New Viofo A139 !

I think it must be the windscreen, it is hardwired but i have the ignition on, wifi is on, sometimes it shows on my phione then it vanishes, ill have to power it off my powerbank and try and pull the rear cable down abit to try and get it off the windscreen, seems maybe the ddpai wifi wasnt that bad after all, it must be my windows, even the side windows have all wierd wires in them
What car is this on? Wires in the front side windows or rear fixed windows?
 
What car is this on? Wires in the front side windows or rear fixed windows?
A scirocco, its the rear side windows, i connected the dashcam to my powerbank then connected it to my phone in the house, was perfect, stood outside the car it was perfect, as soon as i sit in the car the wifi disconnects, its really odd, as my phone wifi works fine in the car
 
A scirocco, its the rear side windows, i connected the dashcam to my powerbank then connected it to my phone in the house, was perfect, stood outside the car it was perfect, as soon as i sit in the car the wifi disconnects, its really odd, as my phone wifi works fine in the car
Have you tried to use another band? The default is 2.4GHz, so i would give a try 5GHz (and if i recall correctly there was even a firmware which should give an access to Wifi channel option) Could be just a coincidence of the same channel of two Wifi AP's which interfere with each other.
 
Have you tried to use another band? (default is 2.4GHz, so i would try 5GHz and if i recall correctly there was even a firmware which should give an access to Wifi channel option) Could be just a coincidence of the same channel of two Wifi AP's which interfere with each other.
i did update the firmware lastnight, iv got it on 5ghz, ill try it on 2.4 as im not going to transfer files using the phone, ill remove the sd card for that, but i need to see it in the car to adjust settings and re position the lense ect. cheers.
 
i did update the firmware lastnight, iv got it on 5ghz, ill try it on 2.4 as im not going to transfer files using the phone, ill remove the sd card for that, but i need to see it in the car to adjust settings and re position the lense ect. cheers.
Does your car have any Wi-fi options? for instance in my wife’s golf she can connect it to my phones Wi-fi hotspot. I wonder if something like that is active so the car is trying to connect to the camera or interfering with it.
 
Does your car have any Wi-fi options? for instance in my wife’s golf she can connect it to my phones Wi-fi hotspot. I wonder if something like that is active so the car is trying to connect to the camera or interfering with it.
No it doesn't have wifi in the car, it is a very high spec car tho, so it maybe gps or poss dab or something, I think it was just the fact it was on 5ghz , really strange, the car must be killing the 5ghz as the the phone was right next to the dashcam, i changed to 2.4ghz and it seems to be ok,
 
If you have parking mode on, it will kill the wifi when it change to parking mode.
I used the wifi and my phone when adjusting the rear camera angle, that worked just fine.

But i understand your pain, i have another camera that fortunately have a screen, but i simply can not connect to its wifi, any phone / tablet i have tried just fail that.
Also help a lot of my issue in that regard that i am a avid wifi and phone hater, so dont use or think much of either of those.
 
If you have parking mode on, it will kill the wifi when it change to parking mode.
I used the wifi and my phone when adjusting the rear camera angle, that worked just fine.

But i understand your pain, i have another camera that fortunately have a screen, but i simply can not connect to its wifi, any phone / tablet i have tried just fail that.
Also help a lot of my issue in that regard that i am a avid wifi and phone hater, so dont use or think much of either of those.
This was definatly the car doing something to 5ghz, it was being powered from a powerbank during the testing, worked perfect untill i sat in the car, the car was off, it seems fine on 2.4ghz,
 
next thing i need to find is a pair of clear stickers with a line on each, set the camera angles correct, then stick the stickers to each side then if i move to clean the lens i just twist to line up the stickers.
 
There is a "boot delay" setting in the A139 app menu though I haven't tried it. Wifi isn't needed for normal use and it adds to cam heat and power drain so it should (and does) default to "off".

Phil
I disagree. When you say the camera "defaults" to off you are implying there is more than one choice to choose from and Off would be the "default" choice out of several choices.

That is simply NOT TRUE because the firmware doesn't provide a configuration setting where WE users could set the camera with a DIFFERENT choice, like have it turn on WiFi at boot time. We have zero choices!

WiFi is initially off BY DESIGN, not "by default". And it's a terrible idea that disregards personal preferences!

I also disagree with the statement that wifi isn't required for "normal use". You cannot say that about a product like this one, with no built in screen or direct access to settings and functions. Operating the camera is also part of "normal use", not just recording. Viewing and managing footage is also normal use.

If the camera has no screen and certain settings or actions absolutely require using an app that connects via WiFi only, then the WiFi is indeed a requirement for normal use because without it, we can't truly operate the camera fully.

Without an app and a smartphone, this camera is an incomplete product. This camera is an incomplete product from factory!

That makes a wifi connection an essential component. WiFi replaces the screen and onboard settings.
 
