# Problems with GoPro?



## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

I only have a HERO2, but yes, have had many many software issues. I emailed customer support back and forth many times and it always ended the same: make sure you have the most current software and best memory card. Things work OK for a while and then inevitably when I am far away from my computer (happened on Lake Tahoe wakeboarding and on a barrier reef off the coast of Belize kayaking & snorkeling) the %^&*$ camera locks up and won't work. I have concluded that we, the consumers, get used as beta testers for these products, even though we paid full price.


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

A few questions need answering...

What model?

What memory card?

How are you importing? Via card by taking card out or straight from the camera?

What frame rate and size? i.e. 60f 720hd

Also, spec of PC or Mac and how old... What software are you using for playback...???


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

Kevin137 said:


> A few questions need answering...
> 
> What model?
> 
> ...


I'm not very tech savvy, so I will answer this the best that I can.

It's a GP Hero 3, not the plus. From what I can tell, the mem card says "PNY " with a 4 on it. I'm importing by plugging the camera in and dragging the files over. I've never had a problem with this method before with the other footage I've taken. I have no idea of the frame rate and size. 

From the brief Googling I did, it seems like this is a common-ish issue with the cameras. I did a hard reset and it seems to have solved the issue, for now. I'm just super nervous this is going to happen again. 

Deagol, I was reading that as well about constantly needing to update the firmware and micro SD card. 

I'm just frustrated right now since I lost A LOT of footage from my trip, and it's not something I will ever get back.


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## ekb18c (Mar 11, 2013)

I've had so much bad luck with gopro that I stopped using it.

You may want to check that your sd card is up to specs on the requirement. I believe it needs to be class 10.


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## ekb18c (Mar 11, 2013)

If you have something like the attached image then it may not work so well. See that 4 in the cirlce? that's class 4 and i do believe the gopro require class 10


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

ekb18c said:


> If you have something like the attached image then it may not work so well. See that 4 in the cirlce? that's class 4 and i do believe the gopro require class 10


It looks something like that, with the 4. I used this all of last summer with no problems, so I'm a bit hesitant to say it's the card. But, seeing as I need to pick up some stuff for my computer, I may as well get another card. 

I have to admit, I'm *really* spooked with this incident with my camera, and am considering getting something else as a back up.


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## ekb18c (Mar 11, 2013)

Here is a list of "recommended" microsd cards

SD Card Recommendations


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

I know it doesn't help with the footage you already lost. That totally sucks. But definitely get a couple "class 10" or better cards for the future. 

The class rating is about the cards data read/write rate and reliability. Lesser class cards may or may not work, but could be unreliable. 

I have the original Hero & Hero 2 models. Haven't had any problems like that so far. Can't comment on the GP-H3 tho. :dunno:

I got several SanDisk, 8 & 16gb SD cards can from BBUY on sale for under $18-$25 ea. Good quality cards, they're big enough to hold hours of video and didn't cost me a fortune. Definitely stay away from any of the off brand and $10 discount SD cards.


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

FWIW, I had a class 10 SD card (Sandisk Extreme) and still had the above problems.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

deagol said:


> FWIW, I had a class 10 SD card (Sandisk Extreme) and still had the above problems.


Huh? And with the Hero II as well? I haven't had anything like that happen with mine. Now, I bought mine over 2 years ago and except for the initial firmware update needed to work the WiFi remote, I haven't upgraded ANY software or firmware since. (...Im NOT big on being a "first adopter" when it come to shit like that. Too many bugs to get worked out. )

If yours is newer, then the software/firmware might just be at fault. :dunno:
(...you still want to be using C10 sd cards tho!)


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## NZRide (Oct 2, 2013)

To the OP, as mentioned get a decent brand Class 10 card. You are scraping the bottom of the spec for recording 1080p. Also not all memory cards are created equal even using the Class classification system. If your memory card cannot store the data fast enough that the camera is throwing at it, then you will get lock ups, dropped data or potential black outs like you have, where its dropped the video stream all together.

You've paid decent money for Gopro (I have a Hero 2 with Sandisk extreme Class 10 cards and never had an issue). Memory cards are cheap these days, go buy a decent Class 10 card and at least you are covering this critical aspect.

Disclaimer- As deagol mentioned above he is having issues and possible you have another issue with your camera, but honestly your card is good for snap and shoot still photo cam, not for HD action cam.


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

I'm curious, if the card was the problem, shouldn't this have shown up right from the get go? I've had this camera for over a year, and used it for over a year and this was the first time this has happened.


