Disappointed with Viofo for Abandoning A129 Duo Owners

I must have crappy image processing skills, because I watch my rear camera, and see nothing wrong with it.

That's not to say it isn't there, but even knowing it may be there, I still don't see it.

I see lots of people complaining about issues. Even I have had an issue or 2 (resolved fortunately), but there is a stark choice to be made:

Go join the Street Guardian forums and see how long those guys take to get their bug-free cameras to market, and how much more expensive they are to cover that extra time in development. Sure, they have great gear, and superb support, but you pay for that ... or you don't, and get a Viofo instead.

People who expect Viofo to offer the same level of support are just kidding themselves. We clearly have very different standards, as throwing hissy fits over an extra frame every few seconds just boggles my mind.

Of course Viofo's priority is on creating new revenue. Without new revenue they go out of business.
 
...People who expect Viofo to offer the same level of support are just kidding themselves. We clearly have very different standards, as throwing hissy fits over an extra frame every few seconds just boggles my mind....
If you think it's bad here regarding Viofo go over to the Wyze camera forum(s) and see what their customer base expects in regards to support, customizations and added functions in a $20 camera - all at no additional cost. Makes these whinings seem tame in comparison.
 
If you think it's bad here regarding Viofo go over to the Wyze camera forum(s) and see what their customer base expects in regards to support, customizations and added functions in a $20 camera - all at no additional cost. Makes these whinings seem tame in comparison.
I worked in consumer electronics retail for a long time, can verify that people expect a $20 product to perform just like a $200 one, low price means nothing to the end users level of expectations
 
If you think it's bad here regarding Viofo go over to the Wyze camera forum(s) and see what their customer base expects in regards to support, customizations and added functions in a $20 camera - all at no additional cost. Makes these whinings seem tame in comparison.
It is a sign of success, when your reasonably priced product is so good that it attracts purchases from the people who normally pay for a top of the range product and expect top of the range support. Or maybe it is a sign of failure, of those top of the range manufacturers, failing to beat the cheaper products!

The customers have a choice, if they don't like Viofo support they can go elsewhere, if they decide they won't go elsewhere because Viofo supply the best product then they have to accept the Viofo support as it is, it is not going to change, most customers are happy or very happy with it.
 
If you think it's bad here regarding Viofo go over to the Wyze camera forum(s) and see what their customer base expects in regards to support, customizations and added functions in a $20 camera - all at no additional cost. Makes these whinings seem tame in comparison.


I have one of those "cheap" Wyze cams and guess what? They work as they are supposed to work. And a real big plus: "The Company does NOT lie to their customers like Viofo does"! - - And yes, the Viofo costs about 10 times more than a Wyze camera, but Viofo pulls this crap anyway! - - Maybe it's the "Chinese Work Ethic"???
 
I've got loads of "cheap" electronics (cheap in quotes because usually the hardware is the same as the more expensive stuff).

Most of my stuff is running custom or open-source firmware and is very stable and has features only available for tech 10x the price.

Dashcams are probably the only exception.

Also on Amazon UK, most dual camera setups are in the £40-£100 region, the A129 is about £130-£140. It's not as if you are buying one of the cheap clones.
 
I have one of those "cheap" Wyze cams and guess what? They work as they are supposed to work. And a real big plus: "The Company does NOT lie to their customer...
I've owned Wyze products since April of this year (6 months now) and in that period some or all of the products I own have been non-functional for at least 6 weeks because of shoddy software/firmware testing by Wyze - what worked when I bought them quit working after a SW/FW push. I agree the products work well but only when they are working - that is not what I bought into or expected.

That being said my comment was not about the product but rather the customer expectations for support/customization/enhancement to a $20 product that does what it was advertised to do when they bought it but they're now dissatisfied because they want it to do more but don't expect to pay for it. Their attitude is since it's 'just programming' there's no cost involved so 'Why not?'. Having spent a few years in both retail and support it's been my experience that those that go 'bargain shopping' for the lowest price are the same people that expect to get a case of champagne for the price of 6 pack of beer and want it delivered by limousine.
 
I've owned Wyze products since April of this year (6 months now) and in that period some or all of the products I own have been non-functional for at least 6 weeks because of shoddy software/firmware testing by Wyze - what worked when I bought them quit working after a SW/FW push. I agree the products work well but only when they are working - that is not what I bought into or expected.

That being said my comment was not about the product but rather the customer expectations for support/customization/enhancement to a $20 product that does what it was advertised to do when they bought it but they're now dissatisfied because they want it to do more but don't expect to pay for it. Their attitude is since it's 'just programming' there's no cost involved so 'Why not?'. Having spent a few years in both retail and support it's been my experience that those that go 'bargain shopping' for the lowest price are the same people that expect to get a case of champagne for the price of 6 pack of beer and want it delivered by limousine.

I'm sorry, but your comparisons of Viofo and Wyze are totally off. - - Wyze cams on Amazon have a 4.5 star rating, and there's a reason they have that rating. They stand behind their products and they "don't lie to their customers"!

When you buy a product, you have certain "expectations", much like you would when you go into a restaurant. When you go into a restaurant and order food, there are a couple things you would assume. #1 is that the restaurant tells you "the truth" about any questions you ask; #2 the place is "clean". I'm reminded of a very popular Chinese restaurant in San Francisco that I had to do some work at long ago. - At the time, college-break, I was working for a company that cleaned carpets. - - When back in the kitchen area cleaning the blackened, oily carpets, we could see the place was infested with ****roaches! - - This relevant bit of info was of course kept secret from their customers. It definitely was not a good thing for their customers to learn about! - - I think you would be of the mind, "Hey the food tastes pretty good so just ignore the ****roaches!"- - I get the feeling that Viofo is kind of like that Chinese food restaurant. - - They're just doing what they can to serve-up more portions of their products. More sales = more profits...who has time for current customer problems?!?!