Astonishing
 
I disagree. When you say the camera "defaults" to off you are implying there is more than one choice to choose from and Off would be the "default" choice out of several choices.

That is simply NOT TRUE because the firmware doesn't provide a configuration setting where WE users could set the camera with a DIFFERENT choice, like have it turn on WiFi at boot time. We have zero choices!

WiFi is initially off BY DESIGN, not "by default". And it's a terrible idea that disregards personal preferences!

I also disagree with the statement that wifi isn't required for "normal use". You cannot say that about a product like this one, with no built in screen or direct access to settings and functions. Operating the camera is also part of "normal use", not just recording. Viewing and managing footage is also normal use.

If the camera has no screen and certain settings or actions absolutely require using an app that connects via WiFi only, then the WiFi is indeed a requirement for normal use because without it, we can't truly operate the camera fully.

Without an app and a smartphone, this camera is an incomplete product. This camera is an incomplete product from factory!

That makes a wifi connection an essential component. WiFi replaces the screen and onboard settings.
It defaults to off is the correct term, the camera defaults to Wi-fi off each time. A setting would be to change the default option to default to on.

Do you genuinely have to adjust your settings or view your screen every time you start your car? Normal operation of a dash cam is you start your car and it starts to record, that doesn’t need Wi-fi to be on. On the occasion settings need to be checked or changed then you just turn on Wi-fi, it’s a button press and takes a matter of seconds to do, connect and open the app.
ultimately if that’s not what you want then buy a different camera.
 
My smart TV doesn't support Plex. It is, by your determination therefore an incomplete product from the factory too.
 
WiFi is initially off BY DESIGN, not "by default". And it's a terrible idea that disregards personal preferences!
I am often deeply challenged by things that are forced upon me, by design or just someone thinking i dont need a choice when clearly the best thing have already been selected for me.
I hope i am myself the kind of person that if i ask something of someone else, i would at least provide one reasonable alternative.
For instance the Danish welfare model, i am quite miffed that the only way out of that as a Dane is to die or leave the country, there are absolutely no reasonable alternative.
And it make me think of other societies in history that was also very rigid, and these have often been right there in the darkest hours of humanity, no choice - our way or the highway,,,,, to me that is a hallmark of a primitive society, cuz i think you can give people choice and still have things in order so the people making bad choices, they are also the ones that get to pay for that, cuz i sure as hell dont want to pay for other peoples mistakes.

But i am aware some things a individual choice would just clutter matters, and in the case of a consumer product, you can not make a one size fit all, even with choice.
I am generally happy about the Danish traffic code, even if there are some things i would change it it, but being "forced" to obey that i can deal with reasonably fine.
 
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It defaults to off is the correct term, the camera defaults to Wi-fi off each time. A setting would be to change the default option to default to on.

Do you genuinely have to adjust your settings or view your screen every time you start your car? Normal operation of a dash cam is you start your car and it starts to record, that doesn’t need Wi-fi to be on. On the occasion settings need to be checked or changed then you just turn on Wi-fi, it’s a button press and takes a matter of seconds to do, connect and open the app.
ultimately if that’s not what you want then buy a different camera.
"It defaults to off is the correct term, the camera defaults to Wi-fi off each time."

No, it is not the correct term and I have just explained why. Default implies one predetermined CHOICE out of many. That's not what we have here.

The camera REVERTS to wifi off is the correct term, because it goes back to something other than what we set it up for.

When the camera defaults, you have a say in what that choice would be.

When the camera reverts, you don't.

What we have here is a particular behavior preprogrammed from the factory which we cannot change (the behavior) even if we tried.

I am talking about the ability to change the factory predetermined behavior (ON or OFF), not what the feature actually does (activate Wi-Fi).

I need BOTH the ability to start/stop WiFi at will and ALSO the ability to choose which status should be the default when I turn on the camera. We cannot do the latter. The factory/camera has made that decision for me, and that's not OK.

There is a difference between us manually turning a function on or off at will, and having the camera constantly assuming as predetermined choice the one it thinks we should have and not the one we want and respecting that preference.

It does not respect or consider my preference and decides for me.

I don't spend my money on a device so it will dictate to me how I have to use it or which settings I have to set up. That's for me to decide!

Default (n): a preselected option adopted by a computer program or other mechanism when no alternative is specified by the user or programmer.

This is the incorrect term because we don't have the ability to specify the alternative. There's no true alternative. It's a single choice: OFF.

To revert (v): return to (a previous state, practice, topic, etc.).

This is exactly what the camera does: always revert to its original status despite any changes we make.

"A setting would be to change the default option to default to on."

Agreed! We don't have that setting at all. There is nothing built into the firmware to tell the camera to always turn wifi on on boot up.

"Do you genuinely have to adjust your settings or view your screen every time you start your car?"

