VIOFO A229 Pro FIRMWARE

[sky1111]

Except for the possibility I mentioned above, the reboot issue is mainly related to the unstable power supply. Please use the original car charger to supply power from your cigarette lighter directly to test if the reboot issue still persists. For your second question, the camera will lock the videos and photo when the G-sensor is triggered as designed, you may set the G-sensor to lower sensitivity to avoid many locked files.

Thanks, and I would like to better understand "unstable power supply". What kind of power event can trigger such reboot? I assume a temporary voltage drop, but I am checking A229 spec, and it says 5V 2A + capacitor, which means it is step down power supply, and the capacitor should hold up for few seconds of ICE crank. Am I missing something?

- the wiring done using VIOFO hard-wiring kit, by reputable installer
- the vehicle is a a hybrid truck, with aux 12V battery and main battery insulator. When there is any issue with 12V, car computers start throwing errors (I have seen it before, and the issues were resolved). So I am not seeing any power related weird codes in main truck computer, but random reboots still happen
- direct correlation between sunny days and reboot frequency

How is wiring thru cigarette lighter will make things more stable if the source of power is the same? In my case, such wiring is a bit complicated, as there is no cigarette lighter in the first row; there is one socket at the back of the console for rear passengers. I suppose I could try that.

Is there anything that can be done to improve VIOFO power supply? I was thinking maybe I need to connect some sort of supercapacitor, or put a ferrite core to filter noise...

 

[Hack_man]

The cigarette lighter adapter will help to eliminate possible excessive voltage drop to the camera.
I hear what you are saying about correlation between heat and reboot frequency so that may be a factor but it's a good idea to stiffen up the voltage to the camera. There is likely more IR drop in your existing setup than what the Viofo adapter provides.

 

[sky1111]

I just looked up Viofo HK4 kit that was used to install my dashcam: https://www.viofo.com/products/viof...et-fuse-for-a329-a229-a119mini2-a139-t130-wm1, and then I noticed that there is a mechanical slider to control voltage cutoff:

I do not know what was it set to. Quite possibly, it is set to 12.4v, and in such case, there is a remote chance that this power supply is what introduces power instability. If I can figure out where the heck is the power supply, I can try to set cutoff to 11.8v - not using parking mode anyway

However, if this was really the case, I would see these random reboots much more frequently while driving in the neighborhood (engine turns off at each stop sign), but it is not the case.

I have a new suspect - maybe the issue is the brick itself? since it is tacked away somewhere with not much air to circulate and cool it off, maybe an internal component overheats and starts glitching?
Unfortunately Viofo does not publish full spec on the brick - like operating temperature range.

 

[Karagandinez]

I do not know what was it set to. Quite possibly, it is set to 12.4v, and in such case, there is a remote chance that this power supply is what introduces power instability. If I can figure out where the heck is the power supply, I can try to set cutoff to 11.8v - not using parking mode anyway

Even if НК4 is set to 12.4V, it will not immediately turn off the power.
The voltage below 12.4V must be maintained for about 30 minutes, 60-90 sekonds and only after that will the voltage at the НК4 output be turned off.

I have a new suspect - maybe the issue is the brick itself? since it is tacked away somewhere with not much air to circulate and cool it off, maybe an internal component overheats and starts glitching?
Unfortunately Viofo does not publish full spec on the brick - like operating temperature range.

If HK4 is somewhere in a closed space without air access, then there may be problems.
Somewhere here this problem was raised, but I can't find this topic.

 

[halomstr]

My hk4 doesn't even get warm...

 

[DashcamDriversGermany]

The voltage below 12.4V must be maintained for about 30 minutes, and only after that will the voltage at the НК4 output be turned off.

Sure? That's not what I measured with the laboratory device.
Except I'm mixing up different hardwirekits in my mind now.

 

[Hack_man]

The voltage below 12.4V must be maintained for about 30 minutes, and only after that will the voltage at the НК4 output be turned off.

I haven't run any tests on the HK4, but this would seem to defeat the purpose of preventing the battery from being drained.
typically a circuit like this would use a comparator to instantly change it's output to a different logic state once a specific voltage threshold is reached and disable whatever was being protected.

 

[Karagandinez]

Sure? That's not what I measured with the laboratory device.
Except I'm mixing up different hardwirekits in my mind now.

Sorry. It's impossible to keep everything in mind. The shutdown time when the voltage drops below the specified value occurs after 90-120 seconds.

