: stabilisation that only works below 4K, a parking mode that wants a hard-wire kit, an app people grumble about, and a list of extras that can add a third to the price.
Where the reviews line up
Our evidence comes from three places: a long-term editorial test at TechRadar, owner threads on the specialist dash cam forum DashCamTalk, and the customer ratings at Halfords — 4.3/5 from 174 reviews — cross-checked against 561 owner reviews at Best Buy in the US.
On one thing all three agree completely: the picture is excellent. TechRadar says number plates and vehicle details are easy to pick out in all conditions; the one complaint-led DashCamTalk thread still opens by conceding the video quality is good; and video quality is far and away the most-praised feature among US buyers. If footage is all you care about, this camera delivers it.
They also agree on where it falls short: the phone app and wireless connection. TechRadar found setup fiddly and Wi-Fi connections that sometimes fail, a DashCamTalk owner complains of a camera that keeps dropping its phone link, and app performance is a recurring theme in the US reviews. Plan to pull serious clips off the card on a computer.
The buying decision is mostly about the extras. The camera is £269 on Nextbase’s own page, but a 128GB U3 card, a hard-wire kit for proper parking mode (£19.99 list) and a rear module (£69) are all separate — and Nextbase’s own store showed it out of stock on the day we checked, with a banner promoting a “Gen 2” successor. Buy it if you can get it at or below its old £239 reduced price; at full price with extras, compare it with the newer iQ range first.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- TechRadarEditorial test by Leon Poultney, first published June 2022 and updated February 2024. Editor’s Choice.
- DashCamTalkSpecialist dash cam forum. Two 622GW owner threads, including answers from Nextbase’s own support account.
- Halfords4.3/5 from 174 reviews on the Halfords Ireland listing, 12 Oct 2026; plus 561 Best Buy US reviews for scale.
Before the review: is it still on sale?
Yes, but stock is patchy. On 12 October 2026 Nextbase’s own 622GW page listed it at £269 but marked it out of stock, with no discontinuation notice and a banner that a “Gen 2 version” had just launched. Car Parts 4 Less listed it as available at £269.99 and PriceSpy showed £269. The newer Nextbase iQ 4K was £449 on PriceSpy the same day. We could not find a live 622GW listing at Argos or Currys.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution and frame rate | 4K at 30fps · 1440p at 60fps · 1080p at 120fps (super slow motion) | Nextbase and Halfords Ireland agree |
| Image stabilisation | Digital, and only at 1440p — not in 4K | Nextbase’s own page |
| Lens and view | 140°, six-layer f/1.3 lens with built-in polarising filter | Nextbase |
| Night recording | Enhanced Night Mode; Extreme Weather Mode | Nextbase; TechRadar rates night footage highly |
| Parking mode | Motion-triggered; starts after 5 minutes stationary or ignition off; impact saves a 30-second protected file | Nextbase. Needs constant power — see hard-wire kit |
| Hard-wire kit | Series 2 Hardwire Kit, £19.99 list; voltage cut-off protects the battery on a permanent live | Nextbase business site lists it as 622GW-compatible |
| GPS and location | 10Hz GPS plus GLONASS; what3words, works offline | Nextbase |
| Emergency SOS | Calls for help after a crash; free for a year, then subscription | TechRadar; Nextbase calls it a subscription feature |
| Alexa and voice | Alexa built in; struggles in a noisy cabin | TechRadar; Nextbase lists Alexa on 422GW and above |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 5.0 or 4.2 | Nextbase’s page states both figures |
| Screen | 3-inch HD IPS touchscreen | Nextbase and Halfords Ireland |
| microSD card | Not included. U3 recommended; TechRadar advises 128GB. Roughly 8 hours per 128GB (Nextbase general figure) | Maximum supported size not confirmed |
| Rear camera | Rear Window Cam, Rear View Camera or Cabin View Cam; rear records 1080p at 30fps. Rear modules £69 | Nextbase; prices from RAC Shop and PriceSpy |
| App | MyNextbase Connect, iOS 13+ or Android 6+ | Nextbase |
| Warranty | 12 months; 3 years if you join Nextbase’s Road Safety Club | Nextbase warranty page |
| Price | £269 RRP (launch price; cut to £239 by early 2024, now back at £269). £269.99 at Car Parts 4 Less; £269 on PriceSpy | Checked 12 October 2026 |
TechRadar
Who they are: Leon Poultney is, by his author page at TechRadar’s sister title T3, a freelance contributor specialising in automotive and consumer technology, including action cameras, who says he has written about the subject “for longer than he cares to divulge” — a motoring tech writer is the right person to judge a dash cam on the road, though his profile gives no count of years or cameras tested.