Absolutely Yes! You cannot project your own personal way of using the product unto others who may have different needs or their own ways of using the product.

I will explain why.

When I'm doing ridesharing, I don't need to activate 3 channel recording all the time. I don't need to activate the internal camera when I'm in between rides and there is no rider in my car.

I don't need to activate 3 channels when I'm off work and I'm driving myself, family or friends around on private driving. In both of those circumstances I only need front and back channels.

Those circumstances change back and forth multiple times during a typical day.

Recording a channel constantly when it isn't truly necessary consumes more power, generates more heat, wears out the camera more and shortens the useful life of the microSD card when we record and rerecord gigabytes of useless data (internal camera videos of empty seats).

I want to make sure that the camera is only writing to that card files that are necessary and relevant.

This is even more important considering the fact that the camera is limited to 256GB cards so we are forced to manage the space and retrieve files more often.

Ideally, we would need a simple button to switch back and forth between "Driver mode" (front and back) and "Rideshare mode" (all channels on) at will without having to fiddle with WiFi and using other phones or gadgets.

It's a waste of time we don't have when we are busy and the only way around it is to leave 3 channel on permanently, a less than ideal scenario. This is us users suffering from the technical limitations of the device and us adapting to the device when it should be the device adapting to our needs instead.

"Normal operation of a dash cam is you start your car and it starts to record... "

This is your own super simplified opinion about "normal operation". Normal operation is a lot more than that.

Normal operation is everything that we need to do to make the product work as intended, including settings, functions and controls, to produce the results we seek.

Everything and anything that I need to do, change, press, activate, deactivate, setup or configure so I end up with a useful video file at the end of the day is normal operation.

"On the occasion settings need to be checked or changed then you just turn on Wi-fi, it’s a button press and takes a matter of seconds to do, connect and open the app."

The WiFi procedure is an authentic torture, considering the fact that wiring is incredibly finicky. Cameras are constantly disconnecting and every time a camera goes offline you have to start the whole process all over again to visually confirm if they reconnected, or which one reconnected and which one didn't!

Just hearing "recording 2 channels" without actually seeing which ones are recording is not enough. These cables are atrocious and we don't know which camera is the one disconnected. If wiring was more reliable we wouldn't need a live view, but we can't trust these wires.

If I was to switch between 2 channel and 3 channel modes (Driver mode vs rideshare mode) as I would like and as efficient camera use would dictate, I wouldn't have the time to follow that convoluted wifi process so many times in the day. I'm way too busy for that!

That functionality needs to be programmed into a one touch button.
This camera has an optional Bluetooth button. Why not program that button to choose between video recording lock or video recording channel swap?

It's perfectly doable!

"ultimately if that’s not what you want then buy a different camera."

Out of the available choices in the market to satisfy Uber drivers needs, this the product that gets the closest, but it is still falling way short of expectations and needs to mature a lot to get there.
 
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A quick tip if wish to configure the view of the camera using your phone, upgrade to 1.6, enable station mode, connect to the rstp stream of the camera when connected to home wifi. Note: it does not like power loss or special characters in home wifi. Power loss means reset of station mode configuration. Also note: you will not be able to plug camera to laptop and see storage, you will need to use the usb card reader to downgrade back to 1.5 firmware. With station mode and RSTP stream on your phone to dashcam it will not disconnect wifi till you disable wifi on camera.
 
"It defaults to off is the correct term, the camera defaults to Wi-fi off each time."

No, it is not the correct term and I have just explained why. Default implies one predetermined CHOICE out of many. That's not what we have here.

The camera REVERTS to wifi off is the correct term, because it goes back to something other than what we set it up for.

When the camera defaults, you have a say in what that choice would be.

When the camera reverts, you don't.

What we have here is a particular behavior preprogrammed from the factory which we cannot change (the behavior) even if we tried.

I am talking about the ability to change the factory predetermined behavior (ON or OFF), not what the feature actually does (activate Wi-Fi).

I need BOTH the ability to start/stop WiFi at will and ALSO the ability to choose which status should be the default when I turn on the camera. We cannot do the latter. The factory/camera has made that decision for me, and that's not OK.

There is a difference between us manually turning a function on or off at will, and having the camera constantly assuming as predetermined choice the one it thinks we should have and not the one we want and respecting that preference.

It does not respect or consider my preference and decides for me.

I don't spend my money on a device so it will dictate to me how I have to use it or which settings I have to set up. That's for me to decide!

Default (n): a preselected option adopted by a computer program or other mechanism when no alternative is specified by the user or programmer.

This is the incorrect term because we don't have the ability to specify the alternative. There's no true alternative. It's a single choice: OFF.

To revert (v): return to (a previous state, practice, topic, etc.).

This is exactly what the camera does: always revert to its original status despite any changes we make.

