SJ4000 Firmware issues? Clone?

[Midge5]

Hi all,

I Have a SJ4000 WiFi that was bought for me at xmas, as far as I can tell its a genuine SJ4000 or is it? I have included a few pictures any feedback as to whether its genuine or not would be much appreciated (The box & camera branding look ok.)
The camera has a few problems that i'm sure are firmware related, I have searched the net exhaustively for a solution but can find none, only that the problems I have probably mean the camera is fake? the problems are:

1: The OK but doesn't seem to function
2: The LED next to the OK button doesn't function
3: Apparently the blue LED should flash when its recording but doesn't
4: The down button acts as the Video record start/stop, shutter & OK, but not menu down!
5: There is very low audio! (Very annoying) there is a loud hiss along with very low audio when the microphone is enabled , and none when its disabled so I assume this is an issue related to firmware too?

Problem solved Click Here to go straight to the post & see how.

I changed the microphone because of issue 5, just because there was hiss but nothing else and the problem remained the same.

I tried contacting SJCAM support and their parent company Viofo and have had no replies at all, so I am hoping that someone here maybe able to give me some help or advice.

I have tried to include as much info as possible & pics too, if there is anything else you'd like to know please ask away ;-)

Thanks very much - Midge5.

 

[jokiin]

where was it bought from? should have contacted them about warranty rather than tearing it down and trying to fix it

 

[Midge5]

where was it bought from? should have contacted them about warranty rather than tearing it down and trying to fix it

It was an eBay purchase as nearly new & was from a private seller & not a supplier so regretfully a warranty claim isn't possible, I have electronics qualifications and have been a hobbiest too formany years so I was confident in tearing it down to see if it was a mic issue & repair it but as far as I can tell its probably a firmware related issue having replaced the mic & testing the relevant components.

 

[jokiin]

Fair enough, perhaps that's why they sold it if it had issues, not the right thing to do but the nature of eBay I guess

 

[Midge5]

Fair enough, perhaps that's why they sold it if it had issues, not the right thing to do but the nature of eBay I guess

Thats true Jokiin it was a risk, the camera still takes good video just a pity about the issues it has, I am sure its a genuine SJCAM though as far as funtionality when installing thier firmware etc?

 

[jokiin]

I'm not super familiar with their product but perhaps someone that has done a tear down before can comment

 

[Midge5]

Hi all, I had a reply from Viofo/SJCAM and here's what they said:

"We checked your pictures, and it seems the one you got is a copy/fake one, it's not made by VIOFO/SJCAM."



regards,



Sjcam Team

VIOFO LTD

So having a box that looks genuine (exactly the same) and branding on the front of the camera that looks exactly the same, turns out it's a fake!

So even though the pictures of 'how to tell an original from a fake' show my camera as an original, it isn't

Can't afford to get another so i'm stuck with this one..... Ah well...

 

[map]

Have a look on http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2090990&page=283
your problem sounds similar to one mentioned somewhere around the page posted.

Edit - Make sure you read well, I'm only working from memory, but while it may fix the major problems, I believe the fix may have created some others.

 

[Midge5]

Have a look on http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2090990&page=283
your problem sounds similar to one mentioned somewhere around the page posted.

Edit - Make sure you read well, I'm only working from memory, but while it may fix the major problems, I believe the fix may have created some others.

Thank you, I have tried all firmwares I can find & none fix the audio issue, nor do they fix or change the button issues, I have trawled RCGroups too as a member no luck :/ everything about this camera, the logo's boxing & accessories screams SJCAM original, its so well done I still have doubts in the back of my mind that its a fake, but SJCAM/Viofo say it is? I have no choice but to believe them beacause they are of course the authority with the brand, I haven't managed to find any SJ4000 WiFi teardowns that provide good quality images to make a board comparison etc...... I dunno..... scuppered! guess I just have to take it on the chin even though I thought I was being careful when trying to make sure it was genuine! I guess the only real way to ensure you get a genuine SJCAM is to purchase from them direct ;-)

 

[map]

Damn, that sucks.

