How to Address A139 Firmware / Overheating File Corruption Bug

@HonestReview, you've been having issues with Viofo & Zenfox cameras for a long time, at the end of the day your time isn't free so if they're wanting you to test for them they should refund you the product price.

The top Amazon UK review of the A139 says it was a freebie from Viofo and Amazon don't like that these days.

For dashcams stability is king, screw the bells and whistles. These aren't cheap cameras.

If you're testing it's a different matter but you have paid money so you're a customer - not a Viofo tester and it's winding you up. You have invested a lot of time faffing about. I don't check here much these days but I think every time I do you've posted about a stability issue.

The A129 Duo and A119v3 were both very stable for me but the A129 Pro was just way too picky with cards for it's own good. Picture quality was great but I would never rely on it for an accident. Both units I tried were not 100% reliable. Street Guardian I know I could do 200 miles and it would all be recorded - the A129 Pro I literally wouldn't be sure it had everything to the end of our village.

Shoehorning more channels onto a single microSD card just highlights issues where microSD storage still isn't reliably quick enough across all vendors. It never helps when manufacturers change specs these days half way through a production run but everything is made for maximum profit these days, the slightest latency on write and a multichannel dashcam will have issues and Novatek just don't seem to have found the right answer.

If I'm still here in 5 years I could check in on DCT and odds are you'll have an issue with a Viofo A159 camera and @russ331 will still be posting that his 12 year old capacitors in his Mobii are still working perfectly ;)

Hi,

Well the Zenfox T3 ended up being a complete failure. No one believed my analysis (Cough @Nigel and others), and kept telling me these problems didn't exist. Slowly, one by one everyone then verified everything I said as true. With people like @EGS and I trying to make home made heatsinks to see what would resolve the issues.

I had no reason to lie about reliability issues.....I got the Zenfox T3 as a Beta Tester. So at least "I wasn't out money".

Not true on the Viofo A139 Channel.....

1. I own 2 x A129 Duos (1080ps). Other than the dupe frame issue that was never resolved, those cameras HAVE NEVER FAILED. I mean COLD AS COLD and HOT AS HOT. Never a hiccup. I run an A129 Duo in each of my vehicles.

2. I purchased the A139 3 Channel at full price. No Freebie. No Promo. Guess what, the first unit overheated and corrupted files. Everyone told me I must have a bad unit. Theirs never did. I had Viofo send me a second unit as a replacement. Guess what? That unit does the same thing.

I am definitely disappointed Viofo doesn't value my opinion. I looked forward to testing the T130 but they apparently didn't feel the same.

At my own expense, I've tested the A139 with some disappointing results. A camera that overheats in parking mode and leads to corrupt files / sd card (depending on settings). However, the camera does work well in regular driving and generally will record up to 2-3 hrs in parking mode "in direct heat".
 
@HonestReview, you've been having issues with Viofo & Zenfox cameras for a long time, at the end of the day your time isn't free so if they're wanting you to test for them they should refund you the product price.
Why though? I bet that they asked to "test" the firmware only for purpose of confirming whether the issue still occurs or not (nothing over sofisticated or time consuming). You know, like when a customer contacts manufacturer with an issue and the manufacturer sends back a firmware with possible solution implemented, to test things out... (I thought that was what @HonestReview intended to, to get it working properly for him)

If one is not interested in even these simple tests, then as a customer he can just RMA the product if it doesn't work as it should. At least in EU, if one RMAs a product three times with the same issue, one can get money back...

If you're testing it's a different matter but you have paid money so you're a customer - not a Viofo tester and it's winding you up. You have invested a lot of time faffing about. I don't check here much these days but I think every time I do you've posted about a stability issue.
I don't want to be rude but the time he invested in the testing is only his own decision and I doubt Viofo ever asked for that (before they asked to test the newer firmware).

And it's kinda funny how @HonestReview whines about not getting a sample because if I recall correctly he was whinning about not getting sample of A139 before. :ROFLMAO: Kinda understand why Viofo is not interested in this type of person, especially when they need bunch of positive reviews to help marketing the new product...

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Don't get me wrong, I also hate being free betatester which has paid for various products but if I spot something which is not what I like, probably not able to "repair" it myself (or don't have will to do manufacturer's homework or the product is simply too expensive for that), and it's not as it should be, then warranty is the way for those cases. Not a testing for hours and then demanding an attention because I've done the job for them...
 
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Why though? I bet that they asked to "test" the firmware only for purpose of confirming whether the issue still occurs or not (nothing over sofisticated or time consuming). You know, like when a customer contacts manufacturer with an issue and the manufacturer sends back a firmware with possible solution implemented, to test things out... (I thought that was what @HonestReview intended to, to get it working properly for him)

Except when these issues could have been spotted by properly beta testing a product, instead of handing out the first batches of limited supplies to redit, youtubers, and social media influencers whose only goal is to earn MORE free Products and Rave about an item after a 30 minute test.

The issues I've discovered aren't rocket science. Viofo failed to heat test their product.

