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TomTom causing wife tech stress

pepper14 0 Points
edited November -1 in TomTom Car Forum
Purchased a new 550 model for my wife's job as a Home Health therapist. At 1st she loved it, but 2 problematic areas have made her want to go back to the old fashioned Thomas Guide. Being rather ignorant with GPS devices myself, I thought I'd ask for some input

1) How long is a fully charged 550 battery supposed to last? We seem not to get more than a couple of hours out of it, if that, without it in the charger

2) We occasionally get the message along the lines of unable to locate a valid GPS signal/satellite. Now, we live in a rather populated suburban area of southern CA. There has to be ample satellites above us. Why would we get that message, and what needs to be done when we do?

I thank you for your time and consideration, in this matter

Comments

  • dhn 336 Points
    While a brand new unit should get the 2-2.5 hours you are experiencing (the 'up to 5 hours' is just tomtom marketing hype) remember that all units are meant to be used with the car charger; that's why they are provided.

    It's harder for the unit to 'grab' the signal if you are moving at the time. Should be in an open area and stationary.
  • pepper14 0 Points
    Thank you so kindly. Hopefully I can convince the wife to keep it a little longer. It's kinda cool to have Master Yoda giving us directions, even if its in reverse verbage 8)
  • pepper14 0 Points
    :?: If I may follow-up, specifically on question #1 I posed, I've noticed myself, that when we do put the charger on, regardless if its "fully charged" or not, we seem to get the same near empty battery image. It never seems to change, whenever we see the image. Any idea as to why is that?
  • dhn 336 Points
    Are you talking about connecting the unit to the computer via usb to charge it after you see the near empty image when the unit was notr connected? Or when you connect it to the car charger?
  • pepper14 0 Points
    It doesn't seem to matter. Whether I've connected it to the computer via USB, or connecting it into the car charger.....the same near empty image presents itself
  • dhn 336 Points
    This one?

    image
  • pepper14 0 Points
    That's the one!!
  • dhn 336 Points
    Well, that is weird. That symbol (appropriately called 'lowbattery.bmp' is supposed to appear if the battery is low when the unit is NOT connected to either the computer or the car via the appropriate charger.

    You could try to reset the unit by holding the power button for about 10 seconds or so on your model.

    But, my gut reaction is that you have a hardware fault somewhere if that is appearing WHEN connected.

    I suppose it's theoretically possible that both the car charger AND the usb cable are faulty, but ........ :roll:

    Are you SURE your connection to the unit via either cable is proper?

    When all is said and done, I'd be leaning towards returning the unit.
  • pepper14 0 Points
    Thank you again 8)
  • pepper14 0 Points
    If indeed I take my current 550XXL TomTom back and exchange it for another, are the current addresses and Yoda voice transferrable?
  • mvl 191 Points
    You can copy the current addresses by copying the mapsettings.cfg file from the old device to the new one.

    Licenced voices like Yoda are non-transferrable. But if you call Tomtom, they may be able to credit the new device for the voice download, if you show proof (eg: receipt) of the swap.
  • pepper14 0 Points
    Thank you
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