 

[lufa6977]

Thanks, and I would like to better understand "unstable power supply". What kind of power event can trigger such reboot? I assume a temporary voltage drop, but I am checking A229 spec, and it says 5V 2A + capacitor, which means it is step down power supply, and the capacitor should hold up for few seconds of ICE crank. Am I missing something?
.

Well, unstable power could come from how the HK4 is wired in to the fuse box. The dealer can be reputable but if they do not know what other vehicle equipment is on the selected fuses, there may be interference from there. What is the car, and what fuse positions where the HK4 wired to? Make sure the ground lead is on metal and tightened down. Likely the selected fuse panel is in the passenger cabin under the dash or foot well area.

When using the cigarette lighter adapter ( CLA ) you are powering directly from the start battery, in almost all cases anyway. This is considered to be stable power. I see you have no CLA in the front dash or console, so try to use a 5vdc, 1 or 2 amp USB plug if it is available. Use the included VIOFO USB cable. Not all USB cables or ports are 'equal' in the VIOFO world.

As far as reboots, do you have HDR enabled on a timer? When the set time reference is met for HDR to be on or off, the A229 will make a voice announcement stating the camera has been started in ' x ' number of channels.

As for the capacitor, the dash cam will run, with or without the capacitor. So, you could cut the capacitor out and the camera would still run. I do not know for a fact, but I do not think the capacitor holds any circuits up during the start cycle, once that start cycle has started, there is power to the dash cam.

Is there anything that can be done to improve VIOFO power supply? I was thinking maybe I need to connect some sort of supercapacitor, or put a ferrite core to filter noise...

Generally speaking, the answer is No. It is what it is. Now, had you put the HK4 at the back end of a SUV and ran longer power leads, then a change in AWG is beneficial. Reducing the length of the USB power lead between the output of the HK4 and the camera could save a little, but not much really. Of course you could have a bad HK4, you could stick a inexpensive USB power meter between the dashcam and the HK4 lead and see what is going on there. If using a GPS, then power via the side of the dash cam, this could rule out the GPS module being flaky.

The CLA in the back of the truck is probably only hot when the key is set to accessory or run. You can put the camera in a padded box, plug it into the rear CLA and drive for a while and see if the 'reboot' issues still happen.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Thanks, and I would like to better understand "unstable power supply". What kind of power event can trigger such reboot? I assume a temporary voltage drop, but I am checking A229 spec, and it says 5V 2A + capacitor, which means it is step down power supply, and the capacitor should hold up for few seconds of ICE crank. Am I missing something?

- the wiring done using VIOFO hard-wiring kit, by reputable installer
- the vehicle is a a hybrid truck, with aux 12V battery and main battery insulator. When there is any issue with 12V, car computers start throwing errors (I have seen it before, and the issues were resolved). So I am not seeing any power related weird codes in main truck computer, but random reboots still happen
- direct correlation between sunny days and reboot frequency

How is wiring thru cigarette lighter will make things more stable if the source of power is the same? In my case, such wiring is a bit complicated, as there is no cigarette lighter in the first row; there is one socket at the back of the console for rear passengers. I suppose I could try that.

Is there anything that can be done to improve VIOFO power supply? I was thinking maybe I need to connect some sort of supercapacitor, or put a ferrite core to filter noise...

If the hardwire kit is defective or it has not been installed properly, the power supply may be interrupted for seconds to cause the rebooting issue.
I suggest using the original car charger to supply power from your cigarette lighter because such kind of power supply is the most stable method that will supply constant power as long as your car ignition is on.
If you have no cigarette lighter in your car, you may also take the the camera home to use a wall charger or connect it to your PC with the original charger cable to test.

 

[sky1111]

Thanks guys. the vehicle is 22 F150. The problem is that I cannot narrow down the scenario to reliably trigger reboot, hence the switching power source will require a long use before I can confidently say if the issue is resolved.

- formatted the memory card, had a long drive last night - about 8hrs on the road - did not encounter any reboots.
- today it supposed to be a super hot day here, let's see if it will trip the dashcam
- ASIDE: definitely will locate HK4 and ensure that voltage cutoff is set to the lowest possible value.

However, I do want to apologize - this thread is about VIOFO FW, and I inadvertently change the discussion to a different topic. How about we get back to the main topic, and I will create a separate thread for reboot adventures?

FW question: does Viofo camera generate any event logs? specifically, thermal events or other error conditions?

