[SOLVED] GPS Failing ... Capacitor dead? (WiFi on was causing issues!)

No. I will not be wasting my time trying to find someone at Viofo to take this up. I don't work for free and it's a lot easier for me to buy another Blackvue to replace this Viofo A129. What I post here should be considered a gift to them but only if they choose to look out for their own best interest. However, if they would like to hire me onto this project as a consultant, I do read my private messages here.

Besides, Prelude89 seems to have already been in touch with them.
 
if they don't get notified of a problem they're not going to know about it, need to know about it to be able to fix it, seems pretty obvious

Seems about right. But I'm still not going to waste my time with them. They will need to replicate the problem on their own anyway.
 
I am currently on discussion with Viofo about these issues via their web site and suggested they might like to read through this thread to.
 
I am currently on discussion with Viofo about these issues via their web site and suggested they might like to read through this thread to.

I'm not sure how far up the chain at Viofo the user 'Viofo' on here is, but, to be quite frank, I was appalled at their response to the video I uploaded, which dealt with the GPS issue side of this thread.

To watch the video and respond with played it with Nextbase player seems no problem is rather telling, unless they were using a different version to what I have.
 
Thank you both Russ Buttler and Prelude89 for trying to find someone at Viofo who can recognize and address this problem with the A129. You may wish to remind them that it would probably be best to have a rear camera attached to their A129 while attempting to reproduce the problem, or the internal capacitors may not run out of power for them, even with WiFi enabled. (I am assuming of course that you are both running a dual camera configuration. Perhaps best to confirm.)
 
I am assuming of course that you are both running a dual camera configuration. Perhaps best to confirm.

Actually, That's a good point. I am indeed running dual cameras.
 
It makes sense that the greater power demand of A129 with rear camera connected and wifi enabled could exhaust the power reserve of the capacitor(s) before shutdown can successfully complete, whereas an A129 with rear camera connected and wifi disabled, or A129 without rear camera and wifi enabled, could possibly compete that same shutdown process with the power available.

It is worth noting that the A129 without a rear camera connected has only one video data stream to write out to memory card before the power is exhausted -- and not two. So that begs the question.. Are the capacitors sized properly for the A129 with dual camera use or were they simply carried over from the A119 design which did not support a second camera? Might the processing time required to write out the two video data streams to memory card sometimes exceed the reserve available, even with WiFi disabled, in some extreme temperature conditions?

Temperature affects capacitance. So if capacitor(s) undersized then what might work today in ideal conditions might not work tomorrow in less than ideal circumstances.
 
Probably shouldn’t rule out a slow, defective or incompatible memory card either. Or a poor or faulty power source/cable.
 
Probably shouldn’t rule out a slow, defective or incompatible memory card either. Or a poor or faulty power source/cable.

The possibility of a slow of faulty memory card makes a very good point and certainly should be checked. However, would not a faulty 12V to 5V power converter/adapter likely cause other noticeable problems to surface before disconnecting it at which point capacitor supplies power for several seconds?

Russ and Prelude... What brand, model, and size of model of memory card are you using? And are you using the included Viofo cigarette lighter power adapter, Viofo 2-wire or 3-wire hardwire kit, or something else?
 
My memory card is a new 128GB Samsung pro endurance so unlikely to be the issue in my case.

Power is from the included Viofo cig adapter.

Viofo 3 wire hard wire kit should arrive tomorrow and I will install on Saturday if it doesn't rain which unfortunately it is forcast to do.
 
Amazingly enough, I have both of those same cards in the same capacities in other cameras, though I currently have a SanDisk High Endurance in my A129. Because I want to find out about any problems before I start relying upon them, I do a 10x full disk test write burn-in test on every new storage card that I buy, and have had surprisingly few failures -- and none of these brand/model combinations have ever presented any speed problems or read verification errors. While my sample size is not large enough to reach any conclusions with absolute certainty, given what I have observed I would tend to think that the maximum writing speeds on these storage cards are likely to be higher than the throughput of processor/storage controller/bus combination in the A129. (Though this is admittedly untested.)

While it is probably likely that the Samsung EVO Select 256GB may fail prior to a Samsung Pro Endurance 256GB if the same volume of data is written to them at the same rate, the Samsung EVO Select 256GB may just last as long as the Samsung Pro Endurance 128GB in those same circumstances. But given that all of our collective experiences is highly positive for both of these brand/model cards, I think it is fair to assume that the memory cards are not causing this particular problem. And let's face it -- we already know the likely cause, and blaming the memory cards is a dodge (though possibly unintentional, as faulty memory cards are an often cause of many dashcam recording problems).

If either of you you are willing to near certainly eliminate the memory card as a contributor to problem, a testing utility like h2testw can produce the test results needed to confirm that the specific instances of your cards are not failing in some way.

As for the power converter/adapter possibly causing the problem, they are both using parts supplied by the manufacturer of the camera -- and one of which is saddled with an additional design/manufacturing defect causing many A129 users to endure some audible circuit whine to boot.
 
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Samsung pro endurance so unlikely to be the issue in my case
I would not totally rule that out.
While i have not had memory cards go "weird" on me, i have had 2 brand new high end ( PNY & trancend ) U3 cards totally die on me before i got around to fill the 64 GB cards up just one time.
So while it do take a while running a test ( H2testw ) on memory card on the PC, then it are not a bad idea to try out, it also what you will see most brands recommend you do with many dashcam problems.
Testing with a alternate power source are also a good thing to try when encountering dashcam issues, and you will be amazed how many times people have reported issues in here, and then after a few pages going back and forth with people trying to help the person it come out that he / she don't even use the provided PSU.
So a hard wire kid that worked with their old camera, or a car build in USB charge port have been the reason for so much grief.
 
Testing with a alternate power source are also a good thing to try when encountering dashcam issues, and you will be amazed how many times people have reported issues in here, and then after a few pages going back and forth with people trying to help the person it come out that he / she don't even use the provided PSU.
So a hard wire kid that worked with their old camera, or a car build in USB charge port have been the reason for so much grief.

They are both using Viofo branded power supplies. Are you suggesting a problem with Viofo quality control?
 
I would not totally rule that out.
While i have not had memory cards go "weird" on me, i have had 2 brand new high end ( PNY & trancend ) U3 cards totally die on me before i got around to fill the 64 GB cards up just one time.
So while it do take a while running a test ( H2testw ) on memory card on the PC, then it are not a bad idea to try out, it also what you will see most brands recommend you do with many dashcam problems.

You can eliminate that surprise by running H2testw on every memory card you purchase -- before placing it into service. It's a minimal effort to save yourself greater unexpected problems down the line.
 
Since memory cards and power supplies are always the biggest reasons for dash camera issues, it's always wise to try an alternative, even if it sounds unlikely. It's documented within these threads 1000 times the havoc they can cause. While these issues may not be caused by either of these, history shows they need to be ruled out.
 
The whole memory card thing is a bit of a furphy in this case. I have used the same card since with no issues at all. I did test the Samsung Evo Plus 128GB card with h2testw.

The fact that the issue started when I left the WiFi on, and stopped immediately when I turned it off, would suggest this is the cause. While I'm sure Viofo would love to be able to blame something outside their scope of influence, I can't see that happening.

Jokiin says this can be fixed in firmware, and of all the people who've posted in this thread, He's the one I would tend to believe the most. Lets hope it does get fixed for all those who choose to have WiFi on, and for all those who forget to turn it off ...
 
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