Problems with the A118-C from Gearbest

toddled said:
Now I'm nervous as hell and kicking myself for not going with the Street Guardian. I couldn't justify the $100 difference in price at this time, so I went ahead and bought the A118-C from @GearBest on 12 March. It seems like @jokiin & @Pier28 would handle any issues like these in a MUCH better way. Guess I'll keep my fingers crossed that I will get one that doesn't have the SD slot issue, the power cable issue, the focus issue and/or the overheating issue! Live and learn and buy Street Guardian next time.
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As one of the options offered by @GearBest is to exchange the dashcam for a new one.
I am definitely worried about what would happen if I were to get another one from them even if it's a second/third batch as this focus/night time artifact issues weren't raised up to them until recently.

I am not sure if this is too much to ask, but why not do a thorough test on new one(that's known to have issues resolved) via a video to show the potential buyers that the issues are indeed fixed?
Say, a unboxing, insert/eject SD card, daytime video(to show proper focus) and night time video(to show no more tint or artifacts) like a regular reviewer would do? At least, avoid having a buyer take the risk of reviewing an unit that may still have issues.
 
wing0 said:
As one of the options offered by @GearBest is to exchange the dashcam for a new one.
I am definitely worried about what would happen if I were to get another one from them even if it's a second/third batch as this focus/night time artifact issues weren't raised up to them until recently.

I am not sure if this is too much to ask, but why not do a thorough test on new one(that's known to have issues resolved) via a video to show the potential buyers that the issues are indeed fixed?
Say, a unboxing, insert/eject SD card, daytime video(to show proper focus) and night time video(to show no more tint or artifacts) like a regular reviewer would do? At least, avoid having a buyer take the risk of reviewing an unit that may still have issues.
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I definitely won't risk exchanging for a new one, knowing that the issues I listed was recent and probably the issues we have probably not addressed yet.

Most likely because they thought it wouldn't have any issues since it was supposedly the same internals as the B40/A118 battery versions and testing the product would take up a bit more production time. Technically whoever buys the first batch of a newly made version of a dashcam from China might usually end up being the tester for the seller/manufacturer (e.g. Mini 0806 also had issues and CDV300 also I think).
 
GearBest said:
Dear wing0,

I am so sorry for what you have experienced. There were many complain about the SD card slot issue of the 1st batch, but the manufacture declared that they've fixed this problem of the second batch now we are selling. Could you pls PM me your order number, I will help you with this :)

Have a nice day.

Best,
Sunny
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wing0 said:
As one of the options offered by @GearBest is to exchange the dashcam for a new one.
I am definitely worried about what would happen if I were to get another one from them even if it's a second/third batch as this focus/night time artifact issues weren't raised up to them until recently.

I am not sure if this is too much to ask, but why not do a thorough test on new one(that's known to have issues resolved) via a video to show the potential buyers that the issues are indeed fixed?
Say, a unboxing, insert/eject SD card, daytime video(to show proper focus) and night time video(to show no more tint or artifacts) like a regular reviewer would do? At least, avoid having a buyer take the risk of reviewing an unit that may still have issues.
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@GearBest : Hopefully I got one from the new batch that at least doesn't have the SD card slot issue.

@wing0 : Good idea. I've never done a video review, but I'm game! Mine just shipped yesterday, so it'll be a while before it arrives, but I'll be happy to document it from unboxing to actual performance. If they still have this many issues, it would be good for potential buyers to know before making the purchase.

I knew by buying the A118-C that I was compromising from my first choice, but I didn't expect this many issues to come up all at once!
 
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Card slot problem is totally fixed in new batch, and car charger is replaced in new batch.
 
runtohell121 said:
My assumption is overheating the chipset... because at first, it isn't that pixelated. Did the A118 do that also or just the A118-C? I don't think this is normal for a dash cam to get more pixelated as it is being used longer than 30 minute... I know for sure my old VF300W wasn't like this.
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There is overheating problem in previous A118, but fixed in firmware some month ago. So this problem is also solved in A118C.
For the A118C, normally it can work well under 70°.

About the @runtohell121 video quality problem, it seems it out of focus, some problem with the camera, suggest to get replaced.
We have sent sample video to engineer to do more further check, to confirm it is out of focus or caused by overheating problem.

I'd appreciate other users can provide original video if video quality is not good.
 
