Issue with A129 Pro and rebooting/not recording/loss of power

[dawnchorus6010]

Hi there, recently upgraded from A129 duo to the new Pro 4K model.

I am experiencing an issue using 3wire kit with the device rebooting itself sometimes twice whenever I start my car.

My previous two cameras using the exact same cable (A129 and A119) did not experience this issue.

I was using v1.9 on this camera, I have now down graded to the latest Pro firmware (v1.0) posted by Dane Ji.

The camera behaves very oddly - When car is started, the camera will reboot once sometimes twice, then the screen will not come on. If I press a button, I see the camera Is functioning as expected sitting in record mode.
When I turn off the car, the camera goes black and the REC button flashes rapidly. This does not stop.
If I press a button on the camera, the flashing stops and the device will occasionally begin recording. The device also does not detect GPS at all whilst in this auto detect mode/parking mode.

If I move my hand very closely infront of the lens the camera will usually start recording.

After checking after several hours it is evident the device is not staying on all night - it is worth noting that my car is near brand new, so battery health is excellent and my previous two camera models stayed on for upwards of 3 days and nights consecutively without powering off with minimal driving inbetween.

I am hoping to get this resolved asap as I shelled out $300 for this new camera hoping for better quality as I love the Viofo range of cameras.

I have tried firmware versions: V1.0, V1.9

I will attempt to attach a video of the behaviour if it is able to be uploaded. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Video of issue

 

[Capture Your Action]

There is no firmware version for the Pro named V1.9, that’s for the regular A129. Update to V1.1 and be sure to follow all the update instructions listed in the link.

Viofo A129 Pro Firmware

Firmware updates for Viofo A129 PRO dash camera. This includes the A129 Pro DUO. Caution! Incorrectly installing firmware can cause your camera to become inoperable. Sometimes permanently. Firmware listed on this site comes directly from the manufacturer. Install at your own risk and only...

www.captureyouraction.com

 

[dawnchorus6010]

There is no firmware version for the Pro named V1.9, that’s for the regular A129. Update to V1.1 and be sure to follow all the update instructions listed in the link.

Viofo A129 Pro Firmware

Firmware updates for Viofo A129 PRO dash camera. This includes the A129 Pro DUO. Caution! Incorrectly installing firmware can cause your camera to become inoperable. Sometimes permanently. Firmware listed on this site comes directly from the manufacturer. Install at your own risk and only...

www.captureyouraction.com

I realize the firmware was the wrong version - initially I had gone to the wrong page when updating.

However v1.1 did not show on the firmware page.
Will try 1.1 and see if it solves issue.

 

[dawnchorus6010]

There is no firmware version for the Pro named V1.9, that’s for the regular A129. Update to V1.1 and be sure to follow all the update instructions listed in the link.

Viofo A129 Pro Firmware

Firmware updates for Viofo A129 PRO dash camera. This includes the A129 Pro DUO. Caution! Incorrectly installing firmware can cause your camera to become inoperable. Sometimes permanently. Firmware listed on this site comes directly from the manufacturer. Install at your own risk and only...

www.captureyouraction.com

Getting an error when trying to download the firmware from your site.

Wondering why this version isn't available from the manufacturer though? They are only hosting v1.0, there is no posts for v1.1

 

[Capture Your Action]

I’ll check on the download. This version was posted on this site as well as DashCamTalk.com and fixes a firmware bug. Not sure why Viofo hasn’t posted it on the Viofo.com site.

 

[dawnchorus6010]

I’ll check on the download. This version was posted on this site as well as DashCamTalk.com and fixes a firmware bug. Not sure why Viofo hasn’t posted it on the Viofo.com site.

Managed to get it to download from another device - will install and test later today and report back on resulting behavior.

 

[Yatyas]

Dane from Viofo Support sent me this firmware after they sent me V1.1
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-zXnQWessxUZxkdy95IoneORDy21hw4a
It has been working great for me.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Dane from Viofo Support sent me this firmware after they sent me V1.1
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-zXnQWessxUZxkdy95IoneORDy21hw4a
It has been working great for me.

What is the version number?

