Viofo T130 3 Channel Dashcam - 2K Front + FHD Interior + FHD Rear

[LateralNW]

As I have mentioned before, when the camera is powered for the first time, I think there may be a power shortage issue, both to charge the capacitor and to raise energy for the buzzer and beeps.

I think you may have a good point with some sort of power loss.
The T130 is being powered by the Viofo supplied cigarette lighter power source. When the car is off the T130 has no power.
When the car is off for days perhaps it affects the boot process and hence goes into an altered program state?
I expect there is a small battery in there to keep time etc (RTC) so it does seem like a long shot.

The T130 hadn't missed a beat for weeks so I was really surprised when this rebooting happened. If the car is used every day then this odd behaviour may never show up.

 

[LateralNW]

@Mtz with respect is English your first language? I do wonder if we are misunderstanding each other. My comments about the product are my findings, not an attack on the company. No bias is intended.
This site was created with the intention of not being persuaded by any company. @DashCamMan said, "I want this site to be as unbiased as possible."
What I write is attempting to follow that quote from DashCamMan.

So let me answer your questions.

If you have private discussion did you asked them if your version have something different compared to the retail version?

You misunderstood me. I meant with other forum users.
I do keep in regular contact with @VIOFO-Support

Also I have a factory sample and I received it before yours for sure

Don't be so coxky confident. You may have posted your review before me but that is not a true indication of when an item is received.

But right now I am sure the Viofo team have no solution for you (except camera replacement) because you didn't found yet the source of the problems.

What makes you think I want @viofo to solve this for ME? I have a pre-released T130 Dashcam. If the pre-release is the only dashcam with this problem I'm fine with that. I got it for free.
However, what I am doing is asking the forum members if they have experienced the same problems.
If they have then Viofo most likely would like to know about it.
I intend to continue to work on this problem as I have some new leads I want to follow.

T130 is that it needs original power source which means a good power source because depending on firmware version (or not!) the T130 can't work OK with lower quality power sources.

I don't understand what you are saying here. The power comes from the car. Every car will be different. Different battery life left, different Alternators, Good and bad wiring, noisy and quiet electrical circuits, loose and firm cigarette lighter sockets, good and bad HK kit installs and so on.
I have only used Viofo supplied power converter/regulators.

I am not using Samsung Ultra or other not recommended cards,

Are you saying that Viofo has a list of not recommended cards? Many on this site will agree with me that a Samsung card is a good choice. Others work but older SanDisks seemed to be a real problem in Viofo equipment.

Also I used HK4

How did you get the HK4? If you got your dashcam before me you would have been supplied the HK3. Regardless the HK3 and the HK4 appear to only have the power connector changed.

Did you asked yourself if maye HK4 don't like linear power sources?

I don't think you understand electronics. Actually, I am sure you haven't got a clue about electronics.

MTZ the more you keep pushing your opinion on how others should do things all you are really doing is creating more focus for people who are just reading through the forum threads to focus on this. I don't think any company wants to be tangled up in a conversation about them that they can't or won't get involved in.

I had to set the record straight as you had supplied misinformation.

 

[rcg530]

Maybe it is best to verify that with VIOFO, so you are 100% sure it is indeed a retail version.
It is likely a retail version, BUT!, the fact it came with an updated fW version doesn't necessarily mean the camera was fresh from the oven as firmware could be loaded into any old stock device prior shipping.

I've sent an email to my VIOFO contact that sent me the T130 to review to confirm my unit was one of the production / retail units.

Would 0906 for the rear be a newer release than 0825? If that is correct then you didn't get the latest. However, my understanding was that the rear camera was being replaced with a different Sony Sensor so it might be the latest for the newer rear sensor.

Did Viofo tell you if you got a later model of rear camera?

So far, there's been no mention of different Sony IMX sensors being used in the T130 rear camera in my conversations with VIOFO support.

In a private conversation I've had with VIOFO support, the rear camera firmware V1.0_0825 was confirmed as the initial production release. There was a "test" rear camera firmware (might be the V1.0_0906 version - I have not downloaded it) which attempted to improve the rear camera video image quality at night, but it did not improve the video quality enough for VIOFO support to recommend it to me to try at this time.

 

[rcg530]

Maybe it is best to verify that with VIOFO, so you are 100% sure it is indeed a retail version.
It is likely a retail version, BUT!, the fact it came with an updated fW version doesn't necessarily mean the camera was fresh from the oven as firmware could be loaded into any old stock device prior shipping.

I just received confirmation from VIOFO support that the T130 that was shipped to me in early November 2021 is one of the "latest production units" based on its serial number.

 

[Mtz]

@Mtz with respect is English your first language?

With the same respect, it is easy to find if english is first language in a country called Romania. You can see my country under my avatar.

Don't be so coxky confident. You may have posted your review before me but that is not a true indication of when an item is received.

If you are feeling OK to think that you received the sample before me, then it is like you. You recevied the first T130 sample, at the end of May 2021, not me.

