The G1W Sellers listing.

I ordered from Gearbest and received my g1wc about a month a go. It has locked up several times with different cards. Also, when it locks up it is really frozen for days. No pressing reset or powering on or off will fix it.
I used the Gearbest ticket system to report the issue and I received a reply the next day (around 13 Feb), saying they had asked the manufacturer for advice. Still no reply. I have sent two more requests for updates with no reply.

I appreciate they had Chinese New Year, but I sent an email about a week before that, and it is heading into 2 weeks after and still not even a substantive reply.

Bases on this I would not use Gearbest, especially for the G1W series which are known to be less than perfect.
 
That's why I try to always buy from a 'locally' based seller.
 
Gearbest have finally responded, asking me to "brush the item". Any ideas? I don't mind a little chinglish and try to work out what they are asking, as their English is way better than my Chinese. I know the company is in China, but an English language website does kind of need people with English language skills.
Doesn't seem like their several week delay to check with manufacturer has given them any insight into possible fixes.

So with Gearbest you can add unable to communicate in comprehendible English to long delays and inability to support product. Might have to write off this as a $50 mistake. I still like the product, and will get another camera from a more reliable source.
 
They have English speakers there... One is on this forum and posts regularly and I have no trouble understanding them either. I have no idea what they meant by brush the item... Maybe a typo before that person used Google translate? That could give some weird results for sure!
 
Skyva said:
Gearbest have finally responded, asking me to "brush the item". Any ideas? I don't mind a little chinglish and try to work out what they are asking, as their English is way better than my Chinese. I know the company is in China, but an English language website does kind of need people with English language skills.
Doesn't seem like their several week delay to check with manufacturer has given them any insight into possible fixes.

So with Gearbest you can add unable to communicate in comprehendible English to long delays and inability to support product. Might have to write off this as a $50 mistake. I still like the product, and will get another camera from a more reliable source.
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Brush the item? That doesn't make sense.
Hmm... maybe it's teeth need cleaning. :D
I always get emails from Gearbest in better English than most Americans here.

Try different USB charger.
Also, if you are using class 10 cards, try class 6 instead as there were some issues with the card being too fast.
 
the only thing i can think of is maybe they want you to clean the contacts on the SD card? which case i would use a Q-tip and some rubbing/isopropyl alcohol. but i doubt that'll make any difference.

personally I've used 3 or 4 different class 10 cards in my a118 without a problem - all different brands, even including sandisk. But there's so many different cards/makers (and fakes!) out there, it's impossible to test them all.
 
Thanks for the replies. The exact response (cut and pasted) I received, apart from an apology for the delay due to a backlog of emails was:
"Cloud you please try to brush this item?If it is also can not,maybe you need to return it to us then we will check it."
It may be that due to the backlog they have recruited new people or are in a rush, as the whole sentence is pretty much garbled. I don't mind the typos. I responded asking for clarification and information on postage: the address, return the whole kit or just the camera, rma number etc. No reply yet.
The issue is that the no matter what word you substitute for "brush", it doesn't add anything to the solution. There is no action that can be described in one word that may help, and I have already pressed reset countless times and used different cards, different format methods etc. The fact that they refer to the "item" also makes me suspect the person who wrote that response has no idea what item it is.

I am an engineer so I am happy to load new firmware etc, but I think that is beyond their support level.

I agree that micro sd cards can be faulty. I run h2testw on mine and also transfer files back and forth to test speeds on the card to ensure they will work. I have a few micro sd cards, all bought from legitimate suppliers and often they have previously been used in other devices such as android phones, so I am pretty sure it is not just the cards. I have tried several cards, some small cards (8gb) work ok, but a 32gb Kingston class 4 and class 10 both crash the camera hard. That is, the camera locks up and it will not work for a day afterwards with any card once it crashes. The reset button and power cycling does nothing. The only thing that works is pulling the device from the car and leaving it unpowered for 1-2 days.

I need 32gb cards to work (as they say they do on the specs) as I need this to record several hours driving before I get home to d/l the material. I go through around 8gb a day or more.
Class 6 cards are not common anymore in oz, and if class 10, the slowest commonly available cards in Oz, don't work, they need to say that in the specs.
Also, if there is a blacklist of cards that do not work they need to publish it.

