After updating the front and rear to V1.9 my rear camera is no longer recognized

[breadkenty]

So I updated the front and rear firmware to the latest version because I had some issues with my camera previously. Stuff like the rear camera disconnecting randomly and emergency recording kicking in every time I start my car after coming out of parking mode.

I updated the firmware separately starting with the front first. Everything was working fine. It wasn't until I tried to install the rear firmware that the front camera is no longer recognizing it. I know it's not the cable because there were no previous issues with the cable.

I downloaded the firmware from their website: https://viofo.com/content/37-viofo-a129-plus-duo-dash-cam-support/

Any ideas?

 

[VIOFO-Support]

So I updated the front and rear firmware to the latest version because I had some issues with my camera previously. Stuff like the rear camera disconnecting randomly and emergency recording kicking in every time I start my car after coming out of parking mode.

I updated the firmware separately starting with the front first. Everything was working fine. It wasn't until I tried to install the rear firmware that the front camera is no longer recognizing it. I know it's not the cable because there were no previous issues with the cable.

I downloaded the firmware from their website: https://viofo.com/content/37-viofo-a129-plus-duo-dash-cam-support/

Any ideas?

Please try to update the firmware of the front camera and the rear camera separately again to confirm if it helps. If not, a new cable is the next step to do the troubleshooting. Since the rear camera is unstable before updating, the issue is mainly related to the rear cable or rear camera.

 

[Lvjcr08]

So I updated the front and rear firmware to the latest version because I had some issues with my camera previously. Stuff like the rear camera disconnecting randomly and emergency recording kicking in every time I start my car after coming out of parking mode.

I updated the firmware separately starting with the front first. Everything was working fine. It wasn't until I tried to install the rear firmware that the front camera is no longer recognizing it. I know it's not the cable because there were no previous issues with the cable.

I downloaded the firmware from their website: https://viofo.com/content/37-viofo-a129-plus-duo-dash-cam-support/

Any ideas?

Are you using the correct firmware? I ask because you are posting this question in the A129 Duo forum but are using firmware for the A129 PLUS Duo . These firmwares are not the same. If your cam is the Plus model I suggest you follow the instructions on the download page to use the alternate FW to make sure you have correct version. It also says to load rear camera FW if you have problems.

 

[breadkenty]

Please try to update the firmware of the front camera and the rear camera separately again to confirm if it helps. If not, a new cable is the next step to do the troubleshooting. Since the rear camera is unstable before updating, the issue is mainly related to the rear cable or rear camera.

No luck on updating the firmware. Tried downgrading too. After talking to support they decided to send me a cord although, I'm not sure if that would fix the problem because it really does seem like a firmware issue. I'm not sure how the dashcam goes from kinda working before the update to completely bricked post updated.

Are you using the correct firmware? I ask because you are posting this question in the A129 Duo forum but are using firmware for the A129 PLUS Duo . These firmwares are not the same. If your cam is the Plus model I suggest you follow the instructions on the download page to use the alternate FW to make sure you have correct version. It also says to load rear camera FW if you have problems.

Oops, I didn't see that the PLUS had a different forum, but yes I did use the correct firmware and I do have the PLUS duo. Rear camera firmware refuses to load because it's not connecting to the front camera at all. Although after leaving it connected for awhile I can feel the rear camera heating up so I think power is coming through, it's just bricked for some reason after the update.

I will update this thread after I get the new cord and see if that fixes the problem, if not it's sounding like I might need a new rear camera.

 

[travelerdashcam]

No luck on updating the firmware. Tried downgrading too. After talking to support they decided to send me a cord although, I'm not sure if that would fix the problem because it really does seem like a firmware issue. I'm not sure how the dashcam goes from kinda working before the update to completely bricked post updated.

Oops, I didn't see that the PLUS had a different forum, but yes I did use the correct firmware and I do have the PLUS duo. Rear camera firmware refuses to load because it's not connecting to the front camera at all. Although after leaving it connected for awhile I can feel the rear camera heating up so I think power is coming through, it's just bricked for some reason after the update.

I will update this thread after I get the new cord and see if that fixes the problem, if not it's sounding like I might need a new rear camera.

Hi, were you able to fix this. I had the exact same problem today. It is a brand new 129 Plus Duo and after updating the front and rear camera for the latest 1.9 version the rear camera has stopped being detected. In-fact the Grey overlay window which shows the rear camera is completely missing. Please do update when you hear back from Viofo. I have an open ticket as well and will update back as well.

