A119 faulty? Screen turns on and off constantly when in use

Chris_Santa Cruz

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I bought 2 A119 VIOFO in June 2017 (one for me and one for my wife). After about 2 weeks the A119 made this screeching sound. It took me while finding out what is happening because I was driving (no pothole, easy traffic). The screen turned suddenly on and then off. When it turned on it made the sound. It turned off after 30 seconds (what I set it to) I updated the firmware, formatted, and set the Menu so there is no turning on and off setting there. But the unit kept doing that then about every minuted: on and then off. About 2 weeks later, my wife's unit began to have the exact same problem.
I returned both unit and bought another one: updated firmware, reformatted and: same problem!
GPS no in use, G-sensor set to low (there were no potholes).
 
i know you state that the GPS isn't in use but is your power cable plugged into the GPS mount or straight to the camera?
 
Power source is UBS (we did the cigarette lighter and the source from the radio) and it is plugged into the A119 on the side directly (not the GPS). We also made sure we have the latest firmware, formatted, reset to default, then we set the beep to OFF, and G sensor OFF. But the unit keep turning the screen on with 2 beeps. This happened last time after 10 minutes, then after 5 minutes, then again after about 8 minutes. The same happens on our other car with another unit we bought at about the same time. This is very frustrating.
 
Power source is UBS (we did the cigarette lighter and the source from the radio) and it is plugged into the A119 on the side directly (not the GPS). We also made sure we have the latest firmware, formatted, reset to default, then we set the beep to OFF, and G sensor OFF. But the unit keep turning the screen on with 2 beeps. This happened last time after 10 minutes, then after 5 minutes, then again after about 8 minutes. The same happens on our other car with another unit we bought at about the same time. This is very frustrating.

not clear, are you using the included power supply?
 
yes. We are using the cable and everything else provided. We bought two A119's for two different cars and both have the same problem.
 
yes. We are using the cable and everything else provided. We bought two A119's for two different cars and both have the same problem.

wasn't sure what the source from the radio meant

have you checked the memory card for errors or tried a different model card?
 
wasn't sure what the source from the radio meant

have you checked the memory card for errors or tried a different model card?
The Radio has a UBS interface which we also tried. We have two units with different memory cards and both show the same problem.
 
that's generally a bad idea

have you tried updating/reloading the firmware?
Actually, I just read that it may be the Micro SD card. When we bought the units from Amazon the SanDisk Ultra was listed as "customers also bought with Sandisk Ultra micro SDXC UHS-I". I just research this topic more and bought directly from Spytec the RiData 64GB UHS-1 Class 10 Micro SDXC. Once we have that we will try and report to all.
 
I have the exact same problem as the original poster and it's really annoying, plus the videos that are supposedly being recorded when this problem happens do not get correctly recorded and are unreadable.

I would really appreciate an answer to this problem so that I don't have to throw this dash cam out and get a different one.

My power source is the 12V dash outlet in my car which has a USB adapter plugged into it. Tried three different USB adapters, makes no difference. The power cord is plugged into the side of the GPS unit not into the camera itself. Using a Lexar High Excellence 64GB card.

Some days the camera will operate and record all day long without having this problem. Other days the ON/OFF issue with the screen and the sound happens over and over again several times in a minute or two. Seems totally random. Beginning to wonder if this is an issue with the camera overheating in the sun.

Sure would like to get this solved. HELP!
 
I have the exact same problem as the original poster and it's really annoying, plus the videos that are supposedly being recorded when this problem happens do not get correctly recorded and are unreadable.

I would really appreciate an answer to this problem so that I don't have to throw this dash cam out and get a different one.

My power source is the 12V dash outlet in my car which has a USB adapter plugged into it. Tried three different USB adapters, makes no difference. The power cord is plugged into the side of the GPS unit not into the camera itself. Using a Lexar High Excellence 64GB card.

Some days the camera will operate and record all day long without having this problem. Other days the ON/OFF issue with the screen and the sound happens over and over again several times in a minute or two. Seems totally random. Beginning to wonder if this is an issue with the camera overheating in the sun.

Sure would like to get this solved. HELP!
If this is a V1 unit, be sure you plug into the camera itself, not the GPS. GPS will still function. Lexar cards have been very troublesome in dash cameras, I would try another card. Be sure you are using only the supplied USB cable and Viofo 12V car adapter.
 
If this is a V1 unit, be sure you plug into the camera itself, not the GPS. GPS will still function. Lexar cards have been very troublesome in dash cameras, I would try another card. Be sure you are using only the supplied USB cable and Viofo 12V car adapter.

Thanks much for your reply! I am not sure how to tell if this is a V1 unit or not. Can't find any markings indicating version on the camera or the box it came in or the user manual. Serial number is A11917032665 if that helps. I bought it in March of 2017. Last firmware update I did was to Version 3.4 on 12-31-17.

I am using the supplied USB cable, but not the supplied 12V car adapter. I will change that out today. I will change the 12V input to the camera instead of the GPS unit if that is supposed to help, but that sure makes for a messier cable routing. BTW, how the heck does the GPS get powered if the 12V cord is plugged in to the camera?

I will try all of that stuff first and see if it helps, and it the symptom persists I will buy a different memory card. Should I go with 32GB instead of 64GB? I remember reading that some 64GB cards can be troublesome in this camera. What brand card is best for this camera?

Thanks again for your help!
 
Thanks much for your reply! I am not sure how to tell if this is a V1 unit or not. Can't find any markings indicating version on the camera or the box it came in or the user manual. Serial number is A11917032665 if that helps. I bought it in March of 2017. Last firmware update I did was to Version 3.4 on 12-31-17.

I am using the supplied USB cable, but not the supplied 12V car adapter. I will change that out today. I will change the 12V input to the camera instead of the GPS unit if that is supposed to help, but that sure makes for a messier cable routing. BTW, how the heck does the GPS get powered if the 12V cord is plugged in to the camera?

I will try all of that stuff first and see if it helps, and it the symptom persists I will buy a different memory card. Should I go with 32GB instead of 64GB? I remember reading that some 64GB cards can be troublesome in this camera. What brand card is best for this camera?

Thanks again for your help!
That's a V1 model. V2 models will have V2 in the serial #. Something like A119V217032655. The GPS power connection sounds likely to be your issue. Powering into the cameras directly is the best, most stable way to power the V1 units. Power passes to the GPS when powering the camera directly.
I would still think about replacing your Lexar card though.
 
That's a V1 model. V2 models will have V2 in the serial #. Something like A119V217032655. The GPS power connection sounds likely to be your issue. Powering into the cameras directly is the best, most stable way to power the V1 units. Power passes to the GPS when powering the camera directly.
I would still think about replacing your Lexar card though.

OK. I just made all the changes you suggested.

I'll ride like that for a week or so and see if the ON/OFF symptom persists. If so, I'll get a different micro SD card.

Thanks very much!
 
OK, I've been driving for a week now with the recommended changes made to the connections,etc.

The problem has not happened once in the whole week since I've plugged the power cord directly into the camera and not into the GPS unit.

It seems to me that the entire cause of this issue is the mechanically week electrical connection between the GPS unit and the camera. You can wiggle the camera around, left-and-right, up-and-down way too much when the camera is connected to the GPS unit. The mechanical connection method they are using to hold the camera onto the GPS unit is just not secure or tight enough to maintain electrical continuity through the little electrical contacts under all driving conditions.

I don't think the memory card or the power cord or the 12V car adapter have anything to do with the problem at all. It's all caused by that lousy camera-to-GPS connection.

Thanks again for the help!
 
Maybe it's the best way to find a seller directly.
 
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