"A setting would be to change the default option to default to on."

Agreed! We don't have that setting at all. There is nothing built into the firmware to tell the camera to always turn wifi on on boot up.

"Do you genuinely have to adjust your settings or view your screen every time you start your car?"

Absolutely Yes! You cannot project your own personal way of using the product unto others who may have different needs or their own ways of using the product.

I will explain why.

When I'm doing ridesharing, I don't need to activate 3 channel recording all the time. I don't need to activate the internal camera when I'm in between rides and there is no rider in my car.

I don't need to activate 3 channels when I'm off work and I'm driving myself, family or friends around on private driving. In both of those circumstances I only need front and back channels.

Those circumstances change back and forth multiple times during a typical day.

Recording a channel constantly when it isn't truly necessary consumes more power, generates more heat, wears out the camera more and shortens the useful life of the microSD card when we record and rerecord gigabytes of useless data (internal camera videos of empty seats).

I want to make sure that the camera is only writing to that card files that are necessary and relevant.

This is even more important considering the fact that the camera is limited to 256GB cards so we are forced to manage the space and retrieve files more often.

Ideally, we would need a simple button to switch back and forth between "Driver mode" (front and back) and "Rideshare mode" (all channels on) at will without having to fiddle with WiFi and using other phones or gadgets.

It's a waste of time we don't have when we are busy and the only way around it is to leave 3 channel on permanently, a less than ideal scenario. This is us users suffering from the technical limitations of the device and us adapting to the device when it should be the device adapting to our needs instead.

"Normal operation of a dash cam is you start your car and it starts to record... "

This is your own supersimplifed opinion about "normal operation". Normal operation is a lot more than that.

Normal operation is everything that we need to do to make the product work as intended, including settings, functions and controls, to produce the results we seek.

Everything and anything that I need to do, change, press, activate, deactivate, setup or configure so I end up with a useful video file at the end of the day is normal operation.

"On the occasion settings need to be checked or changed then you just turn on Wi-fi, it’s a button press and takes a matter of seconds to do, connect and open the app."

The WiFi procedure is an authentic torture, considering the fact that wiring is incredibly finicky. Cameras are constantly disconnecting and every time a camera goes offline you have to start the whole process all over again to visually confirm if they reconnected, or which one reconnected and which one didn't!

Just hearing "recording 2 channels" without actually seeing which ones are recording is not enough. These cables are atrocious and we don't know which camera is the one disconnected. If wiring was more reliable we wouldn't need a live view, but we can't trust these wires.

If I was to switch between 2 channel and 3 channel modes (Driver mode vs rideshare mode) as I would like and as efficient camera use would dictate, I wouldn't have the time to follow that convoluted wifi process so many times in the day. I'm way too busy for that!

That functionality needs to be programmed into a one touch button.
This camera has an optional Bluetooth button. Why not program that button to choose between video recording lock or video recording channel swap?

It's perfectly doable!

"ultimately if that’s not what you want then buy a different camera."

Out of the available choices in the market to satisfy Uber drivers needs, this the product that gets the closest, but it is still falling way short of expectations and needs to mature a lot to get there.
Wow it must have taken you a long time to type all of that.

Ultimately the point you're missing is that the actual time taken to turn on and pair to wi=fi is seconds.

At no point have Viofo advertised or suggested the wifi being set to always on so you havent been missold anything, how can you say it falls short of expectations on that basis? I fail to see how you can demand they spend time making the changes to the FW and possibly also the app, potentially then also opening up to other issues that would bring complaints.

Question, If they replied and said they will do you a custom FW to add that setting but wanted say 50$ to cover their time and testing costs, maybe also with a caveat of no warranty comeback for any related issues. Would you accept the offer?
 
@Peterpan783

I can see why you chose that username. You're away with the fairies m8!

Everything you ask for won't get put into a dashcam worth a hundred bucks or so. It's not state of the art. It's an albeit carefully made item, it's not cutting edge, nor would any dashcam be for a reasonable cost. In 2 posts you've made more demands than most users here make in a year.

Tell you what... Take a course in electronics and cameras, then make us all a dashcam for a cheap outlay to the consumer that meets YOUR expectations!
 
Their new firmware does have station mode working, when home turn it on manually, yes its bit of work, and you can view the dash cams rtsp feed, download files etc. Also not to mention they need to fix loss of station mode settings on power off. So, hopefully they can resolve that, maybe if they can add an option via software to enable station mode at specific time that be super duper awesome, maybe tie it with geofencing trigger. We can all give good ideas, but implementation is hard, and i do give kudos to viofo team for actually doing any firmware updates. Not to mention you are not on the cloud sending your files behind your back to who knows where with cloud enabled services and cams etc. But having a timed schedule for wifi to turn on would be awesome and even better the station mode.
 
I wonder if more than one person works on the firmware.
 
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