A119 Mini - Review / Testing

[rcg530]

I recently received a VIOFO A119 Mini to test/review. Nice small single channel dash cam. I needed to get another VIOFO HK4 hardwiring kit since I now have 3 VIOFO dash cams that use that for their hardwiring kit. I just received the additional HK4 and another VIOFO 128 GB MLC microSD card to use with the A119 Mini.

I'll start testing and taking some pictures later today.

 

[rcg530]

The A119 Mini Packaging - Outside



Inside

 

[rcg530]

A119 Mini

 

[rcg530]

11-May-2022 Testing

I found three problems with my A119 Mini. I am powering the A119 Mini with a VIOFO HK4 hardwiring kit. I'm using a VIOFO 128 GB MLC microSD card, but I also tried a SamDisk Extreme 128 GB microSD as well. Firmware version tested: A119 Mini: V1.0, Build: 20220428.

Auto Event Detection (AED) Parking Mode Recording Failure

I powered up the A119 Mini. I paused recording, pressed the PWR/Menu button to present the configuration menu. I used the "Format" function to format the microSD in the dash cam. I exited the configuration menu and normal mode recording started. I turned off the ACC+ power and the A119 Mini entered into AED parking mode (REC LED blinking waiting for motion to occur).

I moved my hand in view of the front camera and AED recording "started". The REC LED became steady for about 2 seconds and then it started beeping and beeping and beeping.

I found that if I exited AED parking mode by restoring ACC+ power to return to normal mode, the normal mode recording succeeded.

I entered AED parking mode again and waited about 10 seconds before moving my hand in front of the camera to trigger another recording event. This time and each future time AED recording was necessary it worked.

I tried a few variations of this test, but they all resulted in a 4 or 5 second AED recording file. All other AED recordings were 45 seconds in length. If I reformatted the microSD again (start the test loop over) it failed in the same/similar manner. I have reported this issue to VIOFO.

A119 Mini Will Not Stay Powered Off

I tried to turn off the A119 Mini by long pressing the <PWR> button on the front of the unit. It does power down, but within a couple of seconds it boots up again.

I tried this with the ACC+ on and ACC+ off and it ALWAYS powers up again.

When we arrive home in a car with a VIOFO dash cam, the vehicle's ignition system is turned off (ACC+ turns off), the dash cam enters parking mode and then we long press the <PWR> button to power down the dash cam. This works on other VIOFO dash cams including the new A229 Duo.

I ran the test using two different VIOFO HK4 hardwiring kits and the USB power adapter provided with the A119 Mini and each time it resulted in the same issue of the A119 Mini restarting itself when it should stay "off".

I have reported this issue to VIOFO.

Hey buddy, that's not your time zone!

I used the A119 Mini's configuration menu to set the correct local date/time and time zone (for me that's currently GMT-7). When the A119 Mini powers up and it gets a GPS lock, the date/time will ALWAYS get updated to a value that is GMT+8 (a full 15 hours in the future). When I check the "Time Zone" setting in the configuration menu, it's still set to "GMT-7". There appears to be some weird time zone logic override in the firmware of the date/time value obtained from the GPS satellites and the configuration menu.

I have reported this issue to VIOFO.

I recorded a video of these three issues so that VIOFO would see exactly what I observed. I received a response stating they are working on these issues.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

A119 Mini Will Not Stay Powered Off

I tried to turn off the A119 Mini by long pressing the <PWR> button on the front of the unit. It does power down, but within a couple of seconds it boots up again.

This happens with one of the A129 Pro firmware versions as well, but don't recall which one.

 

[rcg530]

VIOFO App v3.2.3 Language Setting vs A119 Mini Language Setting

When you use the VIOFO app v3.2.3 with the A119 Mini, the app’s “Language” list is out of sync with the A119 Mini (and the A229 Duo). If you select “English” in the dash cam’s setting entry, you will see that as “Polski” in the VIOFO app. The ordering of the languages in the VIOFO app is different than the ordering of the languages in the firmware settings page.

I also found that the VIOFO app v3.2.3 does not present a "Language" setting entry for the A229 Duo dash cam.



When you pause the recording using the VIOFO app to prepare to go into the "Settings" screen, it starts to beep because it's not recording (as expected). When you enter the "Settings" screen in the VIOFO app for the A119 Mini, the A119 Mini will continue to beep,beep,beep the entire time you're in that screen. When you do the same thing with the A229 Duo, the beeping stops when you enter the "Settings" screen and only resumes beeping when you exit the "Settings" screen.

I've reported these issues to VIOFO.

