Prime Members: Viofo Dash Cams: VS1 Mini $90, A119 Mini 2 $86, A229 Plus

guest2011

Jul 7, 2025 4:15 PM

13.6K Comments

Joined Oct 2008

guest2011Jul 7, 2025 4:15 PM

13.6K Comments

Quote from peppa6

:

Anyone recommend between either A119 mini and A229 plus 2ch, or even two A119 mini for front and rear? Which would be better?

Is 2ch necessary or front only is good enough for regular driving?

I would recommend 2 minis but i'm waiting for my 3rd replacement and not optimistic it will last. They die after a few months regardless of the climate.

1

peppa6

Jul 7, 2025 4:16 PM

153 Comments

Joined Jun 2022

peppa6Jul 7, 2025 4:16 PM

153 Comments

Quote from triggerhappy007

:

Yes, they use a capacitor so it works well in the heat. Been running different Viofos for 8+ years. The only one I had to RMA was due to a white screen in the Winter so definitely not due to the heat. I actually have one car that has the A229 Plus 2 ch and one car that has 2 A119 mini 2. I did 2 minis because I already had one so I just added one to the rear. It's easier on my van because I don't have to connect the rear cam to the front cam and I have 120v power port in the 3rd row. The cargo 12v is always on so I didn't want to drain the battery. It depends what you want, do you have a place for power in the rear? Do you want to use 2 microsd cards? Yes, I would recommend a front and rear camera so you have more coverage.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Guess I'll do the rear too!

I have a usb port in the rear. Is the 12v cigarette lighter port required or I can just plug into the usb?

Any differernce quality-wise since A229 is old and newer mini has 60fps i think. Also is the form factor of A229 noticably big compared to the discreet size of mini?

1

evident

Jul 7, 2025 4:19 PM

1.4K Comments

Joined Jul 2005

evidentJul 7, 2025 4:19 PM

1.4K Comments

Quote from WheelaDealer

:

Anyone else remember when Viofo dashcams were $33 from GeerBest? That's a price point that made sense to me.

The A119 Mini2 and A119 Mini mounted on my rear window caught an aggressive driver rear ending me when i was stopping for pedestrians in the crosswalk last week. worth every penny i paid for them.

I don't expect these do do anything amazing. I wasn't able to read the plates of someone passing me in a residential area going 70mph in broad daylight with it.

1

UniqueAlpaca719

Jul 7, 2025 4:31 PM

679 Comments

Joined Jun 2019

UniqueAlpaca719Jul 7, 2025 4:31 PM

679 Comments

Quote from gen2

:

Can these handle Texas summer?

You want ones powered by capacitors and not batteries. Batteries will go kaput, while capacitors will last a little longer.

1

barebottoms

Jul 7, 2025 4:32 PM

2.1K Comments

Joined Jun 2007

barebottomsJul 7, 2025 4:32 PM

2.1K Comments

Is this going to be on sale on viofio site too? so i can pay for sales taxes year end when I file my taxes.

2

partypooper32

Jul 7, 2025 5:01 PM

1.1K Comments

Joined Jun 2014

partypooper32Jul 7, 2025 5:01 PM

1.1K Comments

What makes these better than all other cheaper/generic ones that has been flooding this site lately?

1

novasian

Jul 7, 2025 5:08 PM

778 Comments

Joined Jan 2015

novasianJul 7, 2025 5:08 PM

778 Comments

Quote from triggerhappy007

:

Yes, they use a capacitor so it works well in the heat. Been running different Viofos for 8+ years. The only one I had to RMA was due to a white screen in the Winter so definitely not due to the heat.

I actually have one car that has the A229 Plus 2 ch and one car that has 2 A119 mini 2. I did 2 minis because I already had one so I just added one to the rear. It's easier on my van because I don't have to connect the rear cam to the front cam and I have 120v power port in the 3rd row. The cargo 12v is always on so I didn't want to drain the battery.

It depends what you want, do you have a place for power in the rear? Do you want to use 2 microsd cards?

Yes, I would recommend a front and rear camera so you have more coverage.

RE: I did 2 minis

good idea. never thought about doing 2 independent units. can you rename the 2nd one so the phone can identify which is which?

ready4ward

Jul 7, 2025 5:33 PM

802 Comments

Joined Dec 2011

ready4wardJul 7, 2025 5:33 PM

802 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank ready4ward

Quote from Kickinwing

:

I've had mine up since dec 2024, no issues here in DFW area.

Also bought the polarized lenses for the front camera which helps reduce glare quite a bit.

Do you use a sun shade and park outside? My Blackvue DR750X died in under 3 years in Texas, but I park in the sun and use a sun reflector shade on the windshield. Blackvue cannot handle the heat

1

2

MileyV

Jul 7, 2025 5:40 PM

240 Comments

Joined Nov 2016

MileyVJul 7, 2025 5:40 PM

240 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank MileyV

A119 Mini 2 was on sale for $90 range a few months back so this is a solid deal. So far I like the cam, my car is new and has an infotainment system so this mini was perfect option, its small and tucked behind the rear view so its out of view.