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## NZRide (Oct 2, 2013)

Tough one to answer, it is a bit odd, have you changed the firmware, the resolution/frame rate that you are recording at, eg 720/60 vs previous 1080/30 etc? 
If you were teetering on the cusp with your current card, even environmental conditions, may have teetered it over, hot cold humid etc.
At the end of the day you may well have a camera fault, but a few of us are just pointing out your card is not what it should be to do the job.
You didn't mention your exact Hero 3 version, but if you are using the HERO 3 Black then you have access to even higher frame rates than the old Hero 2 and Hero 3 entry level models, such as 1080/60 and 2k and 4k which the throughput is far higher than class 4 can support.
You mention not being tech savvy but did you or someone else change your recording rate? then that change alone to a higher res/frame rate on a non conformign SD card, will stop you recording. 
You could easily test this at home, at what res and frame rate does recording fail. If its at the higher end, get a decent card. If its random and at low res, hate to say it but update to latest firmware and test again...if still screwed, then your camera is probably fubar.


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

NZRide said:


> Tough one to answer, it is a bit odd, have you changed the firmware, the resolution/frame rate that you are recording at, eg 720/60 vs previous 1080/30 etc?
> If you were teetering on the cusp with your current card, even environmental conditions, may have teetered it over, hot cold humid etc.
> At the end of the day you may well have a camera fault, but a few of us are just pointing out your card is not what it should be to do the job.
> You didn't mention your exact Hero 3 version, but if you are using the HERO 3 Black then you have access to even higher frame rates than the old Hero 2 and Hero 3 entry level models, such as 1080/60 and 2k and 4k which the throughput is far higher than class 4 can support.
> ...


It's the hero 3 black edition. I haven't changed the settings since the day I bought it. To my knowledge, nobody has messed around with the settings, as they know I would probably chop their hands off if they did that. Regardless of whether or not the card is actually the issue, I'm going to get a class 10 card anyway, and hope that this doesn't happen again.


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

my most recent problem would be that the camera would record for about 13 seconds, then lock up (stop recording). I would take the battery out to reset it. That worked at first, then stopped working. I, at first had the sandisk Ultra, which was rated as OK with the Hero 2, then just to be sure, got the sandisk Extreme. It still happened. Most recently was a great powder day at Copper. It has not happened much since, but I only use the camera sporadically now. I have the most-current software installed. When it happened at Tahoe, I had a prior version of software, so after coming home and email tech support and getting the better card and having the most current software, I just lost faith in the Gopro being totally reliable. I still use it and it still works..... most of the time


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## ekb18c (Mar 11, 2013)

The gopro is buggy thats all I can say. When I first bought it, it would record great. It would record till I ran out of room on my micro SD card. Then one day while at Vail, it would only record 30 mins at a time. Then it would only record for 15 mins and then only a few mins at a time. So strange as it seems that they always release firmware that have bugs in them.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

deagol said:


> FWIW, I had a class 10 SD card (Sandisk Extreme) and still had the above problems.


Same here. I never use the gopro anymore. Just drift hd ghost and S. 

Gopro is a hero3 black


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## KansasNoob (Feb 24, 2013)

deagol said:


> my most recent problem would be that the camera would record for about 13 seconds, then lock up (stop recording). I would take the battery out to reset it. That worked at first, then stopped working. I, at first had the sandisk Ultra, which was rated as OK with the Hero 2, then just to be sure, got the sandisk Extreme. It still happened. Most recently was a great powder day at Copper. It has not happened much since, but I only use the camera sporadically now. I have the most-current software installed. When it happened at Tahoe, I had a prior version of software, so after coming home and email tech support and getting the better card and having the most current software, I just lost faith in the Gopro being totally reliable. I still use it and it still works..... most of the time


I was trying to get a vid of my suspension cycling on my pickup, it did the same thing... twice.


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

There are numerous reasons for this, corrupt data written to a card, a card too slow, but the most common by far, is transferring straight from the camera...!!!

I always pull the card and out in a card reader...

Memory cards can wear out, and anything above 720 30fps will require a class 10 to be sure of capture, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it won't...

If you have a card too fast as well it can cause issues, contour+2's will say the battery is flat when you use the new class 1's the 1 in a square... So all cameras have issues.


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## hardasacatshead (Aug 21, 2013)

I've still got a GoPro Hero 2 and I've never had an issue. The thing fell off my windscreen at 185km/h on the autobahn in Germany and still works like a champ. Unfortunately, in the world of electronics sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. 

On the memory card front - I agree with everybody's sentiments. Cards certainly can fail and data becomes corrupted to the point of no return. It might be intermittent too, so don't think that if you use it next time and it works that all's good in the hood. 

Get yourself a Class 10 card for sure, write speed is pretty important particularly when recording at 1080p. 

Being somewhat of a photographer, it's absolutely critical that you have reliable gear, especially when shooting weddings. I've used Sandisk cards for years and have never had one fail (both CF and SD cards). I've had Kingston and Lexar cards fail on me previously so I stopped buying them.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

The cameras suck. When they do work the image quality is great, the problem is you don't know they work until you see the ducked up video, I have only used Sony or SanDisk for years and still had gopro hero 3 issues.


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## Art_mtl (Feb 25, 2013)

No problems so far with my Go pro 3+ black with 32GB Lexar 600+ card, all works fine since last Xmass.


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