Buffered Parking mode

[StrayCam]

I suspect they are very understaffed, at least in the customer service department. I have an unanswered Viofo support ticket with them for over a month now while they check with their engineers to get back with me with a solution. Waiting 17 days for them to respond to a question on their Viofo community forum, where it seems @CaptureYourAction is the only one offering support there (hope he's being compensated). And another 22 days waiting for them to answer a question on this forum.

I don't really expect them to be prompt here or any other site that's not affiliated with their brand, but I certainly would expect them to have a presence on their own forum to answer questions / post updates etc.. but they don't. I also would expect to get a response from them in their ticketing system but that doesn't appear to be important to them either.

Valkyrie-

Unfortunately, like many of us, you have had to learn about Viofo's "customer service" the hard way!

Meanwhile, guys like Nigel will tell you, "You just have to be patient!" - - Hopefully "prospective customers" get the message before making a purchase... "Viofo's customer service sucks!"

 

[Sdeel7491]

How long do we have to go on waiting? I think there is something fundamentally wrong here after all this time! The trouble is where do we go from here?

Very unhappy Viofo customer!

 

[TonyM]

I'm patiently waiting for a number of fixes from Viofo before I decide which dual channel dashcam to buy for our family car.

The latest beta I tested on the A129 was promising. Things are moving in the right direction.

 

[joe384]

Thanks for the update, I think I will go back to FW 1.5 as I am not using buffered parking mode at the moment and I don't think fw 1.9 is as stable (in my opinion!)

 

[StrayCam]

I'm patiently waiting for a number of fixes from Viofo before I decide which dual channel dashcam to buy for our family car.

The latest beta I tested on the A129 was promising. Things are moving in the right direction.

TonyM-

It's great that you are able to "wait patiently" for Viofo to fix the problems with the a129. I'm sure you have no idea when our problems, particularly the g-sensor in parking mode problem, will be fixed. This problem had been on Viofo's plate since last February!

In the meantime, what do you recommend for Valkyrie who is unable to get replies from Viofo? Continue to wait patiently???

 

[jokiin]

In the meantime, what do you recommend for Valkyrie who is unable to get replies from Viofo? Continue to wait patiently???

contact them again, the squeaky wheel gets the oil

 

[StrayCam]

contact them again, the squeaky wheel gets the oil

I've tried that, it doesn't quite work... and it seems like a good many other users here have tried the same with similar results!

Viofo goes to the beat of a different drummer... unfortunately, "customer service" is not one of them!

 

[jokiin]

if he contacted them 20 days ago or whatever it's quite possible he'll need to follow it up, not sure what sort of system they have in place for following up on older issues but I wouldn't rely on that happening

 

[TonyM]

TonyM-

It's great that you are able to "wait patiently" for Viofo to fix the problems with the a129.

We already have separate front and rear cameras, so yes, we can afford to wait patiently until Viofo and other manufacturers bring a dual camera that I want to invest in. I do realise that not everyone has that luxury.

I'm sure you have no idea when our problems, particularly the g-sensor in parking mode problem, will be fixed.

As I said earlier, progress is being made on the g-sensor in parking mode.

 

[StrayCam]

We already have separate front and rear cameras, so yes, we can afford to wait patiently until Viofo and other manufacturers bring a dual camera that I want to invest in. I do realise that not everyone has that luxury.


As I said earlier, progress is being made on the g-sensor in parking mode.

Yes, they told us "progress was being made" back in June" when in fact it wasn't! And here it's now the end of October!

They say the definition of "insanity" is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. Why would Viofo users expect anything different from a Company that gladly ignores their paying customers?

Many users have given up on Viofo's promises. - - It's a good thing Viofo is not counting on prior customers' satisfaction. If I were a new user contemplating a dashcam purchase, Viofo would be at the bottom of my list.

There are many Viofo customers such as Sdeel7491 and Valkyrie who are just fed up with being treated very poorly by Viofo. Can you blame them???

