Where can I get a non-defective A119 V3? (SOLVED)

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CaptainTivo

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I have now ordered and returned a total of four A119 V3 dashcams from Amazon. They all had the same problem, every day or two they would randomly reset all settings to default. The main pain is the time zone and units (km or mph). I live in the US and this just ruins the recordings, which I archive.
I have tested the power supply in the car and it is fine. I have tested it on my workbench, powering it on and off several times a day and the faulty behavior was replicated. There is something wrong with either the components or the firmware in all of these units. I first suspected that the RTC batteries were old and/or defective but the time and date are always retained, only the time zone is reset so the battery is probably OK.

Now I need a source for a reliable A119 V3, preferably one that allows easy returns if/when I find that it is defective. I am in the U.S. so would need a local source. If I can't get a good A119, maybe someone recommend a dashcam with the same sensor?
Thanks.

edit--
After months, I finally realized that I was using my old power adapter. When I replaced it with the included power adapter, the problem went away. User error.
 
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There have been a few posts recently with the same issue. This seems to be one with a fix concerning the onboard RTC battery :

Date and time resets after a few days

Couldn’t hurt. I’ve seen it help with lots of other odd issues. Just be sure to manually default the cameras settings, then press and hold the hard reset button on the side of the camera for about 5 seconds After updating. I’ll give it a go in the morning, think I’ll put it back on charge as...
dashcamtalk.com dashcamtalk.com

Is there a defective battery issue?
 
It do look like viofo run into a bad batch of RTC batteries.
 
RTC battery should only affect the time and date. Since the OP has had 4 units with the same issue, it's hard to believe it's a manufacturing issues, because if it was, we would have heard from many others with the issue. Not sure why it would only affect the OP, but it does seem like there may be some kind of issue related to his setup.
 
I did think that. But what would reset everything randomly to default?

All I can think of is leaving the firmware file on the card but that would reset almost instantly?
 
Well I know you probably don't want another amazon a119 but they are $80 now for the next 11 hours.
 
Kremmen said:
I did think that. But what would reset everything randomly to default?

All I can think of is leaving the firmware file on the card but that would reset almost instantly?
Click to expand...
As far as the RTC battery is concerned: I need to be clear that the time/date are NOT reset. Only the Time Zone, Speed Units, the various on-screen labels, time zone, speed units, LED on/off are reset to their default values . I don't know what chip Viofo uses, but the RTC and SRAM are usually on the same backup voltage. If that is the case, then the default values, if they are written when you set them, would be retained. I used this forum earlier when I bought the first one and one of the replies said that the processor actually wrote the settings into the SRAM when the camera lost power (as in turning the car off) and that it was possible that the supercapacitor did not have enough power to complete this. This seems most likely to me.

It does seem odd that I am the only one having this problem, though. I don't think my setup is unusual: I have the camera attached to a USB power converter which is plugged into the "vehicular outlet" (the old cigarette lighter type) on my Tesla Model 3. Unfortunately, this outlet is ALWAYS powered, so I wired a microswitch in series with the USB power which is closed when the driver's seat returns to my personal setting. That way, the camera is off until I actually drive the car. I used my USB power tester and the camera draws about 0.5 A, the power supply is 2A, so that is not the problem.
I do not drive much these days, but at least once a day. But, I have noticed it is most likely to fail (reset to default) if I drive twice. Like, go to a store, and then when I start up to go home, it resets. What I do, it to set the tone to OFF and since the default is ON, when I hear the tone on powerup, I know it has reset to defaults.

So: yes, I don't drive the car very far on my daily trips, but when I spent a day, charging the camera on my desk and then powering it on and off several times, it will always reset itself eventually. I am assuming that Amazon simply got a bad batch and that I am just getting one after the other. Since there does not seem to be a lot of people complaining, I am willing to buy from another source to see if that is the case.

I have a Viofo A129 that I have had for a couple of years and it is very reliable. I just want the new image sensor.

Thanks again.
 
Hello,

We would recommend you buying from our official website (choose China Stock for All). The transportation would be about a week. You can leave a remark for us in your order to request test the dashcam before dispatching it.
 
May I know which firmware version do you use?
 
How is the micro switch wired? Have you tried without the micro switch just to eliminate it?

It has been suggested by @BCHobbyist but there really is a need for some form of settings recovery should the RTC battery die or as in this case there are random reset of some settings. @BCHobbyist suggested having a file on the SD Card which the camera would read on boot which would contain the settings set by the user?
 
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IAmATeaf said:
How is the micro switch wired? Have you tried without the micro switch just to eliminate it?