 

[SawMaster]

VIOFO App v3.2.3 Language Setting vs A119 Mini Language Setting

When you use the VIOFO app v3.2.3 with the A119 Mini, the app’s “Language” list is out of sync with the A119 Mini (and the A229 Duo). If you select “English” in the dash cam’s setting entry, you will see that as “Polski” in the VIOFO app. The ordering of the languages in the VIOFO app is different than the ordering of the languages in the firmware settings page.

Using the newest app version and the new Mini_1V1.020220510 FW I'm finding English and Polish transposed (selecting one gets the other) so I think there's a file-naming error in the coding.

Phil

 

[rcg530]

Using the newest app version and the new Mini_1V1.020220510 FW I'm finding English and Polish transposed (selecting one gets the other) so I think there's a file-naming error in the coding.

Phil

I have not been supplied with the version of firmware you stated you have installed in your A119 Mini. I have firmware "A119 Mini: V1.0, Build: 20220428" installed (what it had installed when I received it).

I have the latest Android VIOFO app v3.2.3 installed.

It looks like the array of language entries in the app are in a different order than the array of languages used in the firmware language list. The third entry in the list for the dash cam is "English" while the third entry in the app is "Polski".

 

[SawMaster]

I have not been supplied with the version of firmware you stated you have installed in your A119 Mini. I have firmware "A119 Mini: V1.0, Build: 20220428" installed (what it had installed when I received it).

I have the latest Android VIOFO app v3.2.3 installed.

It looks like the array of language entries in the app are in a different order than the array of languages used in the firmware language list. The third entry in the list for the dash cam is "English" while the third entry in the app is "Polski".

That could be a clue. I haven't used the cam menu yet, only the app, and the original 0428 FW listed English but wouldn't 'speak' it whuich it now does- but only if you select 'Polish'. I can give you the link to the new FW from Viofo's 'Google Drive' but since we're testing he may have a reason for us having different versions under trial so I'd prefer you ask him for it. Might be something newer done already too. Work interrupted fun today, so for me tommorow is 'dashcamday'.

Phil

 

[rcg530]

That could be a clue. I haven't used the cam menu yet, only the app, and the original 0428 FW listed English but wouldn't 'speak' it whuich it now does- but only if you select 'Polish'. I can give you the link to the new FW from Viofo's 'Google Drive' but since we're testing he may have a reason for us having different versions under trial so I'd prefer you ask him for it. Might be something newer done already too. Work interrupted fun today, so for me tommorow is 'dashcamday'.

Phil

Thanks for the offer on the firmware, but I want to stay with what I've been given (or will be given). The three issues I reported last night are "being fixed" so I hope to get a version with those fixes in it.

 

[rcg530]

Overnight, I was sent a link to a test firmware build for the A119 Mini that should have a fix for the incorrect time zone offset issue.

A119 Mini: V1.0
Build: 20220516



I updated my A119 Mini with the test firmware. I set the date/time and time zone offset (for me GMT-7 due to DST active in the US/Pacific time zone). The date/time displayed on the screen, in the video text overlay and for the file system's date/time modified all seemed correct. I made sure to wait for the A119 Mini to acquire a GPS signal lock before claiming it was fixed.

The A119 Mini's screen looks "odd" in the video captured by my Canon M6 Mark II camera, but to the human eye it looks okay. The timer in the background is just that a timer and not the current time. I was testing the 90 second delay timer for parking mode at this point in my testing.

 

[rcg530]

A119 Mini Will Not Stay Powered Off

I was informed that my A119 Mini's issue about not staying powered off when using the power button to power off the unit, is a hardware issue. This issue is present in the early samples sent out to reviewers, but it is fixed in the production version of the A119 Mini.

 

[mentadent]

We are all mini

 

[rcg530]

I ran my power consumption tests for the A119 Mini. As I mentioned before, my VIOFO contact has told me that early review samples (preproduction) have a non firmware bug that prevents the A119 Mini from powering down and staying powered down when using the power button. Based on my testing, the "Parking Recording Duration" (PRD) firmware setting also will not properly work due to the same non firmware problem. Just like when using the power button to power down the A119 Mini, the PRD timer feature will power down the A119 Mini, but within seconds the A119 Mini powers up again. Due to that known issue, I was unable to get the power consumption readings for those tests.

 

[mentadent]

Rep lol

 

[rcg530]

Rep lol

Changed it to contact.

 

[rcg530]

My preproduction A119 Mini with firmware build 20220519 installed started to misbehave during my weekly shopping trip route. I used the low bitrate video from the VIOFO T130 to listen to what the A119 Mini was doing. After being in parking mode for just over 20 minutes, the A119 starts rebooting. In the T130 low bitrate video, I can only hear the boot chime sound and no power down chime sound. If the A119 Mini lost constant power from the HK4 it should be powering down and I should hear the power down chime, but I did not hear any power down chimes while the A119 Mini was rebooting.

