Road Cam, the dashcam part of Rivian's Gear Guard, records nothing until you plug in a drive. The R1S and R1T owner's guides give the same rules for it on first-generation vehicles (model years 2022 to 2024) and on second-generation ones (model years 2025 and 2026), and Rivian recommends an SSD.

The Samsung T7 Shield 2TB is the SSD at Rivian's 2 TB ceiling, and the T7 Shield 1TB is the same drive for less. If you would rather have a stick, the SanDisk Extreme Fit 1TB is barely bigger than its plug, and the Samsung Type-C 256GB is the cheapest drive that clears the 128 GB minimum.

The smaller Rivian has its own R2 USB drive guide, because the R2 uses a glove box port and adds a size limit. Tesla owners can use the Model Y USB drive guide.

The R1 USB port for Gear Guard

Plug the drive into one of the two USB-C ports inside the center console storage bin. The July 2025 R1T guide (model years 2022 to 2024) and the R1S guide for 2025 to 2026 both send the Road Cam drive there, for setup and for copying videos off the car. The October 2025 R1S guide (model years 2025 to 2026) lists those ports for charging and for storing data such as Gear Guard footage, at up to 60 W from one port or 67.5 W across both.

The USB-C ports on the back of the head restraints, below the rear display, and near the rear outboard armrests on vehicles that have them only charge, at up to 15 W each and 30 W in total.

Rivian says to plug the drive in directly, with no USB hub or splitter. The second console port stays free for a phone.

Green Rivian R1T pickup driving on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles

Rivian R1T. The R1T and R1S share the same Gear Guard storage rules. Photo: Chris Yarzab, CC BY 2.0.

Gear Guard video on the drive and on the car

Recording	Saved to	Watch it
Road Cam clips (Save Clip, a horn held for over a second, or the SOS button)	External drive	Road Cam tab in the car, with the drive connected
Continuous Road Cam, while driving and while parked with someone inside	External drive	On a computer, in Road Cam > Road Stream
Incidents, such as a collision or hard braking	Onboard drive	Incidents tab. You can copy a clip to the drive.
Motion Cam, and the alarm while Motion Cam is on	Onboard drive	Motion Cam tab. Deleted after 10 days unless you star it.

With Road Cam on and a drive connected, the car records the whole trip, and continuous recordings live only on that drive. Saved Road Cam clips stay until you delete them. When the drive is full or close to it, the car asks you to clear out clips, and if there is no room it stops saving new ones.

Incidents and Motion Cam go to the onboard drive and need no USB drive at all, though you can copy a clip to the same USB drive to keep it. Rivian notes that video recording can reduce range over time.

R1 drive requirements

The Road Cam setup section in both R1 guides asks for:

128 GB minimum and 2 TB maximum, so a 64 GB stick is too small and a 4 TB SSD is too big
USB 3.x, compatible with USB 2.0
an SSD, as a recommendation
at least 20 MB/s random write
FAT32, which the car offers to format the drive to if it finds anything else (an older 2025 R1T guide says Apple File System and NTFS are not supported)

Unlike the R2's guide, the R1 guides set no limit on the drive's physical size, so a portable SSD on a cable is allowed.

The speed printed on a flash drive's box is almost always a sequential read, while Rivian's minimum is a random write, so a stick sold as 400 MB/s doesn't necessarily meet it. None of the four drives here publishes a random-write figure, so the T7 Shield, as an actual SSD, is the safest of them.

There is no need to format the drive on a computer first, because the owner's guides have the car format it as FAT32 during setup.

Quick comparison

Drive	Capacity	Interface	Published speed	Body	Warranty
Samsung Type-C (MUF-256DA)	256 GB	USB 3.2 Gen 1	Up to 400 MB/s read, 110 MB/s write	33.7 × 15.83 × 8.2 mm stick	5 years
SanDisk Extreme Fit (SDCZ530-1T00)	1 TB	USB 3.2 Gen 1	Up to 400 MB/s read; writes are lower	18.50 × 15.70 × 13.60 mm stick	5 years
Samsung T7 Shield (MU-PE1T0S)	1 TB	USB 3.2 Gen 2	Up to 1,050 MB/s read, 1,000 MB/s write	88 × 59 × 13 mm, on a cable	3 years
Samsung T7 Shield (MU-PE2T0S)	2 TB	USB 3.2 Gen 2	Up to 1,050 MB/s read, 1,000 MB/s write	88 × 59 × 13 mm, on a cable	3 years

Best overall: Samsung T7 Shield 2TB

Check the Samsung T7 Shield 2TB price on Amazon

The Samsung T7 Shield 2TB (model MU-PE2T0S) is an SSD, which Rivian recommends, at the largest capacity the guide allows. Samsung's product page rates it at up to 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000 MB/s write over USB 3.2 Gen 2. Those are sequential figures, so they say nothing direct about random write, but they are well above both sticks here.