It has been suggested by @BCHobbyist but there really is a need for some form of settings recovery should the RTC battery die or as in this case there are random reset of some settings. @BCHobbyist suggested having a file on the SD Card which the camera would read on boot which would contain the settings set by the user?
Click to expand...
Micro switch is a simple single pole, single throw on the power side of the USB power pair. I have it positioned such that it closes when the drive seat moves back to my driving position and then open when it move back the "easy access" position (for entry, exit). As an aside, I used to simple connect my old dashcam directly to the power adapter because the car de-energized that receptable when the car is off. But then Tesla pushed a software update and since that time, the power is on all the time. One of the downsides to owning a Tesla is that they are constantly fiddling with the software, which controls absolutely everything about the car.
Anyway, as I said this worked fine with the A129 that I still have. I don't see any reason it should not work with the A119.
As for backing up the user settings, if the device is properly designed, this is unnecessary, source: I used to design these types of chips for a living :)
 
VIOFO-Support said:
Hello,

We would recommend you buying from our official website (choose China Stock for All). The transportation would be about a week. You can leave a remark for us in your order to request test the dashcam before dispatching it.
Click to expand...
I may do that. Of course, the free shipping from Amazon and, more importantly, the no-questions-asked return policy within 30 days makes Amazon the preferred source. I can also say that I have read many complaints about Viofo warranty policies. What would Viofo have done in my case, where I literally had 4 defective units in a row?
 
Also, have you tried a different SDCard just to rule that out.

I've heard of dodgy cards where the header capacity doesn't match the actual capacity causing chaos on some devices.
 
Kremmen said:
Also, have you tried a different SDCard just to rule that out.

I've heard of dodgy cards where the header capacity doesn't match the actual capacity causing chaos on some devices.
Click to expand...
Currently using Samsung EVO select 128Gig. Have not tried any other. I have had NO problems actually recording video/audio. The only thing wrong is that it resets some of the settings to default randomly. Again, it does this every 2-3 days on average. It will work fine for a few days and then, zing, it resets to defaults. It usually does this on the first trip of the day, but not always.
 
So when you replicate this issue in your house, how are you powering it? About how many on/off cycles does it take to default? How long to you leave it on before cutting power. Are you just pulling the power cable or are you manually shutting it off with the power button? Does it seem consistent?
I’d like to test one I have in stock to see if I can replicate it.
 
CaptainTivo said:
I may do that. Of course, the free shipping from Amazon and, more importantly, the no-questions-asked return policy within 30 days makes Amazon the preferred source. I can also say that I have read many complaints about Viofo warranty policies. What would Viofo have done in my case, where I literally had 4 defective units in a row?
Click to expand...

Anything is possible, so I'm not saying your problem isn't real but I do feel skeptical that you've received four cameras with the same oddball defect. For all the thousands of V3 units that have been sold there has not been another report of this problem here on DCT as far as I am aware. And despite a spate of one star complaints about various quality and technical issues in the Amazon reviews of the A119 V3, this particular problem does not appear there either even once. You would think if Amazon had a bad batch of cameras and you got four of them that someone else other than you would report the issue. (BTW, some of the one star complaints about the V3 on Amazon are downright clueless and idiotic but that's a different discussion for a different time.)

Something about the fact that you have a Tesla and the way you have it powered seems suspect to me, but what that could be I don't know. I do know that occasionally people report weird problems installing dash cams in Teslas. It will be interesting to see if the problem reappears in a different V3 unit sourced from a different vendor. If that were to happen then the problem is local, whatever may be causing it.

If you are concerned about where to get another V3 that is not defective and where you can be confident of excellent customer service may I suggest CaptureYourAction as an alternative to Amazon. He won't send it out the door unless he is satisfied that it is in good working order and if for some weird reason you should still have an issue he will stand behind the sale. As usual, he's even here in the thread trying to offer assistance even though you are not a customer.

I purchased both of my V3s from CYA along with some other accessories. One of them had an issue where the image was slightly out of focus on one side and he shipped me out a replacement without even waiting for the other one to come back. It arrived the next day! Both cams have been working flawlessly for over two years now.
 
Hmm. I don't think Tesla has anything to do with it. I have a standard USB converter plugged into a 12V cigarette lighter-type outlet. My previous dashcams have all worked fine this way. I did not attempt to hardwire it or have it on while parked or anything like that. It literally just gets powered on when I start the car and on when I stop. Just like any car. However, you have given me an idea. The camera did come with it's own 12V adapter and cable. I did not use it because I already had one in the car which I used to power the A129. I will replace the one in my car with that one that was included and see if that effects behavior.

Anyway, who is CYA? I did a Google shopping search and found very few offers that were not in China or Ebay. Adorama and Walmart were the only reputable places to get them (although I have had some bad experiences with Adorama). However, if I get one from them and it has this problem, THEN I know that it is something about the car or the way I have it wired.

I think I will try the easy experiment of using the included adapter first.
Thanks for your help.
 
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