 

[Sdeel7491]

I'm patiently waiting for a number of fixes from Viofo before I decide which dual channel dashcam to buy for our family car.

The latest beta I tested on the A129 was promising. Things are moving in the right direction.

So can we expect something being done about the issues this year?

 

[TonyM]

Viofo send me the firmware. I test it, then return comments and suggestions as appropriate. That's all.

I don't know Viofo's business plans, their priorities, staffing levels, etc. I don't know when anything will be done.

I thought you might appreciate a quick update rather than say nothing at all.

 

[StrayCam]

Viofo send me the firmware. I test it, then return comments and suggestions as appropriate. That's all.

I don't know Viofo's business plans, their priorities, staffing levels, etc. I don't know when anything will be done.

I thought you might appreciate a quick update rather than say nothing at all.

Well, it's definitely nice to hear "something" from someone, as Viofo has done like they always do and have gone into hiding while they focus their priority on their new products.

As Valkyrie said, Viofo is not even replying to customers on their own forum! This is good information for people considering buying a dash cam!

It's like pulling teeth trying to get "customer service" from Viofo!!! That is not the way to run a Company, unless you simply don't care about your customers!

 

[Airborne]

Let’s hope Tony gets it right. Myself I purchased their camera because I wanted parking mode when I leave the car in a parking lot. I have not checked my camera in over a week but hope to view footage tonight. At least we may have some hope getting this camera squared away. I like the camera, it has a nice small foot print, so I hope things move along. Stray cat has legit questions and concerns

 

[TonyM]

In my opinion low bitrate is working well, in my recent tests. Buffered mode could benefit from more refinement. Waiting to hear what other testers find, as not all cars, cameras and power supplies are the same.

 

[StrayCam]

Well, in "low bit rate parking mode" the g-sensor does NOT work at all. So, how could you say, "low birrate is working well"? - - I guess just like Nigel, another sub-contractor/beta tester for Viofo can say "the a129 is a 5 star camera!" The a129 dash cam and "low bit rate parking mode" does not work well if one of the main features that consumers purchase the camera for does NOT work, ie, the g-sensor.

Attached below is a video I've shared before that was done by BCHobbyist with his testing of a competitor's dash cam (much cheaper cam btw). You will note at the time 4:00 on the video that the g-sensor gets triggered by a shopping cart lightly bumping into a car; at the 4:55 time on the video, a person walking by who bumped into a car triggered the video. - - Viofo's A129 won't detect anything like this. You can have 3 football players ram the side of your car at the same time and it won't trigger the g-sensor in parking mode on the A129. It's just as though you don't even have a g-sensor in parking mode! - - But I guess to some, "that's working well".

Btw, you'll notice that BCHobbyist has NOT created any review videos for the A129 Duo and for good reason; it does NOT work properly!!! - - Meanwhile keep your patience Valkyrie, Sdeel7491, Joe384, Airborne, CaptnEric, etc... as nothing will be happening fast. This problem with the g-sensor sensitivity goes all the way back to February! - - But rest assured, "they're working on it". ; )

 

[TonyM]

You missed my point, obviously. I have tested a new beta FW. The g-sensor sensitivity is better, which is why I said progress is being made, and therefore I think low bitrate parking mode is working well. I don't know if or when Viofo will share this FW, or if they want to refine it further before release, which is why I don't want to say too much.

Perhaps I should stop replying to this thread, as it doesn't seem to be helping.

 

[Airborne]

Well, in "low bit rate parking mode" the g-sensor does NOT work at all. So, how could you say, "low birrate is working well"? - - I guess just like Nigel, another sub-contractor/beta tester for Viofo can say "the a129 is a 5 star camera!" The a129 dash cam and "low bit rate parking mode" does not work well if one of the main features that consumers purchase the camera for does NOT work, ie, the g-sensor.