I only use the standard connection, not wired to the fusebox so I cant speak to that security feature but the image and video quality is fantastic. 1440p @ 30fps or 1080 @ 60fps.

I also recommend digging into the settings (nav buttons on the device are a bit clunky to learn) to turn off the sound (power on sound when you start the car makes like a flip phone circa 2005) and the voice narration unless you need it, very annoying for me.

PROTIP: The viofo app works but its slow. If you have carplay the wifi from your phone <> carplay will interfere with viofo's wifi signal making it impossible to connect to the app; disconnect your carplay wifi to your phone if this happens. Once you do connect, downloading recordings off the app to your phone is slow as s***, just take the sd card out and manually move them to your devices.

3

1

LeviathanUltima

Jul 7, 2025 5:43 PM

4.1K Comments

Joined Jun 2009

LeviathanUltimaJul 7, 2025 5:43 PM

4.1K Comments

Bummer no a329s 2ch. That is what I am waiting for.

2

1

CheapInNYC

Jul 7, 2025 7:02 PM

112 Comments

Joined Apr 2007

CheapInNYCJul 7, 2025 7:02 PM

112 Comments

If it helps, I bought the A229 Plus on May 10 for $198 so this price seems pretty good. I like the camera Check the camels to be sure on value. I added 17 bucks for the antiglare lens, and $26 for the hardwire kit. I had Best Buy install it for me for $99, did a great job. Last I paid 35 bucks for the extended warranty for five years. (My total came to about $374 plus tax all in.)

1

triggerhappy007

Jul 7, 2025 7:53 PM

1.8K Comments

Joined Dec 2007

triggerhappy007Jul 7, 2025 7:53 PM

1.8K Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank triggerhappy007

Quote from peppa6

:

Thanks for the detailed reply. Guess I'll do the rear too!

I have a usb port in the rear. Is the 12v cigarette lighter port required or I can just plug into the usb?

Any differernce quality-wise since A229 is old and newer mini has 60fps i think. Also is the form factor of A229 noticably big compared to the discreet size of mini?

You can use the USB port. They can both do 2k at 60 fps but with HDR off. The A229 is larger on the front but smaller for the rear.

Quote from novasian

:

RE: I did 2 minis

good idea. never thought about doing 2 independent units. can you rename the 2nd one so the phone can identify which is which?

Yes, you can rename it. They also have different wifi names.

Quote from ready4ward

:

Do you use a sun shade and park outside? My Blackvue DR750X died in under 3 years in Texas, but I park in the sun and use a sun reflector shade on the windshield. Blackvue cannot handle the heat

Yes, also in TX and use a sunshade. No problems with the TX heat. I had a problem with the white screen of death but that was in the Winter. This was rare for the A119 mini 2.

Quote from MileyV

:

I also recommend digging into the settings (nav buttons on the device are a bit clunky to learn) to turn off the sound (power on sound when you start the car makes like a flip phone circa 2005) and the voice narration unless you need it, very annoying for me.

I actually have the opposite recommendation, leave the sounds and voice on. Once, the USB cable was loose and I didn't hear it come on. Another time, my memory card was bad so I didn't hear it say, "recording started". If I didn't have the sound and voice on, I would have not known my camera was still off or not recording to the memory card.

Last edited by triggerhappy007 July 7, 2025 at 12:57 PM.

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ddBqRvCpcFv6

Jul 7, 2025 9:52 PM

1.6K Comments

Joined Aug 2009

ddBqRvCpcFv6Jul 7, 2025 9:52 PM

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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank ddBqRvCpcFv6

Viofo is brand I trust My gf car has A119 for many years. When SD card fails after few years, the dash cam will beep to replace.Also https://youtu.be/_bkbaHbwhCU?si=C...UAtsxgThis was viofo 129 pro that caught the insurance scam. 2 channel is more pain to install.. I hard wired mine for enabling parking mode. I have Viofo 129 Pro 4k in my car since 2021. Going strong. I only use Samsung endurance SD cards.

2

1

ddBqRvCpcFv6

Jul 7, 2025 9:57 PM

1.6K Comments

Joined Aug 2009

ddBqRvCpcFv6Jul 7, 2025 9:57 PM

1.6K Comments

Quote from peppa6

:

Anyone recommend between either A119 mini and A229 plus 2ch, or even two A119 mini for front and rear? Which would be better?Is 2ch necessary or front only is good enough for regular driving?

I would opt for 4k on the front with CPl filter.

Prime Members: Viofo Dash Cams: VS1 Mini $90, A119 Mini 2 $86, A229 Plus

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