A119 Mini 2 stuck showing "viofo" logo on screen and not recording

[Sam_G]

I have a Viofo A119 Mini 2 that was purchased on amazon 9 months ago. It has worked fine up until now, but this week I noticed it was not recording and the screen was only displaying the Viofo logo rather than whatever the camera was seeing. Sometimes, the top third of the screen shows as a green bar, as if the screen is glitched. I use it with a Sandisk 256 GB High endurance SD card, the original power cable and the original power adapter.

I have tried every combination of different cables, adapters, and SD cards. I've tried reformatting the SD cards using both quick and deep format. I've unsuccessfully tried to update the firmware on the card. None of these things are resolving the issue; the dashcam continues to boot up and get stuck on the screen with the Viofo logo, while not recording anything.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Welcome to the club @Sam_G
Sorry you’re having trouble.
Sandisk High Endurance is not recommended by VIOFO.
VIOFO RECOMMENDED SD CARD
VIOFO “always” recommends powering camera from GPS mount while installed, (see attached screenshot).
The good news is your A119 Mini 2 has a Two Year Warranty, (6 month extension with registration).
You may want to SUBMIT A TICKET to start a warranty claim.

 

[Sam_G]

I did try powering via the GPS mount as well, but it made no difference

Before I spend another ~$100 on a new SD card I'd like to be more confident it is going to solve the issue. Based on having tried three different SD Cards this afternoon, and the green screen issue occurring without any SD card even being installed, it seems to me that it is an issue with the dashcam unit rather than the card alone.

I just submitted a ticket, thanks. Hopefully I'll hear from them

 

[Chuck McCoy]

I did try powering via the GPS mount as well, but it made no difference

Yes, I don't think it caused this malfunction.
I was just saying just in case you ever decide to enable parking mode with a Hardwire Cable, (that's when it matters).

Before I spend another ~$100 on a new SD card I'd like to be more confident it is going to solve the issue.

Amazon Prime Day, Amazon Black Friday, and Offical VIOFO website have sales on VIOFO Brand SD Cards.
The best deal I've ever seen was 50% when you buy 2.
These days you'll be making money with that discount 🤣

green screen issue

Just a guess, that is usually caused by the LCD Screen ribbon cable backing out loose.
But repair requires disassembly, and I don't like risking that on devices still under warranty.

I just submitted a ticket, thanks. Hopefully I'll hear from them

Keep us posted if you win the free trip to Hawaii 🤣

 

[LateralNW]

@Sam_G as Chuck suggested getting support is the way to go.

One thing you might like to try is doing a cold reset.

On the unit there is a small hole that has a button inside the unit.
Using a non metal pointer push the button inside the hole while the camera is powered and this should restart the dashcam.

By doing this the camera is manually forced to reset and reload its operating system and miscellaneous system files.

I suggest this as the images at the top of the screen look correct but the loading process is only partially started.

Of course if that doesn't work then I'm sure Viofo will resolve it.

I'm interested in your result.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

manually forced to reset

 

[VIOFO-Support]

I have a Viofo A119 Mini 2 that was purchased on amazon 9 months ago. It has worked fine up until now, but this week I noticed it was not recording and the screen was only displaying the Viofo logo rather than whatever the camera was seeing. Sometimes, the top third of the screen shows as a green bar, as if the screen is glitched. I use it with a Sandisk 256 GB High endurance SD card, the original power cable and the original power adapter.

I have tried every combination of different cables, adapters, and SD cards. I've tried reformatting the SD cards using both quick and deep format. I've unsuccessfully tried to update the firmware on the card. None of these things are resolving the issue; the dashcam continues to boot up and get stuck on the screen with the Viofo logo, while not recording anything.

Please try to power on the camera without inserting the card to test if the screen can be turned on normally. Since you have not updated the firmware successfully, you may try again to confirm if it helps. If none of them make any difference, please submit a ticket here to claim a warranty with us: https://support.viofo.com/support/tickets/new?