There is no way on earth that Viofo has the quality of service offered by Wzye which sells a $25 cam! - - That's too bad for us current Viofo customers. - - New, prospective customers should keep this in mind when making their future purchase!
 
I'm sorry, but your comparisons of Viofo and Wyze are totally off. - - Wyze cams on Amazon have a 4.5 star rating, and there's a reason they have that rating. They stand behind their products and they "don't lie to their customers"!
Only 4.5?

Viofo has 4.6!
 
Not here in the U.S. Nigel!!! You're kidding yourself. But coming from a "Viofo Fanboy", I'm not really surprised!
 
Not here in the U.S. Nigel!!! You're kidding yourself. But as a "Viofo Fanboy", I'm not surprised!
I guess you have been busy, good thing you can't influence Amazon UK!
 
...They stand behind their products and they "don't lie to their customers"!
...
I will disagree with you on that. In the 6 months I've been a Wyze owner I've had 2 instances where their software/firmware updates disabled my products. In both instances it was due to inadequate testing before release and in both cases the Wyze 'response' was "We're sorry, we're changing our procedures so this will never, ever, ever happen again." However, in searching through the Wyze forums I found my 2 experiences were not the first 2 to ever have occurred - there were many previous cases where their lackadaisical testing prior to release caused similar issues and in every instance the official response was the same.

They're either lying or inept and I'm not in a position to determine which.

Further participation in this discussion will be pointless.
 
I guess you have been busy, good thing you can't influence Amazon UK!

Let's state the obvious Nigel. Many people purchased the Viofo A129 for "g-sensor mode to work while the car is parked"... this includes guys like Joe384, Sdeel7491, Airborne, CaptnEric and many, many others! - The facts are:

1) G-Sensor in parking mode DOES NOT WORK with the A129

2) Viofo told me that they would fix this problem with the G-sensor in parking mode by the end of August. - - Guess what? They lied!

3) They told Sdeel7491 that the problem would be corrected in October; well, more than half-way though Oct., and of course the problem has "not been fixed"!


If one of the main features of the A129 doesn't even work, how is it that you want to say this is a great product??? - - And how on earth could one cozy up to a Company that continually lies to their customers? - - Oh, you say they give you new free dash cams for your input.... I get it Nigel; you really don't need to explain any further! You're excused.
 
I worked in consumer electronics retail for a long time, can verify that people expect a $20 product to perform just like a $200 one, low price means nothing to the end users level of expectations

Nothing like buying a Pinto and expecting Porsche Level Support. Unfortunately, people of limited means often cannot afford the best, but want the best. So expectations aren't on par with the price point. I.E. a person spending $50 on a Dash camera wanting the quality of a $400 one are being unreasonable. But the source of their irrational through process is that $50 is like spending $400 to a person who has little.
 
Nothing like buying a Pinto and expecting Porsche Level Support. Unfortunately, people of limited means often cannot afford the best, but want the best. So expectations aren't on par with the price point. I.E. a person spending $50 on a Dash camera wanting the quality of a $400 one are being unreasonable. But the source of their irrational through process is that $50 is like spending $400 to a person who has little.
actually I'd go one further and say that people at the bottom end of the market are often more demanding, there's plenty of expensive Korean cameras that you don't hear people complaining about that offer very ordinary levels of performance
 
Nothing like buying a Pinto and expecting Porsche Level Support. Unfortunately, people of limited means often cannot afford the best, but want the best. So expectations aren't on par with the price point. I.E. a person spending $50 on a Dash camera wanting the quality of a $400 one are being unreasonable. But the source of their irrational through process is that $50 is like spending $400 to a person who has little.
I think in this case, it is people who have bought the cheaper Viofo camera instead of the expensive Thinkware or Blackvue because it is better than the expensive cameras, not because it is cheaper, but they still demand the same level of support.

I haven't noticed those expensive brands being particularly rapid in solving firmware issues, but if you pay the money they are asking then it is reasonable to complain rather more when there are issues!

There is a good reason they are still here and still complaining instead of moving on to another brand, and it is not that they can't afford to move on!
 
Nothing like buying a Pinto and expecting Porsche Level Support. Unfortunately, people of limited means often cannot afford the best, but want the best. So expectations aren't on par with the price point. I.E. a person spending $50 on a Dash camera wanting the quality of a $400 one are being unreasonable. But the source of their irrational through process is that $50 is like spending $400 to a person who has little.
I don't think like you I do not ask for the quality of a premium camera, what I demand is a serious and responsible technical support.
Do not buy Viofo for economical, buy A129 Duo for the features.
I am satisfied with my A129 Duo, when the G sensor works and the damped mode will be 100% perfect.
 
a couple of the sellers are their saving grace, the manufacturers themselves are terrible when it comes to support
Given the prices, I would hope the sellers are making enough money to pay for the time required to learn about the cameras and then provide decent support, while with the Viofo there is probably not enough profit to pay for more than one or two quick emails of support from someone who doesn't know much about the product.
 
Given the prices, I would hope the sellers are making enough money to pay for the time required to learn about the cameras and then provide decent support, while with the Viofo there is probably not enough profit to pay for more than one or two quick emails of support from someone who doesn't know much about the product.

These cameras are made in China. Profit margins are clearly not slim pickings. Production costs are low compared to labor rates in other world markets.
 
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