 

[minc3]

Lol, yea would be great to know which version is that. From what i noticed the link is different from v1.2T2 and the v1.2ACCT

 

[Yatyas]

Yeah I would have included it but my vehicle is in the shop and the cam is in the car. Actually bought this cam to record proof of an issue while driving that is hard to reproduce.

 

[dawnchorus6010]

Installed v1.1 from captureyouractions link but no luck.
Same issue.
Device is turning off after several hours, when I turn back on I see the device is entirely full with footage, all of which is locked as if an accident was detected.

Very odd.

I also notice the camera runs VERY hot and produces a dull hum when under power, increasing in intensity when recording. The other models did not do this (the hum was however present but lesser in older models)

My concern is that the device is not behaving at all.

I got sent a beta firmware I believe is the 1.1 in unreleased form from Dane and will try that next. Beginning to think mine may be faulty after all this trouble.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Installed v1.1 from captureyouractions link but no luck.
Same issue.
Device is turning off after several hours, when I turn back on I see the device is entirely full with footage, all of which is locked as if an accident was detected.

Very odd.

I also notice the camera runs VERY hot and produces a dull hum when under power, increasing in intensity when recording. The other models did not do this (the hum was however present but lesser in older models)

My concern is that the device is not behaving at all.

I got sent a beta firmware I believe is the 1.1 in unreleased form from Dane and will try that next. Beginning to think mine may be faulty after all this trouble.

This is a 4K camera, so it's normal for it to get fairly hot. Much hotter than the regular A129.

When you say the device turns off after several hours, are you talking about when it's in parking mode?

 

[dawnchorus6010]

This is a 4K camera, so it's normal for it to get fairly hot. Much hotter than the regular A129.

When you say the device turns off after several hours, are you talking about when it's in parking mode?

Understandably should be running hotter, but surely not hot enough that it burns on touch.

The device sitting in parking mode, after I return from several hours of work (standard is roughly 8 hours) I find the device is off with no lights in the vehicle.
This is odd - my older models have never had this issue and usually can record for 2-3 days without running out of power with my cars current battery (near new)

Dane recommended a beta firmware for me which I installed this morning. I will report back this afternoon when my shift ends to see if it is working as intended.
When I checked the footage from last night (On v1.1, that you linked me) all the footage that was recorded overnight before the device turned off (roughly 10-15 recordings front and back camera over 3-4 hours) ALL the footage had locks on it asif they were G-sensor activated (car didnt move and nothing was on any of the footage)

 

[minc3]

Understandably should be running hotter, but surely not hot enough that it burns on touch.

The device sitting in parking mode, after I return from several hours of work (standard is roughly 8 hours) I find the device is off with no lights in the vehicle.
This is odd - my older models have never had this issue and usually can record for 2-3 days without running out of power with my cars current battery (near new)

Dane recommended a beta firmware for me which I installed this morning. I will report back this afternoon when my shift ends to see if it is working as intended.
When I checked the footage from last night (On v1.1, that you linked me) all the footage that was recorded overnight before the device turned off (roughly 10-15 recordings front and back camera over 3-4 hours) ALL the footage had locks on it asif they were G-sensor activated (car didnt move and nothing was on any of the footage)

It is normal for dashcam that records in 4K to be “very hot” but there’s a heatsink inside which helps in dissipate heat. Also there’s overheat protection which will shutdown the dashcam upon reaching the pre-set temp to protect it.

I live in a place where the average daytime temperature is around 32-35C. The heat soak in a closed environment during daytime will usually force it to shutdown during parking mode but it records well at night.

I believe your device was turned off due to high temp. But Based on what you mentioned, the card is fulled with footage could mean that it is recording constantly thus the heat (without air circulation in the car).

Meanwhile on your locked footage, i have never encountered it even in v1.1 (i got it with v1.1 now at v1.2T2). Probably you may what to change the sensitivity for the g sensor.

 

[dawnchorus6010]

It is normal for dashcam that records in 4K to be “very hot” but there’s a heatsink inside which helps in dissipate heat. Also there’s overheat protection which will shutdown the dashcam upon reaching the pre-set temp to protect it.

I live in a place where the average daytime temperature is around 32-35C. The heat soak in a closed environment during daytime will usually force it to shutdown during parking mode but it records well at night.

