Stay away from the A139 and Viofo!

faroutxxx said:
You can see my post history.
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Yes, but it doesn't explain what the issues were:

faroutxxx said:
I received this new direct from Viofo. Its honestly buggy as hell. Changing settings in a certain order makes it go into a reboot cycle. Adding rear camera makes it go into reboots.
I updated firmware to latest and using all official cables etc. It also gets very hot just doing nothing.
That screeching noise is hell!
I contacted support who replied once asking me if im using official cable (which i already stated in my ticket) and thats it. Not heard back from them since.
Is it worth hanging on or do i open a dispute with paypal?
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It appears that you have found an issue if you change all the settings in a certain order, and you don't like some sort of "screeching noise". But you haven't explained what that order is or what the noise is, so nobody can judge how serious, or unimportant your issues are, and the manufacturer has no chance to fix them for you.

faroutxxx said:
I work in the IT sector and familiar with Hardware/Software. In some scenarios/settings on the A139 its obvious very little testing was done. I would not trust this camera to behave correctly in an accident.
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Most consumer goods have some bugs in them, they are not built and tested to the same standards that you expect in profesional aircraft systems, and they don't need to be because they are not safety critical devices.

Fact is that most people with an A139 seem to be very happy with it, and consider it better than anything else they have tried, doesn't mean it is perfect, but they are definitely not describing it as :
faroutxxx said:
in reality its a bag of snakes.
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@faroutxxx I've responded in the other thread already but it seems this member hasn't checked out what most of the reviewers and testers here actually say and report about the products we get offered to us. In several of my cam reviews you'll find ones ranging from great to good to some I recommend only with caution, and even a cam or twoI tell people to avoid. Not all of these cams came to us free and the negative reports seem to be spread evenly across both.

To come here suggesting that we all don't honestly share what we find just because the cam was free is an affront to me and my integrity, and to all the other testers/reviewers too. But you're free to believe and think whatever you want to, and as other people come along as see that what I say is true they'll also learn to discount what you've said.

Phil
 
The OP has posted that his dashcams looked 'used'.

Where did they come from ?
 
faroutxxx said:
The A139 has many features I wanted and at a great price point. On paper this is a great camera but in reality its a bag of snakes.
I was sent two directly from Viofo and at my own expense I returned both.
At home I tested every feature/setting and each time the camera had numerous issues. It would go into reboot cycle where you would have to reload the firmware again.
I work in the IT sector and familiar with Hardware/Software. In some scenarios/settings on the A139 its obvious very little testing was done. I would not trust this camera to behave correctly in an accident.
First try I was told it was my SSD. So I bought a different make model the new A2 Samsung Select directly from Amazon and still had numerous issues.
Everyone keeps recommending Viofo and I understand why, in a market that is frankly bad Viofo seems on paper at least to be good.
I dealt directly with Viofo. Support is not even worth contacting. Both A139 I received were clearly opened and used. I suspect there are a large number of these getting sent back.
I tried to give the A139 a chance because of the reviews on this site and others. Im now stuck with no camera (probably have to pay $500+ for a decent camera) and hours wasted with Viofo.
Stay away from the A139 and Viofo!
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The new MicroSD card that you bought is not warrantied for dashcam use and could also be a point of failure.

And they are better on paper compared to most. I have yet to see a perfect dashcam manufacturer.
Maybe it would take someone like Apple or Google to get into this business and disrupt it.
 
faroutxxx said:
You can see my post history. Ive asked and was persuaded to stick with the camera I bought and even requested another one at my own expense.
This is not bad experience with a single product.
I also really didnt like the way Viofo behaved. They sent used products on two occasions and support was non existent.
Its worth reporting this to people searching for cameras and not waste hours and money as i did.
The other issue is that it seems there are people on this forum such as yourself who seem to be asking for free products from manufacturers to review.
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The only thing I see in your post history is that you created a thread, everyone suggested something and then you abandoned your own thread. When you don't come back or followup, people assume that your issue is resolved.

a139: buggy & reboots & hot & bad support

I received this new direct from Viofo. Its honestly buggy as hell. Changing settings in a certain order makes it go into a reboot cycle. Adding rear camera makes it go into reboots. I updated firmware to latest and using all official cables etc. It also gets very hot just doing nothing. That...
dashcamtalk.com dashcamtalk.com

The same exact day you created the above thread, you were already shopping around for a new camera meaning you don't have any interest in solving your current situation assuming that it is legitimate.

Q800 PRO Video Quality still bad?

I read early reports that the video quality is bad on this. Its had firmware updates since the reports. I was wondering if the video quality has improved? I recently purchased the Viofo a139 and honestly its buggy as hell how can people trust the reliability on this thing. The Viofo a139 nearest...
dashcamtalk.com dashcamtalk.com

In another thread, you piggybacked on someone's thread stating that you have the same problem.
That person that created the thread came back to update us that everything is working now, so the problem he reported/faced seems attributable to "user error" and not a problem with the product. He received the exact same unit that he sent back.

