Viofo A129Duo Questions / Comments:

HonestReview

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A129 Duo - CFL - Hardwire Kit
Akron Suction Mount

Background:

So I purchased the above items, installed dash camera with hardwire kit (soldered wires), and have my replacement camera up and running...But still notice a a major quirk.

Camera 1 was most likely defective. Kept randomly freezing. Was using a Sandisk Ultra Plus 32GB card. I know the memory card functions. As a troubleshooting method, I ordered a 256GB Sandisk Extreme A2. Didn't solve Camera 1's issues. Amazon sent replacement.

Note: My Windows tinted so used Akron Suction Mount. Not 3M on to tint.

Today had mechanic friend come over again, solder the wires on the new camera's hardwire kit and insert fuse taps into fusebox. Removed old fuse taps in favor of New Camera / Kit.. New camera is using the Sandisk 256GB Extreme A2 Card. See how that goes....

So now the New Camera + Hardware kit is installed, one bug still persists. Note: New camera has only been running about 4 hours so can't say 100% but new one seems to work now....except: I noticed on OLD and NEW camera, that if I leave the Wifi on, eventually my phone won't connect to Camera via the Viofo App. Only Solution I've found seems to be turning Wifi off and on. Both cameras seem affected by this glitch. Of course, if I turn on Wifi only as needed, the problem doesn't arise. But of course, while the camera isn't connected to an actual wifi network, it's nice to leave it on so I can check videos with phone...

Has anyone noticed this issue? Where Wifi seems to time out when left on and solution is to turn wifi off and on for it to function again?
 
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leaving the wifi on reduces the recording bitrate which means lower quality videos and it generates more heat, not something you would want to do too often anyway
 
leaving the wifi on reduces the recording bitrate which means lower quality videos and it generates more heat, not something you would want to do too often anyway

Can you please elaborate how bitrate suffers when Wifi is enabled? I am using stock Viofo firmware (A129 Duo V1.5 Firmware ). Choices of bitrate are low and high. Set to high of course.

I guess I see where having the wifi could cause more heat, since wifi module, processor, and ram are constantly sending out a signal. Based upon that, I will disable wifi unless it needs to be used. But don't understand how the bitrate is lessened.

FYI: Doesn't seem anyone has tested the Sandisk A2 Extreme Card. So will report back how that goes.
 
if you leave wifi on it drops down to a lower bitrate, you can test it yourself and see the difference
 
if you leave wifi on it drops down to a lower bitrate, you can test it yourself and see the difference

Duly noted. So even if leaving the Wifi on 24 hours a day didn't randomly cause Wifi to act buggy, it isn't recommended since video quality suffers. i have gone out to my car and disabled Wifi. Will only use when needing to pull off a video then.

1. How about leaving the screen on 24 hours? Is that OK or should I enable the screen saver?

2. Is the stock firmware "OK" to use? I see customer firmwares have been designed. Is video quality a lot better in a Duo Setup (Front A129 + Rear Camera) for custom firmwares? Video quality with stock seems fairly good with each camera recording at high bitrate (Wifi Now Off) and 1080P.
 
leaving wifi on generates more heat which is never a good thing, it produces lower quality files if recording with wifi turned on, either one of those is reason enough not to run wifi on all the time I would think

leaving the screen on all the time is not a a good idea either, it generates heat, will create an image burn and may be distracting at night, can be illegal in some states too if in view of the driver
 
leaving wifi on generates more heat which is never a good thing, it produces lower quality files if recording with wifi turned on, either one of those is reason enough not to run wifi on all the time I would think

leaving the screen on all the time is not a a good idea either, it generates heat, will create an image burn and may be distracting at night, can be illegal in some states too if in view of the driver

Thanks. What about video quality from Stock Firmware (1080P Both Cams - High Bitrate) vs. Custom Firmware? Any noticeable difference?
 
some people prefer the custom firmware, it does push the bitrate up pretty high though so you need to trade off some heat and disk space for that extra quality, you can easily roll back to official firmware, try both and see what you prefer I guess
 
If you have problems with Viofo App connecting to the A129 camera, disable the Mobile data from your smartphone settings.

Many smartphones doesn't require this disabling but some requires.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
If you have problems with Viofo App connecting to the A129 camera, disable the Mobile data from your smartphone settings.

Many smartphones doesn't require this disabling but some requires.

enjoy,
Mtz

Hi. I only have problems connecting to the Viofo App if the Wifi is left on for a few hours or more. Phone is set to connect to the A129 duo wifi network and my data is disabled. I've even tried rebooting my phone.

To be a bit more clear, connecting to the Viofo Wifi isn't issue. It connects fine every time. However, the App won't work once connected if the Camera's Wifi has been on a few hours. It's as if the Wifi goes into some sort of power save mode. Only solution is to turn off and on the Wifi, and everything works again. This same bug happened on the first camera I received that was faulty, too. So seems to be a design or software issue.

Note: First Camera I had kept freezing solid for no apparent reasons....So defintely was faulty. New camera seems to work fine aside from above issue / glitch.
 
I think you got a bad cam initially but running WIFI constanly esp if you live in a hot environment is not good for the integrated circuit board as there is no fan for it. IMO Viofo has some slight build quality QC issues. For example, my USB cable I noticed the metal end is not straight as if the molding was done carelessly. Its a sub $200 cam, sure but would expect it to at least be straight. Or maybe there is some other isssue internally.
 
I think you got a bad cam initially but running WIFI constanly esp if you live in a hot environment is not good for the integrated circuit board as there is no fan for it. IMO Viofo has some slight build quality QC issues. For example, my USB cable I noticed the metal end is not straight as if the molding was done carelessly. Its a sub $200 cam, sure but would expect it to at least be straight. Or maybe there is some other isssue internally.

Quite honestly, I think leaving the WIFI on isn't recommended. Both cameras have / had same issue there. Whereas, if Wifi is left on, it eventually must either overheat or go into some sort of sleep mode. Because it won't connect. You have to turn off and on the wifi and it'll work.

Waiting to see how Camera #2 goes. I got a Sandisk A2 Extreme in there. I was told this is an untested card. People recommend the Sandisk Ullra A1. So we shall see what happens. I'm pretty certain camera #1 had faults.

Things are made in China these days for extreme cheap. Probably cost manufacturer 20 bucks top to produce one o these cameras.
 
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