The button problem made it sound like it could have been part of the V1 vs V2 thing that had been going on.

 

[Midge5]

I know map, thanks for your help though, much appreciated

 

[map]

Was the camera purchased with paypal?
Was it eligible for buyer protection?
Its a slim one, but if it was purchased within the last 180 days there may be a chance that you could use buyer protection on the basis that you were sent a counterfeit product.

Edit - Just realized you said it purchased for you. So might not be possible.

 

[GJHS]

First piece of advice of any these products: don't buy from Ebay unless a known seller has an EBay store like FoxOffer. You may save a few dollars yet isn't worth it. The first thing that caught my eye was the Samsung chip that shouldn't be there

You can see the difference on the original

Have you searched the clone thread on the RC Groups? With the clones, it's important to keep the original firmware

 

[Midge5]

@GJHS....I can see the difference there, but isn't that a non WiFi? It also has a nt96650 whereas mine has a nt96655 so would be a different board layout perhaps? I haven't posted anything or browsed the rcgroups, sounds like a good idea though. Thanks for sharing your pics etc.... It has helped me along ;-)


@map...... yeah I could try the PayPal avenue, that's a good idea, as my daughter bought it for me so I will investigate that avenue too ;-) thanks

 

[efoo]

With so many fake SJ4000 out on the market and so hard to differentiate between the genuine SJCAM and other fake copycats, I would not advise buying a SJ4000 now. Consider other models such as M10, SJ5000 and SJ5000+, but also beware there are non-genuine SJ5000 models out there too e.g. AMKOV SJ5000.

 

[jokiin]

M10 is probably the safer bet at the moment

 

[Midge5]

Hey Guys .... some good news :-D I got it working! turns out its the SJCAM SW18 version of the SJ4000 and all my trawling and perseverence paid off! installing any of the firmware from SJCAM's Website causes the issues I had because the camera is apparently a clone, I eventually found out its a SW18 I searched for firmware and there are very little in the way of sources, I also began to understand that the firmware would start with a 'G' and saw this number G20141223V01 on a french website SJCAM'Beta www.SJCAM-france.fr (link below) so I used google translate went there downloaded the one I looked for installed it and.........BINGO! all problems solved! phew

There's firmware for this camera dating from Aug14 to Jan 15, the latest one for my wifi cam did not work, it installed the firmware but the camera wouldn't start up so I removed the battery, reconnected and reinstalled the next newest one from December 2014 and I was back in business.

Here is the downloads LINK for the french website ;-) I hope it helps someone out there experiencing similar problems to the ones I had.

Installing the firmware from the link above fixed the button issues and I now have sound!! fantastic :-D

Thanks to everyone for thier input, suggestions & help, it has been much appreciated.. :-D

 

[GJHS]

Now just enjoy it. Glad it worked out

 

[Mandami]

because the camera is apparently a clone

So, is it or is not fake ? It means that the firmwares on http://www.sjcam-france.fr are only for clones ?

the latest one for my wifi cam did not work

G20150116V01 also named G20140116V01 may or may not work (Peut empêcher le démarrage de certaines cams)
But the latest is G20150126V01 (also on Jan 2015).

 

[Midge5]

@Tobby according to SJCAM/Viofo my camera according to the pictures I sent them is a copy/fake, so it has to be. As for the French website I think it caters for both, but I didn't browse the site too much to find that out.
I'm not sure about the G20140116V01 that date seems a bit early for the SW18 WiFi SJ4000, the first 2015 one I tried didn't work & I didn't see the other, but decided to install the 20141223V01 anyway and because everything seems to work as it should I was satisfied.
There are so many copies/fakes out there with many various versions of firmware it's a nightmare, I'm just glad to have mine working again & if somehow this post helps others in a similar way then that's brilliant. ;-)