Problem with starting new device

Hi Everyone, I've just purchased A139 2CH. Wanted to set it on my desk before installing in car but I stumbled into a problem(s)... 1. I could not get it to boot from Anker Power Port desktop USB power supply. It only booted when connected via USB in my PC. It wouldn't work via USB-C though -...
dashcamtalk.com dashcamtalk.com

You disappeared for 2 weeks and created this thread for advice on a new dashcam to which I recommended and you then commented "Why does it look like a Viofo model?". I did not even bother to dignify it with a response because anyone that does not know that Viofo and Street Guardian are different companies is a waste of my effort, but other people more experienced than I am did. It's a public housing used by many dashcam companies...Viofo was not the first to use it, and they will not be the last.
You seem to have a personal vendetta against Viofo for some reason...

2C 2k&1080 / low power parking mode (Not Viofo)?

Looking for a reliable 2C camera. 2k Front 1080 Rear. Something with low power parking mode. Good quality picture. Dont need cloud or screen..etc Had too much trouble with Viofo so please something else in the same price range £$250.
dashcamtalk.com dashcamtalk.com

And now, this thread.
The above is a summary of your post history.

faroutxxx said:
Ive asked and was persuaded to stick with the camera I bought and even requested another one at my own expense.
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Who here asked you to do this? Link to such post? Why would you buy a second camera at your own expense when your first camera issue is not resolved? That is the most ridiculous advice I've ever heard...assuming it even came from somebody. It sounds like this is something you did on your own merit and if so then it was a fool's errand.

faroutxxx said:
The other issue is that it seems there are people on this forum such as yourself who seem to be asking for free products from manufacturers to review.
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And there you go attacking other users trying to provide advice to you. It's no wonder that they stop to say goodbye or some don't bother responding in your thread again.
The manufacturers are the ones that provide them with this product, I doubt that they beg for it. There are people and distributors that review different brands...BlackVue, Thinkware, Garmin, Viofo, Mobius, and many other brands consistently.
The only person we know that attempted to do this was a user called @HonestReview that seemed to always beg or fish for cameras.
 
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The conflict of interest is clear to see all over this forum and the way so many active members are so quick to come to defend Viofo is also telling.
Just remember that you are not playing with toys here these devices impact peoples security and safety!
 
Only recently we had one member who sent back 3 dashcams only to eventually realise with No 4 it was his mistakes that were at fault, not the dashcam.

In the topic history the manufacturer was being incorrectly blamed.

= we've seen this before and one member trying to get all members to avoid a manufacturer based on their experiences is largely ignored.

As above, have you found out why your 2 dashcams appeared used as that could be key.
 
faroutxxx said:
The conflict of interest is clear to see all over this forum and the way so many active members are so quick to come to defend Viofo is also telling.
Just remember that you are not playing with toys here these devices impact peoples security and safety!
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It is clear to us that your entire purpose here is to badmouth Viofo. You are not interested in having your issues with the A139 dashcam resolved despite all the advice given to you so far by other members in this thread and all the previous ones that you created.

Full disclosure: The only dashcam I own is the Street Guardian SG9667D2K. I bought it with my own money in December based on what I believe to be the best dashcam purchase for me at the time based on my needs(stability, reliability, and support) and I don't regret it one bit. I don't own anything else from any manufacturer (including Viofo) and I have never received any camera from any manufacturer for review. Therefore there is no conflict of interest.
 
I also experienced a bunch of problems and stability issues, incl. (un)famous overheating (tested with all recent firmwares).
Contacted VIOFO unfortunately zero feedback. They don't really care about customers and decided to send my unit back.
 
kalzan said:
I also experienced a bunch of problems and stability issues, incl. (un)famous overheating (tested with all recent firmwares).
Contacted VIOFO unfortunately zero feedback. They don't really care about customers and decided to send my unit back.
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I had very similar feelings about Viofo with a prior model. Things with Viofo appear to always be in "beta mode" and getting good communications back from Viofo seemed to be like asking for the impossible!

Luckily, for those who decide to stick with Viofo, there are many dashcam reviewers and/or Viofo distributors here on this forum who are always very willing to try to solve Viofo's challenges. In my estimation, they are collectively ten times better than Viofo's customer service.

I personally decided that I didn't want to deal with a Company that can't hire personnel who communicate in a timely manner with their customers.

I know Australian based Guardian has good customer support. And so does Blackvue/Pittasoft which is my most recent dashcam acquisition.
 
kalzan said:
I also experienced a bunch of problems and stability issues, incl. (un)famous overheating (tested with all recent firmwares).
Contacted VIOFO unfortunately zero feedback. They don't really care about customers and decided to send my unit back.
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I sent mine back and then was persuaded by people on this forum and Viofo that the issue was the SD card and to stick with it. So I decided to try it again with a new card. Whats strange is i received a different unit, looked older and more used than the first even though Viofo told me there was nothing wrong with the one I sent back.
The new one I received worked well out of the box but as soon as I started playing around with the settings it started to fail. Couldnt get it to get out of reboot cycles and had to redo firmware. Tried again and again reboots.
This product is clearly unstable. Like I keep telling everyone Im sure lots of people just use it out of the box and it works. The problem is when you actually need it the likelihood is that it will fail later down the line.
 