I installed Beta 1.6 here.....

If one is not interested in even these simple tests, then as a customer he can just RMA the product if it doesn't work as it should. At least in EU, if one RMAs a product three times with the same issue, one can get money back...

Well I already RMA'ed the product once. Thinking the overheating shutdown and corruption was a "faulty camera". Based upon everyone else here claiming no issues.

Unfortunately, I'll keep the A139 3 Channel as there are no other 3 channel alternatives on the market at the moment of notability. That doesn't mean I play the Blind Game like some Shill Youtube / Social Influencer and kiss butt.

I paid for my product, I will be very honest about the flaws on production level models.


I don't want to be rude but the time he invested in the testing is only his own decision and I doubt Viofo ever asked for that (before they asked to test the newer firmware).

And it's kinda funny how @HonestReview whines about not getting a sample because if I recall correctly he was whinning about not getting sample of A139 before. :ROFLMAO: Kinda understand why Viofo is not interested in this type of person, especially when they need bunch of positive reviews to help marketing the new product...

Now you answered your own question: All Viofo wants is Social Influencers to RAVE about a product, not actually test it.

Yes, I am MAD when I don't get a sample, and then BUY A PRODUCT where all the time and energy was spent getting 30 minute reviews from someone with ZERO INTEREST in thorough testing.

So when a product comes to market with very evident flaws that stem out of a manufacturer's LAZINESS from:

1. Not heat testing and stress testing their product prior to bringing to a consumer
2. Fail to target beta testers to hammer out flaws before moving on to Social Influencers.

There's no one else to blame by the company itself. Look at all the Amazon Dash Cams that were delisted for the same crap. Buying reviews, and not actually wanting people to truly test the product.

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Don't get me wrong, I also hate being free betatester which has paid for various products but if I spot something which is not what I like, probably not able to "repair" it myself (or don't have will to do manufacturer's homework or the product is simply too expensive for that), and it's not as it should be, then warranty is the way for those cases. Not a testing for hours and then demanding an attention because I've done the job for them...

I'm not demanding attention. I'm making other's aware of a problem. Why should someone else be spending money without full knowledge of a product's limitations?

I hope you aren't stating that you are a "Yes Man" reviewer I.E. Shill Reviewer. Or that you have never left a bad review for a product you purchased because it promised one thing, and didn't deliver.

You know what happens when consumers get this product? They find it doesn't deliver.....You only get one first impression. The time to fix bugs and have people like me test, is before launching to the consumer NOT AFTER.

FYI: I've heard from others' about Viofo's Overheating....Especially on the A129 Pro.....
 
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I'd be interested to know how many people have this problem besides yourself.

Has anyone else here on DCT got the same issue?

Genuine question m8, to the forum users, cos I can't think who else has got one of these overheating.

Paul.
 
@Paul Iddon That's the right question. I remember one user who reported overheating even before @HonestReview, and few others who had issues with failing cams but at the end it looked like a coax cable issue (which BTW @HonestReview has even "worse" cables). Then @kamkar had some issues which seemed like overheating but then he noticed it's failing even during not particularly hot days.
 
I'd be interested to know how many people have this problem besides yourself.

Has anyone else here on DCT got the same issue?

Genuine question m8, to the forum users, cos I can't think who else has got one of these overheating.

Paul.

Yes.....


And some Amazon Reviews......


Remember, this issue only occurs in parking mode. Never driving. So the subset of people who hardwire is a lot smaller than people who "Just Buy The Camera" and hook it to the 12V socket.
 
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@Paul Iddon That's the right question. I remember one user who reported overheating even before @HonestReview, and few others who had issues with failing cams but at the end it looked like a coax cable issue (which BTW @HonestReview has even "worse" cables). Then @kamkar had some issues which seemed like overheating but then he noticed it's failing even during not particularly hot days.

I am using the original cables, but I had tested using the replacement with no different results.

As I stated, I found a way to make the cables more reliable.

1. Plug camera in to mount first before plugging in cables.
2. I adjusted and have the cables overlapping.
3. Then I plug in the lock.

Either way, the cables are not the problem here.

1. The issue over overheating in parking mode and corrupting files happened on two units. Remember, Viofo sent me a replacement and I replicated the problem exactly on the second unit.

2. Files are being corrupted on overheat shutdown. Both Units.

How would cabling be causing these issues? Camera is working 100% fine in every other scenario except parking mode on a "hot day".
 
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FYI: It's V1.6 built on 20210708

Fails heat test and corrupts files the same as other versions.
 
FYI: It's V1.6 built on 20210708

Fails heat test and corrupts files the same as other versions.
Where exactly have you tested the camera?

Or your car managed to reach above 65°C in around 15°C weather..?
 
Where exactly have you tested the camera?

Or your car managed to reach above 65°C in around 15°C weather..?

Tested in 23/24C weather (direct sunlight).....And I didn't run a thermometer test. It shut off and corrupted the last files. All I needed to verify.

