A229 Pro GPS

[VIOFO-Support]

This video test is very helpful
I can see that the GPS of the a229 pro is obviously very problematic.
Looking at the same position in your video the a229 plus is obviously much better than the a229 pro...
I hope the official can fix this problem as soon as possible !!!!

In his video, the A229Plus can get a strong signal when it is put on the dotted area (The windshield has a metal coating, and the area of the black spot is empty, like a small window to allow the signal to pass through), but will quickly lose signal after being put on other poistions on the windshield. This indicates that his window does weaken the signal.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

I can see that the GPS of the a229 pro is obviously very problematic.

Incorrect.
Cause of malfunction is heated windshield metallic signal interference.

 

[petrsms]

In his video, the A229Plus can get a strong signal when it is put on the dotted area (The windshield has a metal coating, and the area of the black spot is empty, like a small window to allow the signal to pass through), but will quickly lose signal after being put on other poistions on the windshield. This indicates that his window does weaken the signal.

Exactly, that's right. And on this video is used A229 Plus with original A229 Pro GPS modul, which I removed from window when I thinked, that this modul was failure (so on this video are modules swaped). But moduls are identic, with same number on the board, see my previous post. And last info - after about 20 minutes without moving even A229 Pro has successfully locked (with same weak signal like A229 Plus)

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Have you confirmed if the upgraded A329 mounts installed in your intermittent A229 Pro unit(s) resolved the GPS issues you cited above?

Stationary Testing: Parked In Garage
Driving Testing: Coming Tomorrow (or soon)

I just got done removing the original A229 Pro GPS Mounts, and installing the new A329 GPS Mounts on my windshield for my (2) A229 Pro’s.
So far it’s not looking good.
After 15 minutes of watching the blinking blue LED GPS status indicator, and the GPS icon on the LCD screen my (2) A229 Pro’s did not obtain GPS signal.
During the 15 minutes I performed a factory default reset, put my settings back in, and did several power cycles.

After the 15 minutes was up, I powered on the A329 that had not been turned on for over a week.
The A329 obtained GPS signal after 10 seconds.
I haven’t lost hope yet though.
I have a feeling once I actually go for a drive, and get my car out of the garage the (2) A229 Pro’s will get GPS signal in a snap.
But I will also review the test footage to see if the GPS signal goes in / out during driving like it sometimes does.
Stay tuned for “driving testing” update.

 

[petrsms]

But it seems, that you have A329 installed in the middle of the windshield on the dotted area, isn't it?

 

[Chuck McCoy]

A329 installed in the middle of the windshield on the dotted area

Correct.

 

[petrsms]

ok, that make sense... I wonder what will happen when the car will be out of garage...
because at this moment it is better situation for A329 - only garage door are in the way, instead A229 which has in the way garage door and probabbly metalic foil in the windshield...

 

[Nigel]

ok, that make sense... I wonder what will happen when the car will be out of garage...
because at this moment it is better situation for A329 - only garage door are in the way, instead A229 which has in the way garage door and probabbly metalic foil in the windshield...

I don't think Panzer has metallic foil in the windshield, very few cars have issues, the French ones seem to be worst, but it is not all of them, and some, especially Ford, have heater wires, which are not so bad but do reduce GPS signals a bit,

 

[Hack_man]

Stationary Testing: Parked In Garage
Driving Testing: Coming Tomorrow (or soon)

I just got done removing the original A229 Pro GPS Mounts, and installing the new A329 GPS Mounts on my windshield for my (2) A229 Pro’s.
So far it’s not looking good.
After 15 minutes of watching the blinking blue LED GPS status indicator, and the GPS icon on the LCD screen my (2) A229 Pro’s did not obtain GPS signal.
During the 15 minutes I performed a factory default reset, put my settings back in, and did several power cycles.

After the 15 minutes was up, I powered on the A329 that had not been turned on for over a week.
The A329 obtained GPS signal after 10 seconds.
I haven’t lost hope yet though.
I have a feeling once I actually go for a drive, and get my car out of the garage the (2) A229 Pro’s will get GPS signal in a snap.
But I will also review the test footage to see if the GPS signal goes in / out during driving like it sometimes does.
Stay tuned for “driving testing” update.

As @petrsms showed in Post #54, exact placement on the windshield matters.
Is it worth swapping locations (while in the garage) between the A329 Pro (which locks quickly) with one of the A229 Pros? I am suggesting only moving the camera, not the A329 mounts.

 

[Hack_man]

This thread got me wondering. What's the difference in GPS lock time between my Viofo A229 Pro (241024 F/W) and Vantrue E360 (2024-12-06 F/W)?
Both cameras are mounted to the windshield at the same time so in theory the time to lock should be identical.
View attachment 76239
The A229 Pro definitely took longer. I will repeat this after updating A229 Pro F/W with 241206.

I've updated F/W to 241206 and reran test. I don't think this was very conclusive, need more data points.

241024 A229 Pro F/W:

241206 A229 Pro F/W:

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Is it worth swapping locations (while in the garage) between the A329 Pro (which locks quickly) with one of the A229 Pros? I am suggesting only moving the camera, not the A329 mounts.

That is a great idea, thank you.
I currently have (4) A329 Mounts on the front windshield.
I will move the A329 to each mount to see if it can obtain GPS signal in 10 seconds.
And I'll move the A229 Pro's to each mount to.
By the way, my car is a 2004 Ford Crown Victoria Civilian model.
It does not have a heated windshield, or bulletproof glass, or anything special.
It just has the original factory Ford windshield (25 years old).