I am one of the first A139 3CH customers - Have had the camera for so long before it was even online on the site - Run this with a 512GB and have not had 1 problem to date.
 
I bought two. One worked perfectly in my Volvo and the other would not even turn on in the truck! I can put the Volvo one in the truck no probs. If I put the memory card from the Volvo one in the truck no joy, so it isn't the card. Dealing with their so-called 'customer support' is an exercise in frustration - poor English skills. They told me to return it but didn't provide an address! Bloody 'ell! Not worth mucking about for $200. Last tech thing I buy from China. Yeah, I know.
 
LaLaLandPaddy said:
I bought two. One worked perfectly in my Volvo and the other would not even turn on in the truck! I can put the Volvo one in the truck no probs. If I put the memory card from the Volvo one in the truck no joy, so it isn't the card. Dealing with their so-called 'customer support' is an exercise in frustration - poor English skills. They told me to return it but didn't provide an address! Bloody 'ell! Not worth mucking about for $200. Last tech thing I buy from China. Yeah, I know.
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@LaLaLandPaddy-

Sorry you've had to experience first-hand Viofo's "terrible customer service"... "Who are you going to believe, him or your lying eyes?"

Btw on another thread earlier today while standing up for yet "another Viofo problem" (Hw3 - Battery Drain) on how limited Blackvue's phone customer-service happens to be. Well, those "limited hours" he speaks of are:

Monday - Friday 8 am - 7 pm, pst;
Saturday 9am - 6 pm, pst;
Sunday - closed;

That's 64 hours a week more than Viofo offers. And of course, Blackvue has several tech people answering calls, so that's hundreds of more hours per week of phone support than what Viofo provides!

You'd think some smart mind in Shenzhen, China would spend some of their profits on "real customer support" rather than relying on guys on this forum to carry water for them while they offer a free dashcam or two.
 
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LaLaLandPaddy said:
I bought two. One worked perfectly in my Volvo and the other would not even turn on in the truck! I can put the Volvo one in the truck no probs. If I put the memory card from the Volvo one in the truck no joy, so it isn't the card. Dealing with their so-called 'customer support' is an exercise in frustration - poor English skills. They told me to return it but didn't provide an address! Bloody 'ell! Not worth mucking about for $200. Last tech thing I buy from China. Yeah, I know.
Click to expand...

Maybe try tagging Bill @viofo or @VIOFO-Support?
 
faroutxxx said:
Just remember that you are not playing with toys here these devices impact peoples security and safety!
Click to expand...
Fitting a dashcam is not going to prevent other people either causing accidents with you or deliberately hitting you.

It is possible that fitting a dashcam can improve your own driving, but first you need to stop blaming everyone else first, you should not blame Viofo for your bad driving!


Lothar said:
It is clear to us that your entire purpose here is to badmouth Viofo. You are not interested in having your issues with the A139 dashcam resolved despite all the advice given to you so far by other members in this thread and all the previous ones that you created.
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He does appear to have a "conflict of interest", wonder which company he is working for :sneaky:
Whichever it is, he keeps thinking about it:
faroutxxx said:
The conflict of interest is clear to see all over this forum and the way so many active members are so quick to come to defend Viofo is also telling.
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@StrayCam is once again not seeing anything they don't want to. My "even keel" does extend to customer support- even Viofo's- and for you to insinuate that just because I get free cams to test that it affects my integrity and honesty is an attack on my personal character, totally unfounded, and absolutely wrong. @DashCamMan might want to consider this, as I believe it runs counter to the rules here.

Anyone can look back through my history here and see where my first thread outlined a customer-support issue with my first dashcam (as well as how excellently they resolved it in the end), and also see where I've given poor rankings to the support I've received from a couple well-known manufacturers which has resulted in them no longer offering me cams to test and review. So be it- I don't care if I never get a free cam from anyone ever again as long as I can rest easy knowing that I've been as honest as I can be with everyone. That matters more to me than anything else.

@LaLaLandPaddy
Who did you buy the cams from (seller)? Generally with dashcams when there's a warranty issue, it is handled by the seller, not the manufacturer. This is why on these forums it has been long advised to buy only from known good and reputable sellers. Truth in advertising and customer support with dashcams has always been less than superb and in many cases hardly exists at all. Few if another products have such a woeful reputation, so that needs to be kept in mind.

One of the reasons this forum exists is to provide peer support to help fill in those gaps and promote dashcams in general in hopes that all will have a good experience with them. Also to be remembered is that with any mass-produced product there will be some amount of defective products reaching the consumer's hands- that's what warranties are meant to cover. I'm certain that @viofo will take care of you- they have a reputation for doing that.

Phil
 
kalzan said:
Maybe in the States but definitely not in Europe, at least not with my case or people I know and also experiencing the same problems...
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Just how many people do you "know" experiencing the same problem? Hiding behind hyperbole there...
 
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