I believe your device was turned off due to high temp. But Based on what you mentioned, the card is fulled with footage could mean that it is recording constantly thus the heat (without air circulation in the car).

Meanwhile on your locked footage, i have never encountered it even in v1.1 (i got it with v1.1 now at v1.2T2). Probably you may what to change the sensitivity for the g sensor.

I too get 30C-35C where I live, no doubt the car is probably double that at midday on a sunny afternoon. However the A129/A119 never overheated in the exact same vehicle/conditions/parked in same place.

I definitely recognize the unit has inbuilt safety fall backs for overheating.

I have bumped up to that beta firmware now, I'm about to go out and check it shortly.

I did reduce the sensitivity - it could well have just been too high - we will see.

 

[dawnchorus6010]

I too get 30C-35C where I live, no doubt the car is probably double that at midday on a sunny afternoon. However the A129/A119 never overheated in the exact same vehicle/conditions/parked in same place.

I definitely recognize the unit has inbuilt safety fall backs for overheating.

I have bumped up to that beta firmware now, I'm about to go out and check it shortly.

I did reduce the sensitivity - it could well have just been too high - we will see.

Checked after work, looks like it turned off just around 1pm.

All the footage was still "locked" despite g sensor being changed to low.

Something is definitely not going right here, none of my previous models have behaved in this way. Considering just refunding this and going back to the duo which worked fine.

 

[minc3]

I too get 30C-35C where I live, no doubt the car is probably double that at midday on a sunny afternoon. However the A129/A119 never overheated in the exact same vehicle/conditions/parked in same place.

I definitely recognize the unit has inbuilt safety fall backs for overheating.

I have bumped up to that beta firmware now, I'm about to go out and check it shortly.

I did reduce the sensitivity - it could well have just been too high - we will see.

4K + 1080p is entirely different where A129 records in dual 1080p while A119 records in 2k single channel. Thus cant expect much in warm climate. Anyway, I am waiting for Viofo to come out with the new FW where they proposed to lower the FPS for parking mode in motion detection from 30fps to 10fps. It will lower the power consumption where I believe by lowering power consumption equates to lower heat. So just wait and see.

 

[minc3]

Checked after work, looks like it turned off just around 1pm.

All the footage was still "locked" despite g sensor being changed to low.

Something is definitely not going right here, none of my previous models have behaved in this way. Considering just refunding this and going back to the duo which worked fine.

Your’s locked footage issue definitely something new to me. Never encountered it. In fact people have been complaining that the Parking G sensor sensitivity is toooooo low. I’ve set my parking G sensor to high while (driving) G sensor to low. So far no issue

 

[dawnchorus6010]

Your’s locked footage issue definitely something new to me. Never encountered it. In fact people have been complaining that the Parking G sensor sensitivity is toooooo low. I’ve set my parking G sensor to high while (driving) G sensor to low. So far no issue

On A129 I had the gsensor on low as I found it triggered constantly with the initial firmware (long before auto event detection was a thing)
My support case was one of the first which contributed to the implementation of auto event detection mode in later firmwares/models.

The locked footage is so bizzare. Has both support and others puzzled. On the camera they have locks. On the card via PC the footage just appears normal inside the DCMI Video folder.
It's super weird. Hopefully support will sort me out and a new FW Will drop.

I already had one faulty hk3 kit sent out initially. Bill was able to send me a replacement.

Hoping this camera isn't a dud.

Appreciate your replies.

 

[minc3]

On A129 I had the gsensor on low as I found it triggered constantly with the initial firmware (long before auto event detection was a thing)
My support case was one of the first which contributed to the implementation of auto event detection mode in later firmwares/models.

The locked footage is so bizzare. Has both support and others puzzled. On the camera they have locks. On the card via PC the footage just appears normal inside the DCMI Video folder.
It's super weird. Hopefully support will sort me out and a new FW Will drop.

I already had one faulty hk3 kit sent out initially. Bill was able to send me a replacement.

Hoping this camera isn't a dud.

Appreciate your replies.

Probably you would want to get in touch with Bill again on a replacement camera to see if it solves your problem.

Cheers