It measures 88 × 59 × 13 mm and comes with USB-C to C and USB-C to A cables. Connect it to a console port with the USB-C cable and leave it in the bin. It is rated IP65 for dust and water, drop-rated to 3 m, and covered for 3 years. Samsung's datasheet lists an operating range of 0 to 60°C, and a closed car in summer can get hotter than that.

Leave Samsung Magician's password protection off, because the car has to format and write to the drive. Don't buy the 4 TB version, which is over Rivian's limit. The T7 Shield review has more on the rugged spec. Used and open-box units turn up on eBay; check that the listing says 2TB and MU-PE2T0S.

Save money: the T7 Shield 1TB

Check the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB price on Amazon

The T7 Shield 1TB (model MU-PE1T0S) has the same speeds, IP65 rating, and 3-year warranty at half the capacity, so continuous Road Cam rolls over sooner. Choose it over the SanDisk stick if you want an SSD and don't mind a drive on a cable in the bin. It is also on eBay.

Best stick: SanDisk Extreme Fit 1TB

Check the SanDisk Extreme Fit 1TB price on Amazon

The SanDisk Extreme Fit (model SDCZ530-1T00) measures 18.50 × 15.70 × 13.60 mm and weighs about 3 g, so it sits almost flush in the console port and won't catch on a phone cable in the bin. A full terabyte gives continuous Road Cam a long run before the oldest files are overwritten.

SanDisk's datasheet rates it at up to 400 MB/s read on USB 3.2 Gen 1 and says writes are slower, without giving a figure. The warranty is 5 years, and SanDisk lists an operating range of 0 to 45°C, lower than the T7 Shield's. Because it is a flash drive, Rivian's SSD recommendation still points to the T7 Shield for a car that records every day.

Cheapest: Samsung Type-C 256GB

Check the Samsung Type-C 256GB price on Amazon

The Samsung Type-C (model MUF-256DA) is a plain USB-C stick, 33.7 × 15.83 × 8.2 mm and about 3.4 g. Samsung's datasheet rates the 256 GB version at up to 400 MB/s read and 110 MB/s write (both sequential) over USB 3.2 Gen 1, backward compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.0, with a 5-year warranty.

256 GB is double Rivian's minimum. Buy it if you mostly copy starred Incidents and Motion Cam clips off the car, or want the cheapest way to switch Road Cam on. Like the SanDisk, it is a flash drive rather than the SSD Rivian recommends, and Samsung publishes no random-write figure for it. The 64 GB version is under the minimum.

Setting up Road Cam

Shift to Park.
Open Gear Guard from the menu on the center display, choose Set Up Now, and accept the terms.
Plug the drive into a USB-C port in the center console bin, without a hub.
If the car asks to Format Device, accept. This erases the drive and can take a few minutes.
Choose Done.

To remove the drive, go to Gear Guard, then Gear Guard Features, then Eject, and unplug it. On a computer, continuous recordings are in the Road Cam > Road Stream folder.

Road Cam Chime is on by default once a drive is connected, and you can turn it or Road Cam itself off under Gear Guard Features. Shipping mode disables Road Cam. A saved clip lasts 2 minutes and starts 15 seconds before you tap Save Clip. Holding the horn for more than a second or pressing SOS also saves a clip; if you press SOS by accident, cancel the call on the center display within 20 seconds.

Rivian R1S and R1T USB drive FAQ

Does the Rivian R1S or R1T have a dashcam?

Yes. Road Cam is the dashcam in Gear Guard, and it records only to an external USB-C drive. Incidents and Motion Cam (Rivian's parked sentry mode) save to the car's onboard drive without one.

Do Gen 1 and Gen 2 R1s need different drives?

The requirements match. The guide for model years 2022 to 2024 and the guide for 2025 to 2026 both ask for 128 GB to 2 TB, USB 3.x with USB 2.0 support, an SSD as a recommendation, 20 MB/s random write, and FAT32.

Can I use a 4 TB SSD?

The guide caps storage at 2 TB, so buy the 2 TB T7 Shield.

Can I use a USB hub to keep both ports?

Rivian says to plug the drive directly into a console port, with no hub or splitter. The second console port still charges a phone.

Does a fast flash drive meet Rivian's speed minimum?

Not necessarily. Rivian's 20 MB/s minimum is for random write, while flash drive packaging lists sequential read speeds, which say little about random write. An SSD such as the T7 Shield is the safer choice.

Do I need to format the drive first?

The car offers to format it as FAT32 during setup, which erases it, so you can plug it in as it comes.

Final verdict

Buy the Samsung T7 Shield 2TB if Road Cam will stay on. It is an SSD, which Rivian recommends, at the largest capacity the guides allow. The T7 Shield 1TB costs less and records half as long before rolling over. For a drive that stays flush in the port, get the SanDisk Extreme Fit 1TB, and for the lowest price, the Samsung Type-C 256GB, accepting that neither stick publishes the random-write speed Rivian asks for.

Where to buy

Check Samsung T7 Shield 2TB price on Amazon Check Samsung T7 Shield 1TB price on Amazon Check SanDisk Extreme Fit 1TB price on Amazon Check Samsung Type-C 256GB price on Amazon

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