TechRadar’s verdict is that the footage is of excellent quality, making number plates and vehicle details extremely easy to pick out in all conditions. Poultney compares the 4K daytime clips with basic GoPro footage, and finds the 120fps slow-motion mode genuinely useful for catching a plate that flashes past. He rates the night mode highly and says the stabilisation smooths out potholes and bad road surfaces — worth reading alongside Nextbase’s own note that stabilisation works at 1440p, not at full 4K.
His complaints are practical. The rear camera needs a cable run, the unit is fairly bulky on the glass, it needs a big memory card (he recommends a 128GB U3, not included), and the app can be frustrating — setup is fiddly and Wi-Fi connections sometimes fail, so he found playback smoother on a laptop. Alexa generally works but struggles to hear commands in a noisy car. Emergency SOS, which can send what3words coordinates to emergency services after a crash, is free for a year and then becomes a subscription.
Watch: Nextbase 622GW Dashcam - Unboxing and Review
An owner unboxing and reviewing the 622GW — a useful look at the size of the unit and what comes in the box before you commit.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.DashCamTalk
Who they are: DashCamTalk is a dash cam review and forum site started in 2012 by a Toronto-based enthusiast who says he buys every camera with his own money and accepts no free samples; the forum posts are unverified owner experience, and Nextbase posts there through a labelled manufacturer support account.
These threads are small, so read them for the kind of problem owners report rather than how often. The more critical one is from a UK owner looking to replace his 622GW: he rates the image and video quality as good, but calls the build quality poor, says the camera struggles to connect to his phone and keeps losing the link, and describes after-sales support as very poor, with emails going unanswered. A long-standing UK member replied recommending a rival Viofo camera for its solid mount.
The second thread is more useful if you already own an older Nextbase. An owner asked whether moving from a 422GW to the 622GW is a straight swap, and Nextbase’s support account confirmed that the rear camera, mount and cabling carry over — move the card and rear camera, click the new unit on, and it should record front and rear. One later poster then reported the rear camera vanishing after exactly that swap, with the 622GW going into protected mode, so keep your receipt in case a cable needs replacing.
Watch: Nextbase 622GW Dash Cam & Accessories Review
Covers the camera with its add-on modules — the most relevant clip if you are weighing up the £69 rear camera and the wiring it needs.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Halfords
Who they are: Halfords’ star ratings come from its own shoppers and its reviews policy could not be read, so treat them as unverified owner satisfaction; Best Buy is a US electronics retailer that labels verified-purchase and incentivised reviews, and its US models and prices may differ from the UK’s.
Halfords’ UK product page would not load for us, so the rating comes from the same product code on Halfords’ Irish site: 4.3 out of 5 from 174 reviews. That page also lists what is in the box — the camera, adhesive and GPS windscreen mounts, a USB cable, a car power cable and a fitting tool — and confirms that the memory card is not included. In-store fitting was €90 in Ireland; Nextbase’s 2020 coverage gave UK Halfords hard-wired fitting from £35, but we could not confirm today’s UK price.