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Is it worth swapping locations (while in the garage) between the A329 Pro (which locks quickly) with one of the A229 Pros? I am suggesting only moving the camera, not the A329 mounts.

That is a great idea, thank you.
I currently have (4) A329 Mounts on the front windshield.
I will move the A329 to each mount to see if it can obtain GPS signal in 10 seconds.
And I'll move the A229 Pro's to each mount to.
By the way, my car is a 2004 Ford Crown Victoria Civilian model.
It does not have a heated windshield, or bulletproof glass, or anything special.
It just has the original factory Ford windshield (25 years old).

Before I removed any cameras for swapping locations I powered them all on, and guess what?
They all got GPS Signal in 10 seconds. lol
I guess the satellites were right over my house?
See attached photos.

 

[RadonVRN]

If you test the dashcam outside of the car, the GPS signal is better or not?

I once carried it in the side pocket of my backpack. With external power from a power bank since the firmware update. It detected its location within 1 minute and did not lose contact with satellites during the whole hike. But in the car the situation is “floating”. Here is from my last trip:
Outside the city, when the interference of the GPS signal was left behind, it suddenly determined its location and did not lose connection for 300 kilometers. I stopped at a gas station. But after the start, it still did not catch the signal again and for the next 200 kilometers I drove without GPS, although on the phone and Radar-detector the connection was stable.
I have a suspicion that if I carried it in my side pocket regularly, the connection would “float” the same way.

YEEESSSS!!!
Why so emotional?

Nah, Dude! It's better, but not as good as I'd like it to be...

 

[RadonVRN]

A while back in another thread someone asked how to remove Viofo GPS Mounts, and I filmed a video “How Not To Do It” in real time.

I decided to use this mounting method for my block experiments. Only 2 strips of tape around the edges. And it's holding up just fine.

Incorrect.
Cause of malfunction is heated windshield metallic signal interference.

I have a heated windshield and no black dots area. But it seems to be a problem only for the GPS mount from Viofo. The radar detector on the windshield and the phone inside the cabin catch the signal (if it is not jammed) very quickly.

 

[RadonVRN]

I once carried it in the side pocket of my backpack. With external power from a power bank since the firmware update. It detected its location within 1 minute and did not lose contact with satellites during the whole hike.

I forgot to add that I made a similar trip when the A229PRO still had the old firmware. And only about 70% of the way I had a GPS signal. In some places the signal was lost while the phone kept the signal. that is, the firmware objectively improved the situation, but did not solve my problem.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Have you confirmed if the upgraded A329 mounts installed in your intermittent A229 Pro unit(s) resolved the GPS issues you cited above?

I just got back from a 1 hour drive cycle around my city with the “new” A329 GPS Mounts on my (2) A229 Pro’s on the front windshield.
1.) The “new” A329 GPS Mounts did not fix my issue.

2.) However, I still can’t confirm & verify my malfunction is due to any Viofo component.
I believe my issue may be possibly caused by my location to the satellites, or any other “skyward interference”.
I live next to Travis Air Force Base, and a few other major airports.
I have almost constant air traffic (military / civilian) over my head.

3.) I think it’s going to be impossible to 100% accurately diagnose my malfunction without specialized equipment so I can see all the satellites above me with their signal strength.
I give up.

 

[Hack_man]

Well it was a Valiant effort 👍

Did the A329 perform differently during this test?

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Did the A329 perform differently during this test?

Same as before.
I have never had any of the GPS issues / malfunctions as I've experienced with the A229 Pro.
The A329 always gets GPS signal within 10 seconds in my garage, and on the road.

 

[Hack_man]

Same as before.
I have never had any of the GPS issues / malfunctions as I've experienced with the A229 Pro.
The A329 always gets GPS signal within 10 seconds in my garage, and on the road.

So I think the conclusion is the A229 Pro itself (independent of the GPS module) is intermittently problematic wrt GPS locking.

1. When you tested Two (2) A229 Pro's using A329 modules in your garage, they locked GPS within 10 seconds which was encouraging and pointed to A329 Modules improving performance.
2. When you drove around your city for an hour with the A229 Pro and A329 (using all A329 GPS Modules), the A229 Pros were problematic but the A329 locked to GPS within 10 sec.

Did I summarize this all correctly?

I am assuming the windshield mounting location is not an issue but it might be worthwhile switching location of the A329 with an A229 Pro just to rule it out.
I would have assumed the electronics which are sensitive to GPS signals are inherent to the Module, not the camera body but your tests indicate otherwise.
Another variable is Firmware. My limited testing using the latest 241206 F/W seems to be indicating my A229 Pro is locking better than it did with previous F/W.

The saga continues.....

 

[Chuck McCoy]

1. When you tested Two (2) A229 Pro's using A329 modules in your garage, they locked GPS within 10 seconds which was encouraging and pointed to A329 Modules improving performance.
2. When you drove around your city for an hour with the A229 Pro and A329 (using all A329 GPS Modules), the A229 Pros were problematic but the A329 locked to GPS within 10 sec.

Did I summarize this all correctly?

Not really.
The first time I tested the A229 Pro's with A329 GPS Mounts in my garage they did not obtain GPS Signal for over 1 hour.
The second time I tested the next day in my garage they obtained GPS signal in 10 seconds.
However, I can't confirm & verify the malfunction is with any Viofo component.
It's still possible the malfunction is caused by my location to the satellites, or interference from the military / commercial air traffic above my city see attached map.
I live in an area with almost constant air traffic, especially from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, CA.