How Does Parking Mode Work?

[Vlad1977]

Hi all. I just installed the 3-wire Viofo hardwire on my A129 Pro Duo. I want to set up parking mode. I want to understand the functionality of parking mode...what to see, what to expect, etc Questions:

• How do you tell if the A129 is in parking mode?
• Which firmware version should I use?
• Is it possible to revert to an older firmware version?
• Is there a collection of firmware versions with all firmware versions?
• Are the parking videos held in a different place? Where to find them?
• I'm leaning towards the low-bitrate recording option for parking mode. Any comments? Where to find lists of pros/cons about different parking mode options?

So, first thing I noticed was that even with the car off, the A129 was still on. It's not clear how to tell if parking mode is active. I assumed that when the car shut off, the accessory wire would no longer have power and so it would immediately (i.e. within a few seconds) switch to parking mode. It didn't look like anything changed. When I restarted my car, it still looked like it was on and still going as before.

I was reading something about different firmware versions. I think I'm still on v1.3 and didn't want to upgrade until I read about issues with different versions of firmware. I did upgrade from the version that originally came with the A129.

I also read about parking videos not showing up when connected to WiFi under the Parking tab of videos. Which versions of firmware worked properly for this?

I currently am using a 64GB Viofo SD Card that came with the unit when I purchased the A129.

 

[Velvetfoot]

In my A119V3 the parking files have a "P" at the end of the file name, but they are in the same directory. The low bitrate files are a lot smaller.
With mine, the red light stays on in parking mode, but I think you can switch that feature off.
When mine goes to parking mode, the screen wakes up from screen saver mode, and stays on for 3 minutes or so. I think there's an car icon on the screen with a P on it as well.

 

[Nath]

@Vlad1977
1) In the display a little "side of a car" icon changes to "camcorder" with little P.
2) The latest one (from Viofo official webpage). At this moment it's v2.1 (20200803).
3) Yes
4) A129 Pro Firmware Links (worth to mention that there are also "beta" releases)
5) Same path as normal mode, just at the end of the names there is PF/PR (whether it's Front/Rear), only event files (no matter mode) are stored in different (RO) folder.
6) No idea

The change from normal mode to parking mode is either immediate or there is 90 seconds delay, if it's controlled by 3-wire kit. Based only on location/accelerometer it's about 5 minutes. Unfortunately for me, any movement in front of my unit causes exiting from parking mode instantly (but i didn't see much people complaining about this so it's probably just a bug of my unit).

 

[Vlad1977]

Thanks for the info. I'm testing out the various settings. I have the 3-wire kit installed set at a 12.0 volt cutoff.

I saw the little icon in the top left. When not in parking mode, it clearly looks like a car...sedan type. When in parking mode, I'm not quite sure what it looks like...pretty small. It does seem to be a camcorder with a little P. I'll have a closer look next time.

After moving out of the garage and a little ways down the road, I heard a few beeps. I think that was notifying me that it moved out of parking mode and into regular mode. It happened at other times where it seemed appropriate after the car was stopped. I like that it beeps. Kind of confirms that it's working. It's hard to determine from the driver's seat if it's on and working as the screen is off, only 2 or 3 LEDs are on and it's mounted behind the rear view mirror.

One interesting thing is that I believe it moves into parking mode even when the car has NOT been turned off. Sometimes I'll leave my car running and go in to pick up something at the local shop. When I return and go, I think I hear the beeps as well. I can't remember clearly. I'll confirm on future trips. So, some of this may depend on the Parking Mode Detection setting. So, I'm not sure if it was a time delay or if it was the fact that I moved a certain amount, as I'm assuming determined by the GPS. Maybe the algorithm or information used is different based on the setting.

My settings had the Parking Mode Detection setting set to medium. I've changed it to high sensitivity. I'll let you know what I can determine has changed after a few trips.

When I have my car in the garage, I keep it on a charger. I've got a few electronic items in the car and since I'm doing less driving these days, I want to make sure I can start the car when I need it.

Also, I think my current firmware is 1.1 or 1.3 I'll confirm later.

 

[kamkar]

12.0 V cut off, i think you will regret that if / when winter really hit the Toronto area.

Otherwise. Always a good idea to play around and familiarize one self with the new gadget.

 

[Vlad1977]

I keep my battery on a charger when in the garage, so I think I'll be OK.

I was reading about WiFi station mode. Sounds great. Doesn't mention it in the v2.1 firmware changelog...maybe it was in an earlier version. I think I'll upgrade to the latest firmware as that mode will avoid having to copy files or make the copying easier at least. It mentioned station mode in the A129 model. Hope that means the A129 Pro gets it too.

 

[kamkar]

That sound fine ( having a garage to park in during winter ) though Denmark are also Canada north on the globe, winters are not really something we have anymore, at least not winters with snow like i remember them from my childhood in the early - mid 70ties.
Where i live now the total snowfall for the past 10 years are probably 2-3 feet, when i was a kid we could get that overnight.

The wifi things are fine i guess, just remember the dashcam like your home wifi loose transmission distance thru walls ASO, and a dahscam have a puny little transmitter and antenna compared your home internet router.

 

[Nath]

...

I was reading about WiFi station mode. Sounds great. Doesn't mention it in the v2.1 firmware changelog...maybe it was in an earlier version. I think I'll upgrade to the latest firmware as that mode will avoid having to copy files or make the copying easier at least. It mentioned station mode in the A129 model. Hope that means the A129 Pro gets it too.

Not implemented yet.., if ever will.

There are only options in the used SDK but scripts are missing.

 

[Vlad1977]

I saw it here:

How to Switch A129 Dash Camera to WiFi Station Mode with App - VIOFO Official Website

How to Switch A129 Dash Camera to WiFi Station Mode with App

www.viofo.com

This is for the A129...not the pro version.

Are you saying that it's not already implemented for the A129 or that the Pro will not get it? I think it would be a great addition...if Viofo is seeing this

kamkar1, I also agree with you about the snowfall amount. Last year was a little more than we were getting. I remember the large snowfalls when I was little...in the 70's as well, walking to school and jumping into the snowdrifts on certain hills and getting completely submerged in them.

 

[Nath]

We are in the A129Pro section so i'm talking about A129Pro. Not implemented yet for A129Pro, but Viofo had plenty of time to do so...

Regular A129 should have this feature and I've seen some mentions of it, but I don't have one to be able to talk about it.

 

[MiamiC70]

The answer is simple.
“It doesn’t”