Here is the freezing issue explanation... so keep that in mind when buying a new hero3...

GoPro Hero3 Freezing Fix & Hero2 - YouTube

Finally got my Hero3 Black delivered from GoPro yesterday. I'm not having any lockups after quite a few clips with and without Protune. All the clips are around two minutes.

When I did the product update the utility said I already had the latest software, so I don't know the s/w date or version number.

I'll try much longer clips over the weekend and see what happens.

I've had my Black Edition for almost two weeks. I did the firmware update right out of the box, it still says it is the most current firmware. I have not experienced any charging or freeze up issues so far. I have recorded clips as long as 25 minutes, in both 720P60 and 1080P30 formats. I have not tried ProTune yet. The WiFi remote works very well, although it did take several tries to pair it successfully with the camera.

I have noticed only two things not up to par so far...

1. The time-date on the recorded files are not correct. If I record a clip, then open the card in Finder, the clips have yesterdays date and a time about 14 hours prior to the actual recording event. This is making logging scenes a bit challenging. Yes, the gopro clock is set correctly :-)

2. The battery shows only one bar remaining after less than an hour of shooting. I am hoping the gas gauge hasn't calibrated yet. If the gauge is correct I will not make it to 90 minutes of battery life. Too new to know for sure yet...but my H2's go 2.5 hours most of the time.

After talking to gopro support, I have concluded that my hero3 is part of a bad batch. I sent it in for exchange and we'll see if the freezing is gone on the new one. Another symptom I ALWAYS saw on mine was a hesitation. I set mine to auto-on mode and when I turn it on, the led starts blinking and the counter starts counting the seconds, BUT at 2 seconds, the camera seems to hang for 2-3 seconds and the led and counter resume at 5 seconds. The video appears fine once downloaded from the camera. Intermittently, this hesitation would never resume, hence the freezing.

Got a Hero 3 Black Edition yesterday, so far so good. I noticed a bit of hesitation the first time I hit record but it's been consistently working since. I haven't patched, the java tool for update didn't work with my firefox, its whatever came with the unit. I'm using 720p 120fps with Protune turned on, my memory card is a samsung class 10 micro-sd that worked great on a TF300.

Ironically, it was my Hero 2s that froze on me. I took out the battery like recommended. What I've noticed, if I hold down the power button for too long (more than 3 seconds) and cause it to change from video to photo mode immediately after power on it to hung. It did freeze up for a while before protune firmware as well, so it must be an old power-up bug. Once I figured out the timing its been powering off and on without a hitch so far. It also still works in 3D mode with Protune. I have a Transcend and Patriot class 10 on each. Both cameras are setup for 720p 60fps.

I'm not 100% sure that my situation could be characterized as "freezing".

In my case, when I'm trying to record in 1080T60 (1080P 60fps with Protune enabled), it'll generally record for 2-3 seconds, then just stop (as though I'd hit the record button again).

As I'm using it on a quadcopter, that's a big problem as I've made many a flight only to find the camera stopped just seconds into a flight.

I'm using the SanDisk Ultra class 10 HC 1, which I thought was the fastest card out there. And I have two of them, and it happens with both of them.

If you have to remove the battery to reset and make the camera usable again... then it is the same "freezing" problem I was demonstrating.

I've recorded a few 20+ minute clips in 1080 and 720 at 24, 30, 60 and 120 fps - no problems....

BUT last night I was doing a timelapse - 1 pic(7mb) every 2 seconds... and it froze after 1262 photos...

had to pull the battery.

Got mine Wednesday. Out of the box it had a couple freezing issues but I found that my PCs front USB ports weren't fully compatible as far as charging it. This may have caused some initial issues as I plugged it in to my PC right away to start charging. I pulled the and reset the battery, did the in-browser update, and watched it reboot a couple times while updating. Now it works flawlessly but will only charge from outlet or rear usb ports (something to consider if you are having any issues). I've captured photos, video in all res's and fps, and connected the wifi remote. So far it works perfect now. Off to run some more footage tests!!!

I have a hero 2 and it isn't recognised via usb 3 ports...

Was recording this time lapse of T-Giving dinner with Hero3 Black and it was my first freeze. After 1262 photos (7MB) 1 photo every 2 seconds - it hung. I did not notice right away as I was eating / hosting - but had to pull the battery to reset it.
Time lape of T-Giving with GoProHero3 FREEZE on Vimeo

I got my Hero 3 black in December and have no issues so as far as I can tell the issue has been sorted.