I also suspect that even though it is currently crashed and will not boot properly, by the time I send it back it will have drained and reset, so small 8gb will work fine for a while at least, so they will just send it back to me as "no problem found". I am not sending them a 32gb card with it to show it fails, as I will never see it again and in Oz they cost almost as much as the camera.

Not much I can do really, I will keep corresponding with them and let you know of any resolution. Overall it is just my experience with what can go wrong ordering from Gearbest.
 
Hey ho,

Received my G1WH 2 weeks ago after a 5 week wait from China (Sweden actually but who is counting ;) ) to The Netherlands from this user on AliExpress:
All the details matched a genuine object so I took a gamble and ordered it. First thing I did was opening it up (btw, you really do not need a plastic spatula for that, just use a fingernail which works fine and you have it open in like 10 seconds at max) to check the chip and it is the real deal (Novatek T96650 chip). Updated the firmware with the help of the thread (here: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...ls388w-shadow-gt300w-1306180-and-others.5348/) and all works like a charm. There is only one slight issue with the SD card which I have seen around on the internet as well, but I will open a different thread for that :)
 
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Could you add O'Plaza as a "stay away" on Amazon?

Had ordered a G1W-C, for some reason I got the "Sold By O'Plaza" and "Fulfilled by Amazon."

Even though the box and everything said Capacitor, it was actually a battery. Had the correct Novatek chip, but the boot up screen was also different from a legit G1W-C. Would avoid.
 
Six weeks after contacting Gearbest I am no closer to a resolution. It took 3 weeks to get them to accept it back, and 3 weeks after I sent it via registered airmail, they have not said they have it yet.

I know dealing with Chinese post can take a while and I had to spend $20 AUD ($15 US) to get it back there, but my expectations were perhaps too high.

I have bought many things from China before but I think dashcams are not something I will look at from China again as there is so many things that can go wrong and support is needed. Unfortunately support is not what you will get with a G1WC, well not in what I am accustomed to anyway.

Whilst it worked the picture quality was great, but I am probably better off buying something more reliable/supported. If I ever get this resolved I would use the g1wc as a rear camera, I will just need to find a locally sourced front cam now.
 
I got my G1Wc from Spytec a couple weeks ago. It's Black box, genuine, and their service was excellent. I'm having a small issue with jittery video but I think that's card-related (Samsung). The recommended Transcend cards should be here today. When I get a cam for the rear or when I upgrade to a Mobius I will be doing business with them again.
 
Gearbest have not responded to my enquiry via their own ticket mechanism for over a week, and the whole saga has dragged on for months. I have confirmed delivery to their return address close to a month ago but Gearbest cannot find it and do not check or return my communications (yes, you have to keep asking them to check). I have initiated a PayPal dispute for a refund. I would strongly advise others considering a dashcam to avoid Gearbest. I will attempt to get my return postage refunded as well as PayPal will now consider this.
 
Skyva said:
Gearbest have not responded to my enquiry via their own ticket mechanism for over a week, and the whole saga has dragged on for months. I have confirmed delivery to their return address close to a month ago but Gearbest cannot find it and do not check or return my communications (yes, you have to keep asking them to check). I have initiated a PayPal dispute for a refund. I would strongly advise others considering a dashcam to avoid Gearbest. I will attempt to get my return postage refunded as well as PayPal will now consider this.
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Gearbest were quick to respond to my complaints in Engrish. Alas, their comprehension of the issue and impractical advise left a lot to be desired. I recently posted a poor, but constructive, review on http://www.resellerratings.com/ and I was offered (and now received) a full refund.
 
I was also offered a refund only after I filed a PayPal dispute. Gearbest tried to get me to withdraw the dispute before they would refund, which I find deceitful and against paypal rules. Despite offering a refund on their support page they have not repeated the offer in the PayPal dispute site, and they have not responded for a few days now, so probably escalate soon. I would not use them again, especially for anything worth more than $10 or complicated. If they had been fast to respond and clear I would have accepted a replacement but there is no way I would trust getting another g1wc from them as their support is just awful.
I won't stop buying stuff directly from China, but you need to choose your vendors and merchandise carefully.
 
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