• A119 Mini Setup
  • Powered by HK4 I purchased a couple of weeks ago
  • Firmware Version = 20220519
  • Micro SD Card: VIOFO MLC 128GB
  • Bitrate = High
  • Parking Mode = Low Bitrate
  • Parking Mode Delay Timer = 90 seconds
  • Outside Temp = 80F
• Problem Timeline
  • 11:18:46 (A119 Mini timestamp) / 11:18:51 (T130 timestamp)
    • Accessory power is turned off to the HK4 powering the A119 Mini
    • 90 second delay timer for parking mode starts at this point
  • A119 Mini Parking Files
    • A119 Mini starts recording low bitrate parking mode videos – 11:20:24 AM (first timestamp in A119 Mini parking video)
      • 
      • The A119 Mini starts rebooting at 11:42:24 (T130 interior video timestamp of the reboot)
      • The A119 Mini starts recording in the “Movie” directory instead of the “Parking” directory after each reboot
      • The A119 Mini creates a total of 20 unusable video files in the “Movie” directory
      • 
      • When I returned to my vehicle, I restored the ACC+ power to the HK4 powering the A119 Mini and it starts recording correctly again
      • The remainder of the trip route (two more “short” parking mode sessions) the recording appears to be correct
  • Next Steps
    • I’ve ordered another HK4 and VIOFO MLC 128 GB microSD card, to be sure it’s the A119 Mini and not the memory card nor the HK4 power supply.

 

[rcg530]

Today, I drove my car on my weekly shopping trip route. The outside temps were in the mid 80s F to start and by the time the A119 Mini had a problem the outside temp was 98F.

The A119 Mini started rebooting again at the same location and car / sun orientation. The A119 Mini is mounted on the rear window of my car to allow me to compare video captured by the A119 Mini and the A229 Duo's rear camera (which is out of focus).

The A119 Mini was exposed to direct sunlight while the vehicle was parked. After 13 minutes in low bitrate parking mode, the A119 Mini started rebooting. Since my A119 Mini is a pre-production unit, it has a bug which prevents it from staying powered off if the firmware or the user requests it to power down, so it continually reboots until the A119 Mini's temp drops to 175F or lower.

When I returned to my car, I found the A119 Mini was performing a reboot cycle about every 20 to 30 seconds. I checked the A119 Mini's temp with an IR thermometer and the GPS mount was 180F and the A119 Mini itself was 178-to-180F range around the VIOFO label on the front side of the camera. Based on what I see on the microSD card, the rebooting was going on for a 15 minute time span before I returned to the car. When I started my car and the A/C cooled air reached the rear window area and the A119 Mini's temp dropped to the 175-to-170F range it stayed powered on and it recorded video.

I may try a bitrate setting of "Medium" next time to see if the A119 Mini can dissipate the generated heat any better at that bitrate setting.

VIOFO App - Firmware Settings Caution

The VIOFO App (v3.2.3 on Android) cannot be reliably used to set the firmware settings for the A119 Mini. Many of the options for the various firmware settings are either in the wrong order or have a different number of options in the list to pick from when compared the actual firmware settings available on the A119 Mini when using the firmware setting menu pages on the A119 Mini.

For example, the "Bitrate" setting in the app shows "Low", "Medium", "High" when it is "High", "Medium", "Low" on the A119 Mini. The Language selection is totally different in the app. The "G-Sensor" setting in the app has "Low sensitivity", "Medium sensitivity", "High sensitivity", but the A119 Mini's options are "Off, "Low sensitivity", "Medium sensitivity", "High sensitivity" (a different number of options).

 

[Karagandinez]

VIOFO App - Firmware Settings Caution

The VIOFO App (v3.2.3 on Android) cannot be reliably used to set the firmware settings for the A119 Mini. Many of the options for the various firmware settings are either in the wrong order or have a different number of options in the list to pick from when compared the actual firmware settings available on the A119 Mini when using the firmware setting menu pages on the A119 Mini.

For example, the "Bitrate" setting in the app shows "Low", "Medium", "High" when it is "High", "Medium", "Low" on the A119 Mini. The Language selection is totally different in the app. The "G-Sensor" setting in the app has "Low sensitivity", "Medium sensitivity", "High sensitivity", but the A119 Mini's options are "Off, "Low sensitivity", "Medium sensitivity", "High sensitivity" (a different number of options).

I fully confirm the discrepancy between the settings in the DVR menu and the settings in the application.
There is also such a feature: Each time you connect, the application may have different settings.
For example:
1. There may be a bitrate setting, but there is no language setting.
2. The bit rate setting may disappear, but the language and internal camera settings will appear.

 

[IAmATeaf]

Thats 82 C no wonder the thing decided to give up the will to live and wanted to go to sleep [emoji3]