How did you get the HK4? If you got your dashcam before me you would have been supplied the HK3

Also before summer of 2021 I received a HK3-C with angled connector as special request and from that time it was mounted into my car and used for testing all Viofo USB-C dashcams which are released or will be released. At that time when I received the HK3-C with angled connector it had not the HK4 name yet, it had no name. For me was more easy to write here HK4 just to not go infinite discussions about HK3-C not to be used instead of HK4 on T130.

I don't think any company wants to be tangled up in a conversation about them that they can't or won't get involved in.

For sure! They are avoiding me because I have no experience regarding dashcams since 2013 or since I was receiving the first factory sample for Viofo A118C2 in 2016.
By the way, I see you are from Australia. Even I am from the other part of the world, jokiin was knowing me for more than 13 year ago. Maybe your assumption about how newbie I am in this dashcam world can be a little wrong.

Again, if you are happy to be the first, to be the only one which knows how to post feedback in forums to not create confusions, how the electronics works, it is OK from me, I don't want to prove anything here. It is important to prove where it really matters.

PS: I ask the user which is laughing hard about this Viofo situation and which knows the truth to remain low and not post about this. I already created some discomfort.

 

[Plados]

How is the T130 doing in parking mode? Are you experiencing overheating and freezing? I had a bad experience with the A129 plus duo. In hot summer months, when the car interior heats up from 50 to 60С , the A 129 plus duo hung in parking mode, in cool seasons there were no freezes. For this reason, I did not plan to buy A139 at all due to overheating. From the А129 plus duo, I also had to give up, because it is the parking mode that is needed. At the moment I am using two А 119V3 simultaneously. Now I'm interested in T130, so I'm interested in how the camera behaves for heating in parking mode.

 

[Mtz]

It is very very possible that you had problems during summer because you mounted the HK3 in a non ventilated space, the HK3 was covered with some car carpet.
If you will mount the HK4 in the same way you will have the same problems.

I think that Viofo discovered that the incorrect placement of HK3 was the problem for some users with their dashcams during summer. So they added a note on the HK4 gift box hoping people will read it.



I completely agree with that warning from the gift box because it's impossible that just few users to have problems because of heat and the others 99% don't.
If it was a heat problem with a product then all buyers should complain about the same problem.

 

[Karagandinez]

How is the T130 doing in parking mode? Are you experiencing overheating and freezing? I had a bad experience with the A129 plus duo. In hot summer months, when the car interior heats up from 50 to 60С , the A 129 plus duo hung in parking mode, in cool seasons there were no freezes. For this reason, I did not plan to buy A139 at all due to overheating. From the А129 plus duo, I also had to give up, because it is the parking mode that is needed. At the moment I am using two А 119V3 simultaneously. Now I'm interested in T130, so I'm interested in how the camera behaves for heating in parking mode.

Here you can read how the T130 behaves at elevated temperatures.
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...d-interior-fhd-rear.45303/page-11#post-556996

 

[Plados]

It is very very possible that you had problems during summer because you mounted the HK3 in a non ventilated space, the HK3 was covered with some car carpet.
If you will mount the HK4 in the same way you will have the same problems.

I think that Viofo discovered that the incorrect placement of HK3 was the problem for some users with their dashcams during summer. So they added a note on the HK4 gift box hoping people will read it.

View attachment 59551

I completely agree with that warning from the gift box because it's impossible that just few users to have problems because of heat and the others 99% don't.
If it was a heat problem with a product then all buyers should complain about the same problem.

I had artifacts on the display and the camera did not respond to button presses. jerking the power plug brought the camera to life. if it was in hk3, then I think the camera did not start, while hk3 itself did not de-energize. hk3 is installed behind the dashboard, there is a lot of space and is not covered by anything. When driving for a long time, there are no problems with freezing, although the car was moving in the open sun, the freezes were in parking mode about an hour after being idle. also if you turn off the rear camera, then there was no freeze.

 

[kamkar]

My HW kits are Zip tied to a brace under the dashboard in the driver foot well, i would assume the kits have plenty of berating space, they are mounted so the ventilation holes are not obstructed.
CUZ to me that make sense, if there is ventilation holes in something,,,,,, better not block them.
Never contemplated the HW kits could be the reason for untimely shut downs during parking guard, but thinking about it, that is also a spot for problems.

 

[TonyM]

Never contemplated the HW kits could be the reason for untimely shut downs during parking guard, but thinking about it, that is also a spot for problems.

TBH, I had not thought about it either. I suppose I just saw the voltage cut-off switch as part of the cabling to tidy away. As it happens, in my car the kit is exposed so I can access the switch and see the internal red LED.

 

[LateralNW]

Update on the T130 rebooting every minute.
I have had the unit sitting disconnected on my workbench since the middle of December without power.
Yesterday I fired it up and it didn't miss a beat. It works fine.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten to change the settings so I will be doing the test again. I am only going to wait approx 3 days.
The settings I needed to enable was the GPS and Parking mode.
I am working on the possibility that the unit plays up when it has GPS and parking mode enabled and hasn't been started for a period of time, perhaps 3 days is enough.

I also see a new firmware has been released which might be beta ware as I didn't find it on their website. @Karagandinez posted it in another thread T130.
I also see they have updated their rear camera firmware with an official release.