 

[breadkenty]

Hi, were you able to fix this. I had the exact same problem today. It is a brand new 129 Plus Duo and after updating the front and rear camera for the latest 1.9 version the rear camera has stopped being detected. In-fact the Grey overlay window which shows the rear camera is completely missing. Please do update when you hear back from Viofo. I have an open ticket as well and will update back as well.

I had a road trip that i urgently needed to have a working rear camera so i ended up ordering a new one with 1 day shipping. Just as I suspected, it wasn't the cable. It IS the firmware because the replacement camera works just fine and the cable didn't fix the issue with my previous camera. Viofo sent me a new cable and is still in shipment. But it will be pointless because that won't fix the problem. I'm hoping they will either give me a refund or send me a new camera so I can return the one I bought.

 

[travelerdashcam]

I had a road trip that i urgently needed to have a working rear camera so i ended up ordering a new one with 1 day shipping. Just as I suspected, it wasn't the cable. It IS the firmware because the replacement camera works just fine and the cable didn't fix the issue with my previous camera. Viofo sent me a new cable and is still in shipment. But it will be pointless because that won't fix the problem. I'm hoping they will either give me a refund or send me a new camera so I can return the one I bought.

I tested my setup with a rear dash camera from a friend who has the same model. That one worked straight out of the box. So I can confirm it was the firmware and not the cable. I am stuck though as I have to buy a new one since Viofo was purchased abroad and their local dealer cannot honour the warranty. I so hope Viofo realises they are bricking customers rear DashCams and they should fix this issue and send Replacment units free of cost.

 

[breadkenty]

I tested my setup with a rear dash camera from a friend who has the same model. That one worked straight out of the box. So I can confirm it was the firmware and not the cable. I am stuck though as I have to buy a new one since Viofo was purchased abroad and their local dealer cannot honour the warranty. I so hope Viofo realises they are bricking customers rear DashCams and they should fix this issue and send Replacment units free of cost.

Yes, I agree. It's dumb that they released a firmware that potentially breaks the camera so warranty or not they are the ones that released a breaking change. I'm hoping to get my rear camera compensated or send me a new one.

 

[travelerdashcam]

Yes, I agree. It's dumb that they released a firmware that potentially breaks the camera so warranty or not they are the ones that released a breaking change. I'm hoping to get my rear camera compensated or send me a new one.

I hope you get a new one at no cost or they tell us how to fix it.

 

[LateralNW]

I had a road trip that i urgently needed to have a working rear camera so i ended up ordering a new one with 1 day shipping. Just as I suspected, it wasn't the cable. It IS the firmware because the replacement camera works just fine and the cable didn't fix the issue with my previous camera. Viofo sent me a new cable and is still in shipment. But it will be pointless because that won't fix the problem. I'm hoping they will either give me a refund or send me a new camera so I can return the one I bought.

out of curiosity what is the firmware on the front and the new rear camera?
I'm wondering if it is 1.8 on the rear. If it is don't update it.

Would it have been possible that while updating the rear camera the cable was moved or touched or the power to everything had been interrupted? This might cause it to brick.

At any time did you do a hardware reset? Pressing the reset pin on the unit may have forced the rear camera to unbrick. I haven't seen anyone mention their cameras bricking with Viofo products.

In some cases it has been the cable that has failed. It could be a loose connector or it has gotten jammed somewhere in its path to the rear camera.

Cheers

 

[travelerdashcam]

out of curiosity what is the firmware on the front and the new rear camera?
I'm wondering if it is 1.8 on the rear. If it is don't update it.

Would it have been possible that while updating the rear camera the cable was moved or touched or the power to everything had been interrupted? This might cause it to brick.

At any time did you do a hardware reset? Pressing the reset pin on the unit may have forced the rear camera to unbrick. I haven't seen anyone mention their cameras bricking with Viofo products.

In some cases it has been the cable that has failed. It could be a loose connector or it has gotten jammed somewhere in its path to the rear camera.

Cheers

Will let me chime in first. My cameras has v1.8 to begin with. I updated to v1.9 first in the front successfully and then on the rear which was also successful. The main camera rebooted both times after the firmware update.

After the firmware update to the rear camera and the reboot the rear camera never came back.

After this I tried the Reset to Defaults and the Hard Reset procedure but no joy. Then I opened a support ticket and they sent me V1.8 firmware on email and asked me to downgrade and try, did that and still no joy.

As it stands now the rear camera is totally dead and doesn’t get detected at all.

All upgrades were done in a properly hard wired setup with brand new cables and cameras mounted firmly. If I swap out the rear camera with a known working camera with v1.8 then it all works. So it eliminates any wiring or power issues.