Viofo asked if beta 1.6 fixed last file corruption problem in parking mode. Answer = No.

I had to leave car outside all day in direct sun with parking mode to heat it up enough but I got the results.

Thermometer is useless now.....We already know the camera will shut off.
 
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Ok, now you lost me completely, 23/24°C in direct sunlight and your car reached 65°C? You're dreaming or you car is covered in Black2.0...
 
Ok, now you lost me completely, 23/24°C in direct sunlight and your car reached 65°C? You're dreaming or you car is covered in Black2.0...

1. My Car is a very dark color car
2. My Car interior is Black Dashboard and lighter seats
3. Windows Ceramic Tinted - Absorb lots of heat

4. I was several hours away visiting someone and left car parked. I guestimated temperature. Didn't look at phone to see exact weather. Could have been a bit hotter. Either way, it was irrelevant.

5. My test wasn't "exact science". I had it parked in sun. Camera Shut off after being outdoors all day in direct sun. Files Corrupted.

There was no need for exact measurements... I got the results I needed. Firmware 1.6 Beta Failed the test.

See Attached Image (Clock is Wrong. I didn't set it) after flashing firmware.

test.jpg
 
I am fairly sure i have tested on days, that was reasonable to expect the 6 hours i asked for in parking guard settings, not least since some of them was overnight.
Of course it could still be heat, and the A139 just dont have much thermal overhead, though if thats so finely tuned i would sort of assume it would also overheat in regular drive / record mode on really hot days, not least as my car dont have aircon.
And i would also have assumes that in that case, when i was testing with the car in the sun it should kick out fast, but i actually got reasonable coverage though not the 6 hours i was asking.
But what ever it was ending things my last files was never corrupted which also seemed to be a issue for some.

Could also be a hardware lottery, i remember testing the T3 in my camera cards others had good luck with was flaky in my test sample as i got those occasional record stops with that model during driving.
Though i also think that is just silly, but i cant ignore what i have experienced and how that relate to info others have provided.
 
it is if you dont set your time zone ;)
 
FYI: It's V1.6 built on 20210708

Fails heat test and corrupts files the same as other versions.
Files should be corrupted at shutdown, I think they should be correctly terminated when it next powers on, not before. Did you check this?
 
it is if you dont set your time zone ;)
It is then correctly displaying time in UTC / GMT.

So now we know his time zone…
 
It is then correctly displaying time in UTC / GMT.

So now we know his time zone…

Try this if you don't believe me. Do a Timezone Sync with your phone when connected to wifi But manually set the GMT to a different time. Disconnect your phone. And resume recording. It doesn't keep the proper time.

i am not sure if manually setting GMT overrides GPS.....But the only other explanation is:

I hadn't formatted my MicroSD card after doing the 1.2 ---> 1.6 update. So it could have conflicted with other files, too. That'd be the only other explanation.

I'm really NOT interested in finding out what the hell happened here. Those are my 2 guesses. I formatted my SD card now and I'm back on version 1.2
 
I am fairly sure i have tested on days, that was reasonable to expect the 6 hours i asked for in parking guard settings, not least since some of them was overnight.
Of course it could still be heat, and the A139 just dont have much thermal overhead, though if thats so finely tuned i would sort of assume it would also overheat in regular drive / record mode on really hot days, not least as my car dont have aircon.
And i would also have assumes that in that case, when i was testing with the car in the sun it should kick out fast, but i actually got reasonable coverage though not the 6 hours i was asking.
But what ever it was ending things my last files was never corrupted which also seemed to be a issue for some.

Could also be a hardware lottery, i remember testing the T3 in my camera cards others had good luck with was flaky in my test sample as i got those occasional record stops with that model during driving.
Though i also think that is just silly, but i cant ignore what i have experienced and how that relate to info others have provided.

I've never had the camera overheat while driving. Never once. Only issue is parking in direct sun with park mode.

1. Two Cameras both shut down and corrupted last files.

2. Tested Samsung Evo, Sandisk A2 Extreme, and Sandisk High Endurance - All three exhibited last file corruption in both cameras.
 
Files should be corrupted at shutdown, I think they should be correctly terminated when it next powers on, not before. Did you check this?

When camera overheats, it powers the camera off during the writing of files. Because these files are not exited properly and are terminated immediately with the camera's overheat shutdown, the files become corrupt.

Turning the camera back on doesn't resolve the issue. The last written files remain corrupt and the camera begins writing a new file upon being booted up. Camera does not recover on it's own from overheat shutdown.

Trying to load them in VLC for repair doesn't fix them.

I hope this answers you're question. I'm not really clear on what you're asking.

Note: Except for Park Mode and Overheating (then corrupting files), I experience NO FAILURES during regular driving or "Normal Parking". Only if the camera gets hot do these symptoms appear.

1. Two Cameras both exhibited same shut down and corrupted last file behavior.

2. Tested Samsung Evo, Sandisk A2 Extreme, and Sandisk High Endurance - All three exhibited last file corruption in both cameras.
 
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