Screen freeze issue on 2.4 firmware

[5Cowbells]

I can only access the menu if the card is inserted, do you suggest I get to the menu then remove the card when the VIOFO is still plugged into the power? If I power up without the card it flashes to insert the card and beeps a warning.

No, just get into the menu and use the "Default Setting" menu selection to default your settings. Repeat 2-3 times if needed (if screen doesn't clear up). You may have to power down, wait a few seconds, and then power back up again between tries. {Edit: A reboot should occur automatically when you default the settings. This should fix screen and buttons, and the camera should record.} If you run into a situation where the buttons don't work and you can't get to the menu with the card installed, then remove the card and try again. {Edited: Always remove or insert card with the camera not powered. Press the Menu button to get around the Insert Card message and into the menu, pressing multiple times if necessary. Default the settings as instructed above.}

If that doesn't work, download and install the latest firmware from the Viofo Support page (FW V2.61). Follow the Viofo instructions or copy the file FWA119S.bin onto the root directory of your card using the PC card reader, then eject the card and insert the card into the unpowered camera. Then power the camera up with the supplied short cable and a +5Vdc USB wall charger or +5Vdc USB battery bank (not a PC). The red and green lights blink slow then fast a couple of times and camera boots up and starts recording, all within about 50 seconds of power up. If the camera records (blinking red dot on the LCD screen), default your settings again, then reset your preferences. Check the version in the menu.

 

[ajw1100]

Thank you, I have tried but to no avail, still have the snow screen. I do not have my lead or adaptor with me so I will have to wait until I get home and update to 2.61. If this happens again I will replace the VIOFO as I no longer feel confident in its reliability.
Every holiday I will have to take my laptop, leads and adaptor with me in case it fails again.

I have selected Default setting during my fix attempts, I assume this one button sets all functions to default?

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Thank you, I have tried but to no avail, still have the snow screen. I do not have my lead or adaptor with me so I will have to wait until I get home and update to 2.61. If this happens again I will replace the VIOFO as I no longer feel confident in its reliability.
Every holiday I will have to take my laptop, leads and adaptor with me in case it fails again.

I have selected Default setting during my fix attempts, I assume this one button sets all functions to default?

This is a bug that appears to be fixed in the last update. Update and you should be fine.

 

[5Cowbells]

I have selected Default setting during my fix attempts, I assume this one button sets all functions to default?

Correct. Resets all the menu settings to default.

 

[5Cowbells]

If this happens again I will replace the VIOFO as I no longer feel confident in its reliability.

Sorry my suggestion did not solve your problem, but I would not give up on the A119S. I just like the videos it produces and it's superior night vision capabilities as dashcams go. I know that some continue to experience problems with the A119S screen freezing, but after observing forum reports since the A119S came out, it is pretty rare that the screen freeze problem repeats for a given user, most of which are reported in this thread. It is a fairly mature product now, having gone through over 1.5 years of firmware improvements. From reports I have read, the Mobius seems to be about the most reliable dashcam I have read about, but it lacks some of the capabilities of the A119S. But as you can see by reading reports on this forum, dashcams are generally not "set it and forget it" devices. I continue to be impressed by Viofo's continued improvement of the A119 series models through firmware changes, which continues to spark interest in their brand. For superior after sale product support, I would have to recommend the capable but more expensive Street Guardian products, even thought I have not owned one. But that is not a guarantee that you won't have problems.

 

[ajw1100]

Back home, took the 64gb card out, showed as nearly full but all recordings played okay on the PC. Formatted the card to FAT32 and copied the 2.61 FW version to it. I inserted the SD card and using the supplied adapter and short lead plugged into my cars 12v supply I connected the power to the A119S. It booted up without the snow screen. 60 seconds later the screen cut then about 10 seconds later the unit rebooted. Menu button only took still pics and I could only access the menu without the card installed, that confirmed the FW as 2.61. Any video recorded was either corrupted or unknown file format, the still pics jpeg's showed fine. I could not access the menu with the card installed.
Is it time to admit defeat or would you think an email direct to Viofo would help?

 

[borik]

Menu button only took still pics and I could only access the menu without the card installed, that confirmed the FW as 2.61. Any video recorded was either corrupted or unknown file format, the still pics jpeg's showed fine. I could not access the menu with the card installed.

what happens if you (try to) stop the recording? can you get in to a Menu?

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Back home, took the 64gb card out, showed as nearly full but all recordings played okay on the PC. Formatted the card to FAT32 and copied the 2.61 FW version to it. I inserted the SD card and using the supplied adapter and short lead plugged into my cars 12v supply I connected the power to the A119S. It booted up without the snow screen. 60 seconds later the screen cut then about 10 seconds later the unit rebooted. Menu button only took still pics and I could only access the menu without the card installed, that confirmed the FW as 2.61. Any video recorded was either corrupted or unknown file format, the still pics jpeg's showed fine. I could not access the menu with the card installed.
Is it time to admit defeat or would you think an email direct to Viofo would help?

