Stuck in a loop and won't start

[mentadent]

My VIOFO A139 Pro is stuck in a loop starting up then restarting:

I have tried:

- Factory reset with R pinhole
- Factory reset with Yellow + Wifi
- New memory card (both cards I have are VIOFO branded cards)
- Disconnecting 2nd and 3rd cameras
- New power source (powerbank instead of car)

Any ideas @viofo @VIOFO-Support ?

 

[Dashmellow]

This is a well known problem that people have been reporting for years, including a few reports of this occurring with the A139 and A119.

I experienced it with both of my Street Guardian SG9665GCs and was told it was likely some kind of power supply issue by Jokiin and Street Guardian USA but they offered no actual help and I never did get a definitive answer and nothing I tried worked. Whatever is causing the problem is a hardware issue. I finally transitioned to Viofo cams after first trying out a new Street Guardian upgraded camera that performed miserably so I returned it . Probably your camera is toast unless Viofo can offer some assistance.

Do a search for "boot looping" here on the forum and you will get many hits.

 

[Nigel]

Last time I had one do that, I reinstalled the firmware.

Maybe wait for suggestions from Viofo Support first though, they will know best.

 

[mentadent]

I had new firmware about 2 weeks ago, the latest from the web site.

I just tried putting the firmware on a card but no difference.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

My VIOFO A139 Pro is stuck in a loop starting up then restarting:

I have tried:

- Factory reset with R pinhole
- Factory reset with Yellow + Wifi
- New memory card (both cards I have are VIOFO branded cards)
- Disconnecting 2nd and 3rd cameras
- New power source (powerbank instead of car)

Any ideas @viofo @VIOFO-Support ?

Is the charger cable the original one? Can it be turned on normally if you use the original car charger to get the power from your cigarette lighter directly? If still does not help, you may need to get it replaced. You can open a ticket here to get further help: https://support.viofo.com/support/t...42.1723416689.1719164187-586026905.1718903629

 

[mentadent]

Ok I have opened a ticket

 

[mentadent]

Wow disappointing, I was offered I could get it replaced if I paid shipping and $30.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Wow disappointing, I was offered I could get it replaced if I paid shipping and $30.

It is normal process that we will ask for a maintenance fee of 30 USD if the camera is out of warranty time. As you know, the shipping cost is really expensive since we need to ship the replacement from China.

 

[JardaB]

Wow disappointing, I was offered I could get it replaced if I paid shipping and $30.

I think the offer is good and serious beyond the guarantee.

Do you format SD cards occasionally during use ? Do you format SD cards occasionally during use ? Besides, an SD card doesn't live forever and it would be healthy to try a brand new card

 

[Dashmellow]

Much to my surprise, one of my A119 V3s suddenly started boot looping a couple of days ago. I've had my two A119 V3s for 4 1/2 years now and they have been the most reliable dash cams I've ever owned and I've owned or tested dozens of them.

Since this occurred on a very hot day, I originally thought the camera failed due to the heat, but I was driving when this happened and I had the air conditioner on even if the camera usually sits (off) in a hot truck all day otherwise. If it is really hot out I tend to not use any parking modes, Obviously, I wasn't too happy to suddenly not have a working front dash cam so I was planning to simply swap my rear facing V3 to the front as soon as I reached my destination.

Instead, when I arrived at my destination I decided to try something else as an experiment. I recalled that I had a spare dual USB-A port cigarette lighter adapter in my glove box that I keep just in case (an old habit), so I decided to see what happened if I changed to a different power supply.

Amazingly, the camera went right back to working normally and it's been several days now without any more boot looping. Hopefully, things remain that way.

So, the lesson here is if you have a boot looping camera, try a different power supply before doing any other troubleshooting.

Oh, one more thing. I run both of my A119 V3s from a single 12V two port cigarette lighter adapter and my second camera was fine. Whatever failed was only in one port of the charger but not the other.

Edit: When both of my SG9665GCs began to boot loop I also tried different power supplies, as well as other troubleshooting fix-its but nothing helped and the cameras were shot. So keep that in mind if you try a different power supply on your bootlooping camera and it doesn't work.

 

[safedrivesolutions]

Wow that is a great offer $30. You can always buy a new one for a few hundred dollars.

 

[mentadent]

I paid it and got it already woohoo