If I connect my non working rear camera to another main camera in my friends car it does not work, confirming that it is indeed my rear camera that got bricked.

Hope that helps, is there any way to unbrick the rear camera or update its firmware to the previous version? The front camera won’t detect it so sending the firmware from there is not possible.

 

[LateralNW]

Will let me chime in first. My cameras has v1.8 to begin with. I updated to v1.9 first in the front successfully and then on the rear which was also successful. The main camera rebooted both times after the firmware update.

After the firmware update to the rear camera and the reboot the rear camera never came back.

After this I tried the Reset to Defaults and the Hard Reset procedure but no joy. Then I opened a support ticket and they sent me V1.8 firmware on email and asked me to downgrade and try, did that and still no joy.

As it stands now the rear camera is totally dead and doesn’t get detected at all.

All upgrades were done in a properly hard wired setup with brand new cables and cameras mounted firmly. If I swap out the rear camera with a known working camera with v1.8 then it all works. So it eliminates any wiring or power issues.

If I connect my non working rear camera to another main camera in my friends car it does not work, confirming that it is indeed my rear camera that got bricked.

Hope that helps, is there any way to unbrick the rear camera or update its firmware to the previous version? The front camera won’t detect it so sending the firmware from there is not possible.

What a frustrating experience.

From what you have experienced and @breadkenty it would seem they did brick their rear camera.

Somewhere on another thread Two other dudes had rear camera problems and the work around was to use an old version of the firmware for the rear camera.

They reported that this fixed their problem and then later Viofo supplied them a firmware update but I don't know if they used it.

I'm on my phone so I'll never find the post.

Thinking out loud two possibilities come to mind.
1. Special software supplied by Viofo that specifically unbricks the camera.
2. Pull apart the camera and push firmware on to the chip. If it's possible it would require some special tools and knowledge.

Not really a satisfactory solution.

I've done some odd things to viofo dash cams but they always came back so this is interesting.

Oh one last thought in the early days of viofo updates a boot file was required first then the firmware, i wonder if they could do that to help themselves and their customers resolve this weird problem.

Cheers

 

[travelerdashcam]

The problem is that post the update the rear camera won’t connect at all. Pressing the Wi-Fi button won’t bring up the TX firmware screen at all so even if I have the old firmware it won’t push it to the rear cam.

Unless Viofo has a magic trick up it’s sleeve or we use the chip method I don’t think it would be possible to revive this unit. I feel bad because it took me a whole day to wire the rear cam as I was very gentle and careful and then a stupid firmware update messes up everything.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

The problem is that post the update the rear camera won’t connect at all. Pressing the Wi-Fi button won’t bring up the TX firmware screen at all so even if I have the old firmware it won’t push it to the rear cam.

Unless Viofo has a magic trick up it’s sleeve or we use the chip method I don’t think it would be possible to revive this unit. I feel bad because it took me a whole day to wire the rear cam as I was very gentle and careful and then a stupid firmware update messes up everything.

This firmware has been used for a long time now actually and it has solved some issues for our customers. Maybe your rear camera is defective now, please contact our support to get a new one. Also, we will pay attention to the feedback aboout this firmware to confirm if it is the firmware that bring such an issue. Thanks a lot for your reminder.

 

[breadkenty]

Will let me chime in first. My cameras has v1.8 to begin with. I updated to v1.9 first in the front successfully and then on the rear which was also successful. The main camera rebooted both times after the firmware update.

After the firmware update to the rear camera and the reboot the rear camera never came back.

After this I tried the Reset to Defaults and the Hard Reset procedure but no joy. Then I opened a support ticket and they sent me V1.8 firmware on email and asked me to downgrade and try, did that and still no joy.

As it stands now the rear camera is totally dead and doesn’t get detected at all.

All upgrades were done in a properly hard wired setup with brand new cables and cameras mounted firmly. If I swap out the rear camera with a known working camera with v1.8 then it all works. So it eliminates any wiring or power issues.

If I connect my non working rear camera to another main camera in my friends car it does not work, confirming that it is indeed my rear camera that got bricked.

Hope that helps, is there any way to unbrick the rear camera or update its firmware to the previous version? The front camera won’t detect it so sending the firmware from there is not possible.

Sorry for the late response, I just got back from a trip where I used the camera for.

But basically, the same thing happened to me. I was at v.1.8 before I tried to update to 1.9 both for the front and rear. And it is not able to establish a connection with the rear camera after the update. Even if you try to downgrade or use a different version to install on the rear, pressing the right button on the camera does not bring up the message to indicate it is updating the rear camera. It did the first time I did the update but now it wont work at all.