 

[lufa6977]

Thanks guys. the vehicle is 22 F150. The problem is that I cannot narrow down the scenario to reliably trigger reboot, hence the switching power source will require a long use before I can confidently say if the issue is resolved.

- formatted the memory card, had a long drive last night - about 8hrs on the road - did not encounter any reboots.
- today it supposed to be a super hot day here, let's see if it will trip the dashcam
- ASIDE: definitely will locate HK4 and ensure that voltage cutoff is set to the lowest possible value.

However, I do want to apologize - this thread is about VIOFO FW, and I inadvertently change the discussion to a different topic. How about we get back to the main topic, and I will create a separate thread for reboot adventures?

FW question: does Viofo camera generate any event logs? specifically, thermal events or other error conditions?

I think you can ask @DashCamMan to create a thread for you and put the related posts in it.

 

[Karagandinez]

FW question: does Viofo camera generate any event logs? specifically, thermal events or other error conditions?

Thread 'A229 Pro MOD firmwares'

Jul 20, 2024

As some of you know, I working on FW mods many years. To do such things I waste a lot of my free time and I also wrote NTKFWinfo tool and made it public for anybody else for free.
This thread was created for posting my mods for Viofo A229Pro and discuss it.

Today I share my mod based on official V1.3_240612 FW.

Changelog:

• Logging of chipset`s temperature to file "T.txt" if it was created on root folder of SD-card. Current temperature updates every minute. T.txt file sample:

Fri Jul 19 17:51:52 GMT 2024: Viofo A229 Pro dashcam started. 61°C
Fri Jul 19 17:52:00 GMT...

• Dex_
• firmware mod
• Replies: 86
• Forum: A229 Pro

• 
• 

 

[Arese]

There is no newer firmware version for the rear camera. If you want to update, you can download the file from this link: https://viofotech.com/download/firmware/A229Plus/EthcamTxFW.bin

For the voice notification during your drive at night, can you check if it corresponds with the time that auto HDR should turn on?

Unlikely this was caused by the switch to HDR because HDR is on all the time on my unit (I know it's not recommended for image quality, just didn't have time to configure it yet)
It's been a few weeks since I updated the FW and 0 random reboot since then. It really seems like it was a glitch in the previous fw in my case. Haven't touched my HK4 install either, nor the dashcam settings, it's all the same, just updated the fw.

Hoping it stays that way but right now I'm really happy with the dashcam, it's reliable and doesn't need any intervention and it just doing what it is supposed to be doing. Switch between driving mode and parking reliably, HK4 does cut power to dashcam below 12.2v as I set it to (I still get 6-8 hours of parking mode recording which is more than enough for my use), 100% of my drives recorded , manual locking files works, or G sensor parking mode also work and reliably lock files.

Will probably not update fw anytime soon as long as it works.

EDIT: Also, I'm not sure to understand, you said there is no new firmware for the rear camera and then proceed to link me to download a firmware for the A229Plus?
On the official website, looking at the A229Plus firmware, only a fw for the front camera is available. Unsure what is this fw you linked me to?
It seems like the rear camera fw isn't really critical if it's not listed on the official website right?

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Unsure what is this fw you linked me to?
It seems like the rear camera fw isn't really critical if it's not listed on the official website right?

It is the link to the firmware file for the rear camera released on that firmware page before, we just remove it recently.

 

[sky1111]

I wondering if there a new FW for A229 Pro on a horizon. Or it is an abandoned child (given the focus on 329 series)

 

[Karagandinez]

I wondering if there a new FW for A229 Pro on a horizon. Or it is an abandoned child (given the focus on 329 series)

What don't you like about the current firmware for A229 Pro?

 

[MARTIN.BG]

New firmware for the rear camera of A229pro
V1.3.1-250421

EthcamTxFW.bin

drive.google.com

 

[Karagandinez]

A new section has appeared on the firmware site: A229 Pro Tele
It contains the firmware: FWA229PT_V1.0_250708 and EthcamTxFW_V1.3.1_250708.
@VIOFO-Support @viofo
What is the difference between these firmwares and the firmwares in the section: A229 Pro?
Are they interchangeable?

 

[Augustus]

A new section has appeared on the firmware site: A229 Pro Tele
It contains the firmware: FWA229PT_V1.0_250708 and EthcamTxFW_V1.3.1_250708.
@VIOFO-Support @viofo
What is the difference between these firmwares and the firmwares in the section: A229 Pro?
Are they interchangeable?

Interesting. Thought the A229 Pro Tele just ran off other firmware for the last couple of years