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oo1234 said:
I think the included cigarette lighter on mine is unstable as well. Doesn't start recording until 30 minutes into my drive on cold days
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It is confirmed the previous car charger can not work well under 0°, we suggest ask the seller to replace the charger.
 
@runtohell121, can you try to test this firmware, this is for testing to see if night video quality improved.
Can you confirm if the video quality become bad from begin or after 1 hours driving?

Thanks for your help and sorry to hear the problem you got.
 

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I have the A118C set to turn off the LCD screen after 3 minutes(or is it 5, I will confirm when I get back to the car).

What I noticed is that the LCD screen would dim frequently, like maybe dims once every 4-6 seconds.
Anybody else notice the same symptoms?
 
billknow said:
It is confirmed the previous car charger can not work well under 0°, we suggest ask the seller to replace the charger.
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i can confirm that mine's flaky even at only 30f. sometimes i have to unplug/replug several times to get it to power on when cold. the LED in the charger is even more dim than normal when it's that cold.
 
I've just started using my A118-C from @GearBest during the day today, and it can't read number plates when moving...but when I'm stopped with the car right in front of me I can see the plate in fine detail.

A bit worried that this is hat I should expect going forward, and that there's no real way to fix it? If so, it might well be going back!

EDIT: Looking at this video footage from GearBest's YouTube from an A118, I'm convinced mine's poorer quality, as even when they're moving, you can make out street signs and plates, but on mine you can't!
 
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I was able to read some license plates while moving but not always. It's definitely not as good as GearBest's.
But when parking, stopped or going very very slow, it's extremely clear
 
billknow said:
There is overheating problem in previous A118, but fixed in firmware some month ago. So this problem is also solved in A118C.
For the A118C, normally it can work well under 70°.

About the @runtohell121 video quality problem, it seems it out of focus, some problem with the camera, suggest to get replaced.
We have sent sample video to engineer to do more further check, to confirm it is out of focus or caused by overheating problem.

I'd appreciate other users can provide original video if video quality is not good.
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I'll try to post more videos when my internet permits it as it is too slow to upload files.

I will update the firmware soon but I don't think I can provide night videos as for now, I'm not driving at night long enough before it starts pixelating. When the dash cam just started, the video seems fine, but it was after 45 min or so, then it started pixelating.
 
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billknow said:
@runtohell121, can you try to test this firmware, this is for testing to see if night video quality improved.
Can you confirm if the video quality become bad from begin or after 1 hours driving?

Thanks for your help and sorry to hear the problem you got.
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@billknow do you have a changelog for this firmware by chance? someone else mentioned a bit of a delay when powering off (which is a good thing since the C shuts down so fast), but didn't know what else was changed.
 
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This is a video that shows how out of focus it was during the daytime...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/st45ytc34tns802/2015_0313_122401_263.MOV?dl=0

Edit2: here's a more recent clip of the out of focus when driving.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/e06expwbtabjo1s/2015_0317_102732_338.MOV?dl=0


edit:
billknow said:
It is confirmed the previous car charger can not work well under 0°, we suggest ask the seller to replace the charger.
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My charger wasn't working correctly throughout the temperature range of... 15°C to 27°C, the dash cam just kept rebooting every minute or so. Works fine once I swapped out a cable and powering it from a TomTom High-Speed Multi Charger.
 
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Yea, that focus is pretty bad - about what the world looks like to me without my glasses on. :(
 
runtohell121 said:
This is a video that shows how out of focus it was during the daytime...
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Yeah that's quite bad. Interesting how it is better at night.

Side note - you have a CX-5? How did you wire it up? Just looking for some ideas.
 
mercaptan said:
Yeah that's quite bad. Interesting how it is better at night.

Side note - you have a CX-5? How did you wire it up? Just looking for some ideas.
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Yeah, I drive a Mazda CX-5. I just left the wire hanging straight down, exposing the wire to the power socket (TomTom High Speed Multi Charger, 1A USB port).

If this dash cam was to function correctly/not have any problems, I would have route the wire through the roof line, around the A pillar, hiding the wires and running it to the power socket also as I rather not mess with the fuse box.
 
When I review my videos, I sometimes feel like this isn't even 1080p anymore(resolution wise, it is).
Just the clarity is not on par.

@runtohell121 , Is @GearBest going to send you a new adapter?
I am getting lcd screen dim(or flicker in a way) issue.
 
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