For a bigger sample we read the 561 reviews at Best Buy in the US. By our calculation from its star breakdown they average about 3.9, with 295 five-star and 80 one-star reviews, and 75% saying they would recommend it. Video quality dominates the praise; the complaints are freezing and lock-ups that need a reset, the app, the internal battery, memory card compatibility, an adhesive mount that loosens in heat, and parking mode saving protected files after minor knocks. Some overheating reports come from hot US climates, which matter less on a British windscreen.
Watch: Unboxing NextBase 622GW 4K Dashcam With Alexa
An owner unboxing the camera and showing the Alexa setup — the feature buyers mention least and TechRadar found unreliable in a noisy car.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Footage: every source rates the 4K picture, and number plates are readable day and night.
- 120fps slow motion at 1080p helps you catch plates on passing cars.
- Built-in polarising filter cuts windscreen glare without buying an extra.
- Offline what3words and 10Hz GPS put an exact location and speed on every clip.
- Clicks onto the same mount, cabling and rear camera as Nextbase’s 422GW and 522GW, so upgrading is easy.
- Optional three-year warranty if you join the Road Safety Club.
What people complain about
- The app and Wi-Fi link: fiddly setup and dropped connections, reported by TechRadar and owners.
- Stabilisation only works at 1440p, so you choose between 4K and a steadier picture.
- Parking mode needs constant power — in practice a hard-wire kit and a fitter.
- No memory card in the box, and it needs a fast U3 card.
- Emergency SOS turns into a subscription after a year.
- Standard warranty is only 12 months, and one owner found support emails went unanswered.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you want the sharpest footage you can get from a single windscreen unit at under £300, you are happy to pay for a fitter to hard-wire it, and you will download clips by card or cable rather than rely on the phone app. It is also the obvious upgrade if you already have a Nextbase 422GW or 522GW with a rear camera, because everything carries over.
Look elsewhere if you want stabilised 4K, a camera you mainly manage from your phone, or a cheap, simple install. And if you are paying full price, the camera, a hard-wire kit and a £69 rear module come to about £358 before the memory card and any fitting (our sum), so compare it with Nextbase’s newer iQ range before you buy.
On insurance: Nextbase says MyFirstUK offers Nextbase owners a discount of up to 30%, and that AXA and Swiftcover may give smaller ones. That comes from Nextbase’s own June 2024 article, not from the insurers, so get a quote with and without the camera declared — and remember an insurer can ask for a discount back if you claim to have a dash cam but cannot produce footage.
What we could not check
- The videos. We confirmed all three YouTube videos by their watch URLs and titles in two separate search listings, not by opening them, and none of the listings named a channel.
- Halfords UK. Halfords’ UK product page would not load for us, so the UK price, stock and fitting cost are unconfirmed; the 174-review rating comes from the same product on Halfords Ireland.
- Argos and Currys. We found no live 622GW listing at either, so we have no price or seller to quote.
- The “Gen 2” banner. Nextbase’s page promotes a “Gen 2 version just launched” without naming it, and we could not establish whether it is a 622GW successor or another model.
- Maximum memory card size. TechRadar recommends 128GB and Nextbase recommends U3, but we found no confirmed upper limit.
- Bluetooth version. Nextbase’s own page gives both 5.0 and 4.2.
- Parking mode without a hard-wire kit. TechRadar says the G-sensor triggers recording even when the camera is not powered; Nextbase describes parking mode as needing power. We have printed both.
- Rear camera compatibility listing. Nextbase lists the Rear Window Cam as 622GW-compatible, but the £69 RAC Shop listing names only the 322GW, 422GW and 522GW.
- The hard-wire kit price is Nextbase’s £19.99 list price on its business site; we could not see a consumer retail price.
- The Emergency SOS subscription price was not published on any page we read.
- Alexa. We could not confirm that Amazon still supports the 622GW’s built-in Alexa as of October 2026.
- Insurer discounts come from Nextbase, not from the insurers, and may have changed since June 2024.
- The Best Buy average is our own calculation from its star breakdown, and those are US reviews.
Sources last checked 12 October 2026. Dash cam prices and stock change week to week — check them against the listing in front of you before ordering.