When the camera is recording, the menu button will take a picture. You need to stop the recording, then press the button to access the menu/settings. Don't forget to manually default the cameras settings after the update/install.

 

[ajw1100]

As far as I can remember, after many attempts at button pushing and even with recording stopped I could not access the menu. Even if I did access the menu the videos are still 'corrupted' and the unit is continually rebooting and I cannot find a way to stop it.
I can access the menu without the card in place, make all my settings like correctting date and time etc' Of course once I put the card back it all defaults to the card settings.
I will have another go tomorrow.............

 

[5Cowbells]

Back home, took the 64gb card out, showed as nearly full but all recordings played okay on the PC

Were these recordings prior to the 1/3 screen hash appearing on the screen? or from when?

Formatted the card to FAT32 and copied the 2.61 FW version to it. I inserted the SD card and using the supplied adapter and short lead plugged into my cars 12v supply I connected the power to the A119S. It booted up without the snow screen. 60 seconds later the screen cut then about 10 seconds later the unit rebooted.

So loading the V2.61 firmware fixed the screen and the camera recorded for 60 seconds before shutting down and rebooting. Correct? What happened after the camera rebooted, did the screen reappear and the camera start recording (as evidenced by the blinking red dot on the LCD screen)? Did the camera continue to cycle power (reboot periodically)?

A camera that repeatedly reboots at intervals of about 15 seconds or longer can indicate that insufficient power is available to the camera to sustain continuous recording, and that can result in corrupt files. In this case, assuming your 12Vdc car circuits are OK, the supplied components that could be degraded or defective are the USB cig adapter (actually a 12 to 5Vdc converter) and the supplied short cable to the camera, and the GPS mount if used. If connecting through the GPS mount, switch the power input to the camera side port. The common troubleshooting technique is remove and replace, and see if it get better. I recommend trying a completely independent power supply to separate camera problems from power supply problems. Usually that means using a common short USB cable and a 1 amp or more +5Vdc USB wall charger or USB battery bank for power. Actually in the car you could have used either the short or long cables to load firmware and operate the camera since you loaded the firmware onto the card root directory previously.

Menu button only took still pics and I could only access the menu without the card installed, that confirmed the FW as 2.61.

Like @CaptureYourAction stated, pressing the Menu button while recording takes a picture. To get to the menu when recording (card installed), you must first press the REC button to stop recording, then press the Menu button to enter the menu.

Is it time to admit defeat or would you think an email direct to Viofo would help?

It is up to you. You should let your seller know your having problems if you are under warranty. If it was Viofo, you can open a ticket with them on their support page. If you feel comfortable troubleshooting, there are several people here willing to provide suggestions as long as you keep communicating, i.e., best to respond to each directly, but you can do it in batch form as I am here.

As far as I can remember, after many attempts at button pushing and even with recording stopped I could not access the menu.

{Edited: This could have been a procedural problem as discussed above or perhaps a button freeze problem that can occur with or without the screen freeze or 1/3 screen snow problem, but that usually clears with the reloading of firmware.} This is the time when you may be able to gain access to the menu by removing the card from the camera and do repeated clicks on the menu button until the menu comes up. The point here was to get to the menu and use the "Default Setting" menu setting to reset your settings to default which is known to sometimes clear up the freeze problem.

Even if I did access the menu the videos are still 'corrupted' and the unit is continually rebooting and I cannot find a way to stop it.

Likely a power supply problem as discussed above. Change USB cig adapter, change USB cable, Input power to camera side port.

I can access the menu without the card in place, make all my settings like correctting date and time etc' Of course once I put the card back it all defaults to the card settings

I wouldn't bother resetting all your settings until you have a working camera. Just reset one setting (recommend Timezone) so you can check to see if settings have defaulted in the future. At this point, I'd also loose the GPS for the moment to make things simpler. Otherwise, you will need to reset the GPS setting to ON after a settings default. By all means let GPS reset the Date/time once you have a working unit. Such a pain to be resetting settings particularly Date/Time while troubleshooting the camera.

Some questions:

1. What is you main problem now?
2. When the camera powers up do you get a normal picture (no 1/3 snow).
3. Do the buttons operate properly?
4. Does the camera record (blinking red dot on the LCD screen) at least initially?
5. Does the camera repeatedly cycle power (turn on and off) after 15 seconds or longer or intermittently?
6. {Edited: Do your settings reset if you power the camera down (pull the power cable) and back up?}
7. {Edit: What is you Power supply configuration now?}
8. Any other comments?

