a139: buggy & reboots & hot & bad support

[faroutxxx]

I received this new direct from Viofo. Its honestly buggy as hell. Changing settings in a certain order makes it go into a reboot cycle. Adding rear camera makes it go into reboots.
I updated firmware to latest and using all official cables etc. It also gets very hot just doing nothing.
That screeching noise is hell!
I contacted support who replied once asking me if im using official cable (which i already stated in my ticket) and thats it. Not heard back from them since.
Is it worth hanging on or do i open a dispute with paypal?

 

[StrayCam]

I received this new direct from Viofo. Its honestly buggy as hell. Changing settings in a certain order makes it go into a reboot cycle. Adding rear camera makes it go into reboots.
I updated firmware to latest and using all official cables etc. It also gets very hot just doing nothing.
That screeching noise is hell!
I contacted support who replied once asking me if im using official cable (which i already stated in my ticket) and thats it. Not heard back from them since.
Is it worth hanging on or do i open a dispute with paypal?

Unfortunately, support at Viofo is not their strong suit. And I believe there's a thread here in DCT that discusses the many firmware releases for the A139 and the problems they create for users. (See link below)

A139 Firmware

Adding too many options to a product can add more possibilities for a failure. Nothing can happen there, as it can, then there will be a solution. Now everything is super, VIOFO made an excellent firmware and an excellent application !! Huge thanks to them!! A139 is the best product on the...

dashcamtalk.com

There are several guys here on DCT who normally try to help Viofo users. If you have lots of will-power and stamina, you might be able to endure your present issues and eventually get them fixed.

One of the main reasons I left Viofo and went with Blackvue is because of customer support. It's hard to imagine that a Company that serves thousands of English-speaking customers can't hire a few people who are adept at communicating in English.

I paid a little more for a Blackvue Dashcam, but I can call 6-days-a -week at normal hours and communicate with Blackvue tech support with no problem. That alone to me is worth the extra cost.

The good thing about Viofo is they offer lots of bang for the buck... overall their cameras are pretty good. It's just that their customer support is somewhat lackluster as you have experienced.

Good luck in whichever direction you choose to go with your A139.

 

[faroutxxx]

Unfortunately, support at Viofo is not their strong suit. And I believe there's a thread here in DCT that discusses the many firmware releases for the A139 and the problems they create for users. (See link below)

A139 Firmware

Adding too many options to a product can add more possibilities for a failure. Nothing can happen there, as it can, then there will be a solution. Now everything is super, VIOFO made an excellent firmware and an excellent application !! Huge thanks to them!! A139 is the best product on the...

dashcamtalk.com

There are several guys here on DCT who normally try to help Viofo users. If you have lots of will-power and stamina, you might be able to endure your present issues and eventually get them fixed.

One of the main reasons I left Viofo and went with Blackvue is because of customer support. It's hard to imagine that a Company that serves thousands of customers can't hire a few people who are adept at communicating in English ...

I paid a little more for a Blackvue Dashcam, but I can call 6 days a week at normal hours and communicate with Blackvue tech support with no problem. That alone to me is worth the extra cost.

The good thing about Viofo is they offer lots of bang for the buck... overall their cameras are pretty good. It's just that their customer support is somewhat lackluster as you have experienced.

Good luck in whichever direction you choose to go with your A139.

The bang for the buck is what attracted me. The problem is I cant get it to work. Even if i did im worried about reliability since its not my car.
Blackview is too expensive for me.
Honestly the state of dashcams is so bad unless you are willing to pay a premium. So many companies do it so badly.

 

[StrayCam]

The bang for the buck is what attracted me. The problem is I cant get it to work. Even if i did im worried about reliability since its not my car.
Blackview is too expensive for me.
Honestly the state of dashcams is so bad unless you are willing to pay a premium. So many companies do it so badly.

You are 100% right that "So many companies do it badly." - - One dashcam that seems to get a fair amount of attention on this forum is Nextbase. I would assume their prices are similar to Viofo, but I'm not sure.

One thing about Nextbase which impresses me is there is a customer-service person named Millie who replies to any and all issues that are brought up on this forum about their dashcams. That to me is impressive!

It would be great if viofo had the same, but they do not. They post here occasionally, but don't seem to be that interested in solving customer problems.

As I said, if you have stamina you can and will get your A139 working properly. Hang in there...

 

[Nigel]

That screeching noise is hell!

What screeching noise?

I updated firmware to latest and using all official cables etc. It also gets very hot just doing nothing.

It should get warm when using 3 channels, nothing to worry about.
Only the metal parts should feel hot, there is no need to touch those!

Changing settings in a certain order makes it go into a reboot cycle.

Might be worth resetting to default settings. If you can reliably cause a reboot cycle from there then write down the instructions, with all the changed settings listed in the correct order, plus the firmware version in use, and report it, then the engineers can replicate it, and it can be fixed.

Might be worth reporting it here as well as sending it to Viofo Support, then we can make sure the correct support people see it.

 

[SawMaster]

I wouldn't rate Viofo CS as bad; there are better and a bunch much worse. Slow might be a better descriptive word. And there is something of a language barrier involved. Also right now with the Covid lockdowns in China, Viofo is temporarily having problems with production, shipping, and service but he's doing the best he can with the situation. Korea (Blackvue) isn't having that problem.

But back to the A139 in question...

You mention a "screech", are you referring to the start-up-shutdown sound or is this constant?

Cam cables have been known to give occasional problems but most of that was worked out long ago as best I can tell. It's also critical that the coax cam cable not be crimped or sharply bent.

Testing for problems should first be done with only the main (front) cam in use; cables to the other cams unplugged. If it works correctly plug in one of the secondary cams and check again. If no problems try the third cam, but if there are problems unplug that cam at the main unit and plug the other cam into it's place. If the same problem occurs the issue id with the main unit; if not the issue is with the cam or cable you just removed. If two cams work well add the third, diagnosing similarly.

I haven't kept mine updated with the FW but I have seen where some versions had problems. Also remember that the front and rear cams aren't bundled into one FW, and each needs it's seperate FW and loader. After a FW update you need to select default settings then reboot the cam for the update to take hold. After the reboot you can enter your preferred settings. Failure to do this will cause issues. Also remember to update the app as some version variations don't work well together.

How are you powering yours? It does need a robust power source which doesn't fall too low in voltage. If you're using the HWK test function using the plug-in power supply.

The unit does get very warm in use as it's processing a lot of data however it is designed to handle the heat. Quite a large amount of discussion in that here along with individual measured tests which show it works within it's specified range and more.

So far I haven't seen many reports of faulty main units of late, and only a few of other problems. Some early ones did have problems but it;'s unlikely you have one of those. Once you can locate where the problem is occurring there's a better chance of getting it fixed. After the initial bugs were worked out the A139 has matured into a very good and very reliable cam and I'd rate that as at least equal to Blackvue, perhaps better. My A139 is one of the very few cams I've had that I would trust all by itself without redundancy and from me that is saying a lot.

Phil