Intermittent lockups / corrupt files

SenorClean

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I've had my A119 for over a year and it had been running well.

Recently, I've noticed it locking up sometimes with a static image on the screen (image is of wherever I was when I started the car - not sure if it's the last thing it saw when it shut down or the first thing it saw when starting up). The buttons are non-responsive and nothing is changing on the screen (counter not counting, record light not blinking).
If I kill the power, the screen fades away after a few seconds and then it starts up fine next time.
If I try to play back the files from these times on the camera, I get "File Error" and they are smaller than I'd expect - so I'm fairly sure recording is stopping when it locks up. They don't play back on my computer either with vlc / media player classic etc.

Things I've tried:
* Firmware update (it was a few versions back - I updated it when I bought it and then left it be). Now running 4.0
* Changed the power source (was using a 'hardwire kit' - this has given me issues in other cars previously so I've just hard wired a new cigarette lighter jack under the dash and have a USB charged hooked in to that).
* Different memory card - was using a 32GB Sandisk high endurance, now using a 64GB Samsung Evo+
* Format memory card using the camera, and using 'guiformat'

... none seem to have solved it.

When I cut power - the REC led blinks and stays on for a few seconds - so it doesn't sound like the capacitors are totally shot, but maybe on the way out?

Any ideas?

I've shot a brief video here - the cam is locked up when the video starts - and then is fine when rebooted a few times:
 
I've had my A119 for over a year and it had been running well.

Recently, I've noticed it locking up sometimes with a static image on the screen (image is of wherever I was when I started the car - not sure if it's the last thing it saw when it shut down or the first thing it saw when starting up). The buttons are non-responsive and nothing is changing on the screen (counter not counting, record light not blinking).
If I kill the power, the screen fades away after a few seconds and then it starts up fine next time.
If I try to play back the files from these times on the camera, I get "File Error" and they are smaller than I'd expect - so I'm fairly sure recording is stopping when it locks up. They don't play back on my computer either with vlc / media player classic etc.

Things I've tried:
* Firmware update (it was a few versions back - I updated it when I bought it and then left it be). Now running 4.0
* Changed the power source (was using a 'hardwire kit' - this has given me issues in other cars previously so I've just hard wired a new cigarette lighter jack under the dash and have a USB charged hooked in to that).
* Different memory card - was using a 32GB Sandisk high endurance, now using a 64GB Samsung Evo+
* Format memory card using the camera, and using 'guiformat'

... none seem to have solved it.

When I cut power - the REC led blinks and stays on for a few seconds - so it doesn't sound like the capacitors are totally shot, but maybe on the way out?

Any ideas?

I've shot a brief video here - the cam is locked up when the video starts - and then is fine when rebooted a few times:
Have you tried powering the camera indoors using a USB wall charger (phone charger) and the supplied short Viofo USB cable?
 
I've had my A119 for over a year and it had been running well.

Recently, I've noticed it locking up sometimes with a static image on the screen (image is of wherever I was when I started the car - not sure if it's the last thing it saw when it shut down or the first thing it saw when starting up). The buttons are non-responsive and nothing is changing on the screen (counter not counting, record light not blinking).
If I kill the power, the screen fades away after a few seconds and then it starts up fine next time.
If I try to play back the files from these times on the camera, I get "File Error" and they are smaller than I'd expect - so I'm fairly sure recording is stopping when it locks up. They don't play back on my computer either with vlc / media player classic etc.

Things I've tried:
* Firmware update (it was a few versions back - I updated it when I bought it and then left it be). Now running 4.0
* Changed the power source (was using a 'hardwire kit' - this has given me issues in other cars previously so I've just hard wired a new cigarette lighter jack under the dash and have a USB charged hooked in to that).
* Different memory card - was using a 32GB Sandisk high endurance, now using a 64GB Samsung Evo+
* Format memory card using the camera, and using 'guiformat'

... none seem to have solved it.

When I cut power - the REC led blinks and stays on for a few seconds - so it doesn't sound like the capacitors are totally shot, but maybe on the way out?

Any ideas?

I've shot a brief video here - the cam is locked up when the video starts - and then is fine when rebooted a few times:
try to reinstall the loader first, than the firmware.
 
Thanks guys
Try a different usb power supply/charger?
Have you tried powering the camera indoors using a USB wall charger (phone charger) and the supplied short Viofo USB cable?

I have tried 2 separate power supplies & cables and it still happened - the only thing in common is the same 'fuse tap' and grounding point used.
I haven't had it lock up for me indoors - but maybe I just haven't tried enough times (it works fine most of the time, and just occasionally freaks out)

try to reinstall the loader first, than the firmware.

That is something I hadn't tried - I've just factory reset, flashed the loader, flashed the firmware, factory reset, reconfigured... I'll see what happens.
I've also increased the 'startup delay' to 10 seconds - if it is a crash on startup, maybe that will help?
 
Try using the supplied Viofo cable and 12V adapter for awhile and see if it occurs then. You need to use a power source that does not involve the fuse tap.
 
Thanks guys



I have tried 2 separate power supplies & cables and it still happened - the only thing in common is the same 'fuse tap' and grounding point used.
I haven't had it lock up for me indoors - but maybe I just haven't tried enough times (it works fine most of the time, and just occasionally freaks out)



That is something I hadn't tried - I've just factory reset, flashed the loader, flashed the firmware, factory reset, reconfigured... I'll see what happens.
I've also increased the 'startup delay' to 10 seconds - if it is a crash on startup, maybe that will help?
get a USB multimeter, connect a camera through it and you'll get a picture what's going on with your camera's power.
 