I got my Hero 3 two days ago. It has the freezing problem. It also stopped communicating with the Wi-Fi remote. I made repeated attempts to pair it again, but unsuccessful. The Android App continues to work fine, and it makes good video, but I'm returning it for exchange.

As I mentioned in my other post. Changing to using the GoPro charger has solved my problem. Still have some issues in getting the remote to work consistently but think that may be my finger problem!!!!

Ron Evans

The retailer exchanged my Hero 3, and the replacement unit was utter junkware. I took it back for a refund and he told me they had just received a new shipment, so I tried a third time. Third time is the charm, worlds better so far. It paired successfully right away with both the Wi-Fi remote and the GoPro Android App for my phone. I do have the 12vdc auto charger however it will still freeze upon occasion, but it always is related to some combination of circumstances, switching between Wi-Fi sources and power cycling. At least it does not freeze up while recording.

As I mentioned in my other post. Changing to using the GoPro charger has solved my problem. Still have some issues in getting the remote to work consistently but think that may be my finger problem!!!!

Ron Evans

As mentioned, the Wi-Fi remote was working on the first Hero3 but ceased to pair after the 2nd day. GoPro tech support was prompt to respond, but rather than have me go through a bunch of troubleshooting, seemed to hint of an awareness of a problem in the Wi-Fi and suggested that I would need to send it in for repair. I doubt it is a problem with your finger.

Yes I think I have now decided there is a problem with the WiFi. If I start in sequence, WiFi on, camera on, then remote on. Things work fine to start and stop many time without lockup. If I use remote to switch power off it turns off the camera and remote and leaves WiFi running as I would expect. Sometimes powering up the remote will also power up the camera but most not and then the camera is locked until the battery is removed. There seems to be no way to power down without a lockup. Until I try to power down camera runs fine. I have sent message to support to see what they say. Manually operating the camera without WiFi it works fine without lockup so I think the issue is the WiFi. Same thing happens if I use my Sony Xperia T to control.

Ron Evans

Mine exhibits identical behavior as you just described, Ron. You nailed the explanation. There also seems to be a third FOV mode not accessible from the camera or the remote. For example, I can choose a wide or medium fov but the only way to access the narrow setting is using the Android GoPro App.

An update to my problem. Got a fast reply from Chris in support, very helpful. He first asked me to manually update the firmware which I did but still had a problem when I skied yesterday though batteries were getting low and it was cold too. So then asked me to do the following. 1. remove SD card, 2 remove and replace the battery, 3 start the camera, 4 this may take several tries of 2 and 3 to get the camera to start. Mine did on the first time. I have now tried for over 25 cycles of switching on and off via the remote and it has worked every time so far. Will keep trying later today too . He said that if that didn't solve the problem then I would need to arrange for a replacement. I am off out West again skiing next week so do not want to do that until after I come back if I still have the problem. So far today the problem has not come back !!!

You may want to try this Tom

Ron Evans

Thanks Ron. This 3rd unit, although the best of the bunch is still glitchy, but more or less manageable. It pairs with both the remote and the android phone, and mostly allows me to pass control between them without freezing as long as the power cord is left on. Powering cycling it mostly works too. The keyword of course, is "mostly" because it's not every time dependable, but well...mostly livable. The most recent problem that cropped up is that it will sometimes just stop recording by itself. Now that is bad. By just switching off the Wi-Fi and operating it from the built-in switches, it hasn't done that anymore for the last two days. For now, I'm just using it as a dash cam, (in case I get lucky with a meteorite). :-)

For the last two days I have run the GoPro switching on first at the camera then always from the remote just recording one clip then shut down from the remote, power up from the remote and continue this cycle when I have had a few moments during the day. It works until there is just one bar shown as the battery level on either the camera or the remote then it takes time to start up from the remote and eventually freezes, usually after about 40 clips/cycles. Likely not enough power to run the WiFI as well as everything else!!!! I can live with that now I know what will happen. Still think there is a problem with the WiFi firmware or camera firmware that manages response to battery power level. The camera should give a warning then shut down not freeze in my mind I would find that acceptable when the battery runs down. Maybe we will get another firmware update soon !!!! While on ski trip a couple of weeks ago I also just ignored the remote and the camera worked just great with no freezes or problems. Issue is definitely with the WiFI somehow. Just like my Sony cameras the Go Pro likes the memory to be formatted in the camera. I did this for all my cards and then copied the latest firmware from the PC to these cards. Seems to give the best results so far.

Ron Evans