B1W says my SD card is slow, but I believe it isn't

blackpanther

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Dash Cam
2x A129 Duo, 2x B1W
Hello,
I have two B1W cameras, and one of them has given me a recurring issue where it says "SD card slow speed".

It is powered through the cigarette lighter socket, which is hot with key turned on. The camera receives no power when the car is off. It does this approximately 1/10 times the camera is powered on. It will do it immediately after turning on. If it does not do it when I turn the camera on, it will remain silent for the duration of the drive.

The camera has given this message with two different 64GB Samsung Evo (the orange ones) and two different 128GB Samsung Evo Plus (the red ones). All four microSD cards test to full capacity with h2testw, and all four microSD cards work without issue in the other B1W, as well as in my Viofo A129 Duo. I can't speed test the cards accurately because my SD card readers are slow, so it seems like useless data (you will see numbers that are slower than the card might really be).

I'm sure you understand why I believe the camera is wrong and that the microSD cards are fine, because the other cameras are fine, and it's 4 different cards. Has anyone experienced this and found it was a camera defect, maybe dirty contacts, bad power supply, maybe a firmware defect in a specific version?
 
Best to change to a new card since the camera said it was a slow card. Maybe a broken section in the card that the camera can not read or a heat related problem on the card!
 
I have experienced this too with both of my cards. I find that it stops after unplugging for a few seconds and plugging it back in.
 
Funny if its just one of the cameras that give the slow card warning.
All things being equal ( same camers ) and using the same memory card in them, both cameras should come up with that error.

Still i would test the card to be on the safe side, cuz something are off for sure.
 
In all cases, the cards were purchased brand new to use with the B1W. They were initially formatted in the camera and never used in a different device, until after the low speed warning started happening.

I also find that if I unplug the camera and plug it back in after a few seconds, it will go back to normal. The videos seem to record fine with no stuttering or other issues characteristic of bad memory. The issues happen equally in all weather conditions.

I'll try to find a faster card reader and see what's up, but this really looks like a camera issue.
 
I have had this warning once, I reformatted the card (about 2 weeks ago). I haven't had the issue since.
The card is an old 32GB Sandisk which was in a Mobius for 3 years. I won't be bothered if I have to replace it as I think that's pretty good going.

However your issue sounds odd. The samsung cards should be really good and there should be no speed issues.
 
Same issue here. What I believe could be the problem is that uSD card goes into default speed mode on first cold start. It could happen with a spike bigger than 1.8v that makes the card to go to 3.3v mode and slow down, causing the error. But after a second or third try re-plugging the USB cable the problem goes away because the caps are happily charged and prevent any sudden voltage changes go through, and obviously the uSD card goes into high speed mode.
 
Same issue here. What I believe could be the problem is that uSD card goes into default speed mode on first cold start. It could happen with a spike bigger than 1.8v that makes the card to go to 3.3v mode and slow down, causing the error. But after a second or third try re-plugging the USB cable the problem goes away because the caps are happily charged and prevent any sudden voltage changes go through, and obviously the uSD card goes into high speed mode.

That is an interesting theory, and if the mechanics of it are accurate, it would explain why it only ever complains about the card speed when it first turns on.

It suggests also that if the camera is hardwired, it will not happen because the camera never fully loses power. Unfortunately the car this camera is in is a company car so hardwiring isn't really a viable option.
 
Maybe swap the two cameras between the two cars and see if it happens with the other camera using the same power setup of the affected camera.
 
Revisiting this...I changed the power adapter to a 2 port, up to 2.4A per port adapter with a typical decent quality micro-B cable, because that came with a Bluetooth car kit so I figured it was a chance to try something different.

At the same time, I reformatted the card. It has now made it up to about 61GB used of 128GB capacity and is now periodically giving the slow speed message, rectified by a power cycle.

I've noticed something else weird as well. This camera has chronic issues with keeping the date. It jumps back to 2015 periodically, in a car that is driven every weekday. Compare that to my other B1W in a vehicle that gets driven pretty much only on weekends, but it manages to keep its date...something is wrong here.

I wonder if a hardwire arrangement might "mask" both of these problems, by keeping the camera powered at all times. I'll see if there's a constant 12V somewhere I can easily borrow from without needing to modify anything to get to it.

I do believe I had swapped the cameras between vehicles in the past and found the problems followed the camera, but it was a while ago.
 
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