Attached below is a video I've shared before that was done by BCHobbyist with his testing of a competitor's dash cam (much cheaper cam btw). You will note at the time 4:00 on the video that the g-sensor gets triggered by a shopping cart lightly bumping into a car; at the 4:55 time on the video, a person walking by who bumped into a car triggered the video. - - Viofo's A129 won't detect anything like this. You can have 3 football players ram the side of your car at the same time and it won't trigger the g-sensor in parking mode on the A129. It's just as though you don't even have a g-sensor in parking mode! - - But I guess to some, "that's working well".

Btw, you'll notice that BCHobbyist has NOT created any review videos for the A129 Duo and for good reason; it does NOT work properly!!! - - Meanwhile keep your patience Valkyrie, Sdeel7491, Joe384, Airborne, CaptnEric, etc... as nothing will be happening fast. This problem with the g-sensor sensitivity goes all the way back to February! - - But rest assured, "they're working on it". ; )

Well, in "low bit rate parking mode" the g-sensor does NOT work at all. So, how could you say, "low birrate is working well"? - - I guess just like Nigel, another sub-contractor/beta tester for Viofo can say "the a129 is a 5 star camera!" The a129 dash cam and "low bit rate parking mode" does not work well if one of the main features that consumers purchase the camera for does NOT work, ie, the g-sensor.

Attached below is a video I've shared before that was done by BCHobbyist with his testing of a competitor's dash cam (much cheaper cam btw). You will note at the time 4:00 on the video that the g-sensor gets triggered by a shopping cart lightly bumping into a car; at the 4:55 time on the video, a person walking by who bumped into a car triggered the video. - - Viofo's A129 won't detect anything like this. You can have 3 football players ram the side of your car at the same time and it won't trigger the g-sensor in parking mode on the A129. It's just as though you don't even have a g-sensor in parking mode! - - But I guess to some, "that's working well".

Btw, you'll notice that BCHobbyist has NOT created any review videos for the A129 Duo and for good reason; it does NOT work properly!!! - - Meanwhile keep your patience Valkyrie, Sdeel7491, Joe384, Airborne, CaptnEric, etc... as nothing will be happening fast. This problem with the g-sensor sensitivity goes all the way back to February! - - But rest assured, "they're working on it". ; )

Seems easy enough to see how this camera works, and then apply it to the 129. Reverse technology .............get to it..........

 

[jokiin]

Seems easy enough to see how this camera works, and then apply it to the 129. Reverse technology .............get to it..........

it could support the same method used on that other camera, that would be the beginning of a whole new set of complaints though, be careful what you wish for

 

[StrayCam]

You missed my point, obviously. I have tested a new beta FW. The g-sensor sensitivity is better, which is why I said progress is being made, and therefore I think low bitrate parking mode is working well. I don't know if or when Viofo will share this FW, or if they want to refine it further before release, which is why I don't want to say too much.

Perhaps I should stop replying to this thread, as it doesn't seem to be helping.

We appreciate you posting TonyM because no one else from Viofo is posting either here or on their very own forum. A "new" or "existing" customer certainly would not expect that! Blowing-off customers here on this site is one thing, but doing so on their own Company Forum is quite another!

So, it's "good news" you have assessed a "new firmware" that you have tested as being much better in low bitrate parking mode. "Low bitrate Parking Mode" is what most of us are now using since "motion detection mode" and "g-sensor mode" don't work satisfactorily. It would be nice if Viofo at least "threw us a bone" and allowed us "mere customers" the opportunity to use the beta-firmware you have tested that's much better than what we have now! I think the risk that doing so was going to possibly "brick our dash cams" is unlikely since it hasn't bricked yours. And allowing A129 Duo users to use a firmware that somewhat works would be a step in the right direction.

So, thank you TonyM for sharing the good news with us! - - In the meantime, we will all have to sit back and wait. It has been many months already and Viofo has of course missed the "end-of-August" date that they promised me for fixing this problem. But, there's still time for them to meet the "October Promise" they made to Sdeel7491`. Time will tell if that promise gets honored. It would sure be nice if it did and our problem got resolved!