 

[ajw1100]

Were these recordings prior to the 1/3 screen hash appearing on the screen? or from when?
I believe so, although I am not sure exactly when the split screen error appeared.

So loading the V2.61 firmware fixed the screen and the camera recorded for 60 seconds before shutting down and rebooting. Correct? What happened after the camera rebooted, did the screen reappear and the camera start recording (as evidenced by the blinking red dot on the LCD screen)? Did the camera continue to cycle power (reboot periodically)?

Correct, the camera then rebooted with VIOFO shown on screen. The camera then rebooted about every 10 seconds.

A camera that repeatedly reboots at intervals of about 15 seconds or longer can indicate that insufficient power is available to the camera to sustain continuous recording, and that can result in corrupt files. In this case, assuming your 12Vdc car circuits are OK, the supplied components that could be degraded or defective are the USB cig adapter (actually a 12 to 5Vdc converter) and the supplied short cable to the camera, and the GPS mount if used. If connecting through the GPS mount, switch the power input to the camera side port. The common troubleshooting technique is remove and replace, and see if it get better. I recommend trying a completely independent power supply to separate camera problems from power supply problems. Usually that means using a common short USB cable and a 1 amp or more +5Vdc USB wall charger or USB battery bank for power. Actually in the car you could have used either the short or long cables to load firmware and operate the camera since you loaded the firmware onto the card root directory previously.

The cig' adapter I used in the car was 12v with 5v 3.1a output. tried both short and a 1m lead, both worked fine on test on the PC.

Like @CaptureYourAction stated, pressing the Menu button while recording takes a picture. To get to the menu when recording (card installed), you must first press the REC button to stop recording, then press the Menu button to enter the menu.
Thanks for reminding me.

It is up to you. You should let your seller know your having problems if you are under warranty. If it was Viofo, you can open a ticket with them on their support page. If you feel comfortable troubleshooting, there are several people here willing to provide suggestions as long as you keep communicating, i.e., best to respond to each directly, but you can do it in batch form as I am here.

Camera is no longer under warranty.

{Edited: This could have been a procedural problem as discussed above or perhaps a button freeze problem that can occur with or without the screen freeze or 1/3 screen snow problem, but that usually clears with the reloading of firmware.} This is the time when you may be able to gain access to the menu by removing the card from the camera and do repeated clicks on the menu button until the menu comes up. The point here was to get to the menu and use the "Default Setting" menu setting to reset your settings to default which is known to sometimes clear up the freeze problem.


Likely a power supply problem as discussed above. Change USB cig adapter, change USB cable, Input power to camera side port.


I wouldn't bother resetting all your settings until you have a working camera. Just reset one setting (recommend Timezone) so you can check to see if settings have defaulted in the future. At this point, I'd also loose the GPS for the moment to make things simpler. Otherwise, you will need to reset the GPS setting to ON after a settings default. By all means let GPS reset the Date/time once you have a working unit. Such a pain to be resetting settings particularly Date/Time while troubleshooting the camera.

Some questions:

1. What is you main problem now? Unable to alter menu, rebooting.
2. When the camera powers up do you get a normal picture (no 1/3 snow). Normal screen now (After update to 2.61)
3. Do the buttons operate properly? Would seem to.
4. Does the camera record (blinking red dot on the LCD screen) at least initially? Yes
5. Does the camera repeatedly cycle power (turn on and off) after 15 seconds or longer or intermittently? Yes
6. {Edited: Do your settings reset if you power the camera down (pull the power cable) and back up?} Unable to change any settings with the menu. See Below
7. {Edit: What is you Power supply configuration now?} See Below
8. Any other comments?

I have dug out my old mains to 12v power supply that can provide around 10amps or more continuously, Formatted the sd card to FAT32 ( I then loaded some files on it then checked they all worked, they did) I then reformatted again and copied the new BIN file to the card. This was then inserted into the VIOFO and using the power supply connected via the 5v 3.1a cig' adapter to the camera. The GREEN and RED LED's flashed for about a minute then the red VIOFO was shown on screen ,followed by the normal lens view. The red led flashed for around 10 seconds then the screen went black and the unit rebooted. This was repeated for a number of cycles.
I then shut the unit down and stated again, the date shown was 2018/08/01 - the same it has been since starting this saga - this time I clicked the REC button and managed to access the menu (Was tired last night after the drive home) I then reset the date to 2018/09/22, exited the menu and noted the date was still showing as 2018/08/01 and the camera was still power cycling. I then unplugged and started again and changed the date to 2018/09/22 exited and the date on the screen was still 201/08/01 and the unit was again power cycling.
I then used a different cig adapter with an output of 5v 2.0amp, that made no difference

I am not using the GPS power socket and am connecting through the cameras side connector socket.

Apologies if my replies are not in the correct quote splits.