Brief update - flashing the loader and firmware again didn't solve it - I had one lockup yesterday.

It's one of those frustrating issues where you need to wait a while for it to happen (or not).

I've bypassed the 'hardwire' stuff completely now and am running off a standard power jack (with the supplied 12v->usb adapter) - I'll see if that fixes it. If not, I might put this camera on the back of my car and buy another for the front.
 
Brief update - flashing the loader and firmware again didn't solve it - I had one lockup yesterday.

It's one of those frustrating issues where you need to wait a while for it to happen (or not).

I've bypassed the 'hardwire' stuff completely now and am running off a standard power jack (with the supplied 12v->usb adapter) - I'll see if that fixes it. If not, I might put this camera on the back of my car and buy another for the front.
what's the voltage of your car's electricity from the engine start?
what the voltage the camera getting?
 
It really does sound like a power issue, However simple things first, try another SD card that's known to work.
 
When i have had weird behavior it have pretty much always been related to the memory card, only one time was it the camera that somehow put itself in a bad place, but a reload of the firmware sorted that out.
 
Looks like power is the answer - I haven't had any issues since switching to using the built-in jack in the centre console. It's a bit ugly running the cable under the driver's seat but I'll have another run at hard wiring some time.

I suspect that my ground point wasn't the best. It was a screw that goes in through plastic and then in to the chassis behind (so I was relying on the screw only for the electrical connection, and not the other 'face' that it was pressed against) - I'll have to find somewhere else. Also possible that the fuse tap is bad.

Thanks for all your help everyone. I'm glad I didn't just buy another one..
 
OK - so yesterday it locked up while using a different power source plugged in to a 'factory' socket with no fuse taps at all.

So now it has happened with:
New and old firmware
2 different memory cards - formatted in camera and on PC
3 different power sources
2 different power cables

...... I think I've ruled everything out beyond hardware fault. It only locks up on startup - maybe a bad capacitor?
 
OK - so yesterday it locked up while using a different power source plugged in to a 'factory' socket with no fuse taps at all.

So now it has happened with:
New and old firmware
2 different memory cards - formatted in camera and on PC
3 different power sources
2 different power cables

...... I think I've ruled everything out beyond hardware fault. It only locks up on startup - maybe a bad capacitor?
Let the camera power up and record for about 10-20 seconds. Now pull the power cable from the camera. Does the REC button light stay on for a few seconds or does it turn off instantly?
 
Let the camera power up and record for about 10-20 seconds. Now pull the power cable from the camera. Does the REC button light stay on for a few seconds or does it turn off instantly?

It blinks as soon as the power is cut - then stays on for about 5 secs or so.

I notice when the dashcam 'boots' - just after the Viofo splash screen, it shows a time in the top right hand corner briefly (for me now it is 5:28:17 - about 5.5hrs - time it can record with the available space on the card?)
It is at this stage that it seems to lock up if that is any hint - this time gets frozen on the screen.
When it runs normally - after this, the timer goes to 00:00:00 and starts to count up normally
 
Caps appear fine then.
In your post last week you said "I haven't had any issues since switching to using the built-in jack in the centre console" What built-in jack are you referring to? The 12V cigarette port? Built-in USB ports?
 
Caps appear fine then.
In your post last week you said "I haven't had any issues since switching to using the built-in jack in the centre console" What built-in jack are you referring to? The 12V cigarette port? Built-in USB ports?

12V cigarette port - and I'm using a Blitzwolf charger now - on a 2.4A 5V port (it also has a QC3.0 port that I use for my phone sometimes).
I just got a USB power meter in the post today and checked it - it seems to be getting 5.17v sonsistently and draws at most about 0.4A

Video of power draw -
Video of it locked up again yesterday - note the 00:02:14 time is the same when frozen as on startup the next time (briefly)
 
when the screen freezes reloading the loader and firmware usually helps. even resetting the settings in a Menu may help.
something is wrong with your power.
how often does your camera freeze?
start the engine without the camera connected and connect it right before you start driving. I assume you run the engine for at least a minute before you drive. I have the screen saver set on my both cameras to 3sec, and if I could I would set it to off, but I know my cameras work perfect.
 
when the screen freezes reloading the loader and firmware usually helps. even resetting the settings in a Menu may help.
something is wrong with your power.
how often does your camera freeze?
start the engine without the camera connected and connect it right before you start driving. I assume you run the engine for at least a minute before you drive. I have the screen saver set on my both cameras to 3sec, and if I could I would set it to off, but I know my cameras work perfect.

I've flashed loader and firmware (twice) and factory reset - I don't think there's any more I can do there.
The freezing is hard to predict - when I pull the card, there are usually somewhere between 2 and 4 corrupt files. It probably locks up something like 1 in 20 times.
Sometimes I have a 'good run' where it is fine for a week - some days it freezes twice in a day. I haven't been able to notice any pattern.

I'm really running out of options - I think it might be time to buy a new dashcam.
 
I haven't been able to notice any pattern.

I notice when the dashcam 'boots' - just after the Viofo splash screen, it shows a time in the top right hand corner briefly (for me now it is 5:28:17 - about 5.5hrs - time it can record with the available space on the card?)
It is at this stage that it seems to lock up

so there is or is not any pattern?
does it freeze only during engine start or it freezes in a middle of a trip?
 
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