Looking forward to just putting it back in the car.

 

[SawMaster]

I finally got around to loading the latest FW from the Viofo site, and I'm still getting bootlooping I've got either a pre-production or early-production cam, not sure which, so thus may not apply to new cams.

I've narrowed it down to 1- Card problem; will try a different one soon. 2- Powering problem; will swap leads with the HWK of the A139 tomorrow which works flawlessly. 3- Cold temps. I'm very much leaning toward this since the problem doesn't happen when the car or cam is warm but does happen when it's less than short-sleeve-shirt weather outside. Once the cam does boot solidly, I can drop the power or power down with the button, and on restarting afterward it holds solidly.

Hopefully more news soon.

Phil

 

[LateralNW]

I finally got around to loading the latest FW from the Viofo site, and I'm still getting bootlooping I've got either a pre-production or early-production cam, not sure which, so thus may not apply to new cams.

I've narrowed it down to 1- Card problem; will try a different one soon. 2- Powering problem; will swap leads with the HWK of the A139 tomorrow which works flawlessly. 3- Cold temps. I'm very much leaning toward this since the problem doesn't happen when the car or cam is warm but does happen when it's less than short-sleeve-shirt weather outside. Once the cam does boot solidly, I can drop the power or power down with the button, and on restarting afterward it holds solidly.

Hopefully more news soon.

Phil

I'll be updating the T130 today so I will look out for that problem.

I can't check the cold bit as we are currently having 30+ Celcius days. (86 F)

Cheers

 

[LateralNW]

Update on rebooting every minute:
I can't reproduce it!
I've tried but it works correctly again.
It's back in the car and is working fine.
Such an odd problem.

I'll post a short video of the footage when it was doing the rebooting just for record sake.
Have been avoiding using the computer lately as the house has been hot around 30 degrees Celsius.

I updated the T130 to the latest beta firmware and will do some more tests.

 

[SawMaster]

Update: My rebooting issue is definitely related to cold temps. Tried other known-good cards (which work in the A139 and other cams), and swapped PS's with the A139, checked all connections etc. Rebooting seems to happen in cycles of 5; after the 5th attempt the cam turns off and I have to press the power button and hold it for 7 seconds to get it going again. On the coldest days I've had to do 4-5 restarts, but the usual is 3 button presses before the cam starts recording without stopping. Once it warms up and goes it's reliable.

Not sure if mine is early production or pre-production, but either was there's likely an out-of-spec component involved since this problem doesn't happen to everybody. Were mine a purchased cam I'm sure Viofo would warranty it, but I don't need the cam since I've got so many others. Going to leave it in place for now abnd deal with it as-is since I like having the extra cam in the rear, but eventually this one is going on to the dusty side of the dashcam shelf. For those wanting a 3 channel Viofo I still think the A139 is better overall if the form-factor works for you.

Phil

 

[LateralNW]

Update: My rebooting issue is definitely related to cold temps. Tried other known-good cards (which work in the A139 and other cams), and swapped PS's with the A139, checked all connections etc. Rebooting seems to happen in cycles of 5; after the 5th attempt the cam turns off and I have to press the power button and hold it for 7 seconds to get it going again. On the coldest days I've had to do 4-5 restarts, but the usual is 3 button presses before the cam starts recording without stopping. Once it warms up and goes it's reliable.

Not sure if mine is early production or pre-production, but either was there's likely an out-of-spec component involved since this problem doesn't happen to everybody. Were mine a purchased cam I'm sure Viofo would warranty it, but I don't need the cam since I've got so many others. Going to leave it in place for now abnd deal with it as-is since I like having the extra cam in the rear, but eventually this one is going on to the dusty side of the dashcam shelf. For those wanting a 3 channel Viofo I still think the A139 is better overall if the form-factor works for you.

Phil

Interesting to hear it doesn't like the cold.

It's currently too warm over here to test cold temps.

 

[LateralNW]

I went out with the latest firmware to get footage for a review but was again nobbled.

Set the dash cam up and set parking mode too low frame rate and high sensitivity.

Took the car on a dry dirt road where the dash cam reported often that it has protected the file.

Got home and found the files weren't in the RO folder but in the parking folder and in low frame rate!

Seems not only did it save in the wrong folder it also thought my car was stationary, even while travelling at speed!

Needless to say the footage was useless for the intended purpose.

I had also reduced the sensitivity while driving and parking but it was still too sensitive triggering the "protect video" announcement.

 

[LateralNW]

Today I have driven over 100km all on bitumen and the occasionally bump in the road will trigger the protected mode. The car it is in is considered to have soft suspension for Australia. When I can I'll check how many files ended up in either parking folder or the RO folder.
It would become a problem when the memory card fills and there is little overwrite space left.


I wonder if floating on the windscreen is amplifying the bump motion?

 

[runtohell121]

A few days ago I did have some boot looping issue; temperature in California morning is roughly 40*F. The T130 boots up, starts recording, turns off suddenly, then restarts and boots normally after 1 or 2 tries normally. My unit is also a sample/pre-production unit.