 

[borik]

I then used a different cig adapter with an output of 5v 2.0amp, that made no difference

what voltage do you get from your adapters?

oficially the camera require 5v but even provided by Viofo adapter gives almost 5.1v. the camera works better on a bit higher voltage, 5.2v is good (my cameras work on 5.17v average +- 0.05v) , 4.8v is a disaster, the camera will be under powered and constantly rebooting. and the camera may be rebooting if you have a bad cable.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Still sounds like a power supply issue. Have you tried both the long and short USB cables supplied with the camera? Do not use aftermarket USB cables, as they can and will cause these types of issues.
Also, after the update, be sure to manually default the cameras settings in the menu.

 

[ajw1100]

what voltage do you get from your adapters?
View attachment 41927
oficially the camera require 5v but even provided by Viofo adapter gives almost 5.1v. the camera works better on a bit higher voltage, 5.2v is good (my cameras work on 5.17v average +- 0.05v) , 4.8v is a disaster, the camera will be under powered and constantly rebooting. and the camera may be rebooting if you have a bad cable.

I have no idea what the actual voltage is, only what is stated on both adapters. I have never seen the item you have shown. It is odd then that neither my cars 5v or both of my two other adapters are unable to supply the right power, even the one supplied by VIOFO. I have used the cables supplied and any other I can find just in case there was a fault. None of them have achieved a positive response from the camera.

 

[ajw1100]

Still sounds like a power supply issue. Have you tried both the long and short USB cables supplied with the camera? Do not use aftermarket USB cables, as they can and will cause these types of issues.
Also, after the update, be sure to manually default the cameras settings in the menu.

Yip, both cables and more.

As Manually adjusting the menu has no affect on the camera setting default at present is not an option, I wish it was as I might be getting somewhere .

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Yip, both cables and more.

As Manually adjusting the menu has no affect on the camera setting default at present is not an option, I wish it was as I might be getting somewhere .

Are you saying you can get to the option to manually default the cameras settings, but it does not reboot the camera?

 

[5Cowbells]

I then reset the date to 2018/09/22, exited the menu and noted the date was still showing as 2018/08/01 and the camera was still power cycling. I then unplugged and started again and changed the date to 2018/09/22 exited and the date on the screen was still 201/08/01 and the unit was again power cycling.

At this point Date/Time defaulting is not your most significant problem, power cycling is. So for the moment ignore the Date/Time problem.

It is important to first use the Viofo supplied adapter and cables until one proves faulty. Don't use the car's 5Vdc USB outputs, they may not have sufficient power. You need to get to the point where the camera records (blinking red dot on the LCD screen) continuously without any power cycling. The A119 is power hungry. Cables and adapters that work for one camera may not work for the A119S. But you can try substituting cables and adapters if the original supplied equipment does not work. Try using short 5 pin USB cables, because the Viofo long power cable uses 22 Gauge wire, not the normal 24 or 28 gauge wire used on most USB cables. Even small line resistances can impact the power causing voltage drop at the camera input due to the relatively high current flow for a +5Vdc USB device.

 

[5Cowbells]

As Manually adjusting the menu has no affect on the camera setting default at present is not an option, I wish it was as I might be getting somewhere

You probably know this but be sure to press the "!" emergency/confirm button to change the menu selection once selected. Pressing the Menu button to exit the menu selection does not change the setting.

 

[borik]

I have no idea what the actual voltage is, only what is stated on both adapters. I have never seen the item you have shown. It is odd then that neither my cars 5v or both of my two other adapters are unable to supply the right power, even the one supplied by VIOFO. I have used the cables supplied and any other I can find just in case there was a fault. None of them have achieved a positive response from the camera.

it's a simple USB multimeter. I provide the link because it's related to the picture and there are tons of them available, I have one connected in my car and another one at home. useful to find out exactly how much power your USB devices draw, and under different conditions, like at home from a wall/phone charger, or in a car.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

At this point Date/Time defaulting is not your most significant problem, power cycling is. So for the moment ignore the Date/Time problem.

It is important to first use the Viofo supplied adapter and cables until one proves faulty. Don't use the car's 5Vdc USB outputs, they may not have sufficient power. You need to get to the point where the camera records (blinking red dot on the LCD screen) continuously without any power cycling. The A119 is power hungry. Cables and adapters that work for one camera may not work for the A119S. But you can try substituting cables and adapters if the original supplied equipment does not work. Try using short 5 pin USB cables, because the Viofo long power cable uses 22 Gauge wire, not the normal 24 or 28 gauge wire used on most USB cables. Even small line resistances can impact the power (causing voltage drop) at the camera input due to the relatively high current flow for a +5Vdc USB device.

Yeah, I have some cheap short USB cables that cause power cycling on the A119 series cameras, but seem fine with other brands.