Viofo A129 Pro Dual Dashcam - 4K Front + 1080 Rear

[nrvous1]

I’ve also been having this problem with my regular a129 duo. Random reboots for no apparent reason. Sometimes the camera will shut off without me knowing and several minutes into my drive I’ll hear the start up sound again. Luckily, this isn’t my primary front facing camera, it’s a dedicated rear camera. My front facing cam is Thinkware’s u1000.

 

[Paul Iddon]

That's just an excuse for a poor quality product. And what do I need to do? buy a new card every 2 months? My previous DOD camera (bought in 2014) works even now. I agree, that was a Full HD camera, has smaller capacity card but still..

Your reply is a touch ignorant of the facts.

You are recording from a 4K device - you need a memory card that is capable of recording 4K file transfers. It needs to have a much faster write speed than a card would have if bought in 2014.

Be a good chap and tell us what your memory card is and we could help you solve your problem, and you may just end up with a super dashcam, not one you think is a regrettable purchase.

Best thing to do is take a photo of your memory card then we can see if we can determine it's specifications, and if it good enough for 4K recording.


Your welcome, btw, and welcome to the forum....

 

[Florin1up]

Ok, maybe I was too upset because it's the second time when I needed recordings and I have nothing useful..

The card worked well until now. It's a Samsung evo plus UHS 3.

 

[Nigel]

Ok, maybe I was too upset because it's the second time when I needed recordings and I have nothing useful..

The card worked well until now. It's a Samsung evo plus UHS 3.

Try reformatting it with the : SD Card Formatter - SD Association , and then again in the camera.
It may speed up, let us know the result...

 

[Florin1up]

I will check carefully that card, including tests regarding speed. Question is.. everyone that has this camera is formatting the card every few weeks or monthly?

 

[OCD Tronic]

Try reformatting it with the : SD Card Formatter - SD Association , and then again in the camera.
It may speed up, let us know the result...

select the “overwrite” option as well when formatting with this to do a full card reset.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I’ve also been having this problem with my regular a129 duo. Random reboots for no apparent reason. Sometimes the camera will shut off without me knowing and several minutes into my drive I’ll hear the start up sound again. Luckily, this isn’t my primary front facing camera, it’s a dedicated rear camera. My front facing cam is Thinkware’s u1000.

Sounds like a power supply problem.

 

[Nigel]

I will check carefully that card, including tests regarding speed. Question is.. everyone that has this camera is formatting the card every few weeks or monthly?

No, some cards are faster than others, even cards of the same type, some seem to slow down and then cause problems, a few cards always cause problems.
Also people who use parking mode get more problems than those who don't.
I'm hoping a firmware update will reduce the problem, but the next firmware update seems to be taking a long time due to being a big update!

 

[kamkar]

you need a memory card that is capable of recording 4K file transfers

This even go for 1080p cameras too, i have often wondered why a card with a write speed well over what the camera actually write don't work, it seem like some form of overhead are needed on write speed, though in some of my observations that overhead also seem to have to be massive.
Memory cards it seem can do strange things, from dying before you get to fill it just 1 time, to somehow drop to write speeds far under what it is supposed to be able to do.

 

[kamkar]

Sounds like a power supply problem

I once had a problem much like this, with a mobius camera i was using as a rear camera, the issue was i had it powered from the front of my car with a too long - too poor quality USB wire, when i put 12 V outlet in the boot and powered the mobius that way with a shorter USB cable the problem was gone.
But it did mean me getting rear ended was not recorded, but thankfully video was not needed in that event.

So yes erratic camera performance like that are often power related, we also often seen the same with people not using the provided PSU but rather a car build in USB port.

 

[Aly_Oops]

Nicely done.... Like your presentation.

I switch to H.265, for H.264 I used high bit rate. Left it the same when I switch, but not sure if it uses that setting or has it own bitrate by default. Three minute recording dropped just under 1gb to just under 800mb and plays smooth on all devices and my computer.

Regarding memory cards, I bit confused. I am temporary using memory card from one of my wyze 32 gb until my 256 scandisk high endurance arrived from amazon. It rated U3. however I don't think it MLC but SLC. I wanted the Samsung, however can't find anywhere in stock for 256 High Endurance.

SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card with Adapter for Dash cam and Home Monitoring Systems - C10, U3, V30, 4K UHD, Micro SD Card - SDSQQNR-256G-GN6IA

and this is what I understood about the pro and cons...

If performance and durability are essential for your system, SLC Flash incorporated.
If low cost and high density are essential, MLC Flash is the right choice.
The high-performance MLC technology with three bits per cell, is commonly referred to as Triple Level Cell (TLC), which uses eight states.
Here is a link for more info....

Which are MLC / TLC MicroSD cards?

I like to buy the MLC MicroSD card that uses MLC technic, that will lessen the chance / time that data corrupts. Both types corrupt after certain cycles of erase/programming, but MLC will last longer. So my question is: Which Sandisk MicroSd cards are based on MLC? (why is this information...

forums.sandisk.com

Hopefully it proves helpful for others.

 

[nrvous1]

Sounds like a power supply problem.

That maybe the case. Since I’m using an extended usb cable I have a feeling that there maybe a power surge somewhere in the cable itself. I may try a stand alone power bank and see how that works for a few days. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[CaptureYourAction]

That maybe the case. Since I’m using an extended usb cable I have a feeling that there maybe a power surge somewhere in the cable itself. I may try a stand alone power bank and see how that works for a few days. Thanks for the tip!!

You may be experiencing a voltage drop due to the long USB cable. Best to use the supplied Viofo USB cable.

 

[OCD Tronic]

I’ve seen third party usb cables cause instability in the past, not recommend.

Stick with the original VIOFO power cable plugged into the VIOFO cig charger, or get the VIOFO HK3 hardwire kit.

 

[nrvous1]

I think I’m going to order the 4m cable directly from viofo. The original supplied cable isn’t long enough to reach the center console power outlets in my car. I have a 2016 outlander sport which is a small suv/5-door. I’m hoping the 4m cable will be long enough.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I think I’m going to order the 4m cable directly from viofo. The original supplied cable isn’t long enough to reach the center console power outlets in my car. I have a 2016 outlander sport which is a small suv/5-door. I’m hoping the 4m cable will be long enough.

That will be the same cable supplied with the camera.

 

[nrvous1]

That will be the same cable supplied with the camera.

Well, that’s not gonna work.

 

[OCD Tronic]

Get the VIOFO HK3AAC 3-wire hardwire kit

 

[nrvous1]

Get the VIOFO HK3AAC 3-wire hardwire kit

Does the hardwire kit come with a longer usb cable? I’m looking for my viofo hardwire kit that I had installed previously when I was using the a129 duo as my primary camera, but have since switched to the u1000. If it has a longer usb cable I can cut and solder one end of the cable onto a usb A connector. If not, then there’s no point in ordering the hardwire kit.

 

[OCD Tronic]

You can extend the 3-wire bare copper wire side if needed but I’ve yet to see a case where it wasn’t long enough as is.