Go 630 - touch screen activating without touch

[Mnx4]

Hey guys!

I've had my tomtom go 630 for about 2 years with no problems except the past 5 months or so. At random times, my tomtom starts entering menus as if someone is touching the screen constantly. It's as if someone is continually tapping the upper right hand side of the screen, which, if left on the map screen, will tap itself into the help me>walk to> police station and then get itself stuck in that menu. If I'm quick enough with the back button, I can get back to the main screen but it's an exercise in futility.

I can't seem to figure out what's been setting it off. It could be the heat from my dashboard (usually, I take it with me inside when I'm done), loud music reverberations, maybe static from the suede cloth holster, poltergeist... I honestly don't know. I've tried a factory reset, no dice. It's fully up to date. It seems to come and go at random times, so it's hard to pin something down as the culprit, other than there's something wrong on the tomtom screen.

Any help or ideas? Thanks!

 

[Grandoug]

I haven't had any experience with this myself, but I have seen several replies to similar problems. They suggest using a business card to clean out the between the bezel and the screen. Do it all the way around. This usually result is the problem being solved. Good Luck

 

[widescreenforever]

My TT630 recently had the opposite .,, The touch screen wouldn't respond at all..

and that was after 7 months not two years ..
Seems that your device has come to end of its life ..

 

[canderson]

Any help or ideas? Thanks!

First place to look when this happens is under the bezel. Take a stiff piece of thin plastic (like a report cover), a business card or something similar and work it around under the bezel to remove any crud that may have built up between the bezel and the screen. That resolves these problems 90+% of the time.

Also - are you running any sort of screen protector on that unit?

 

[Andy_P]

Seems that your device has come to end of its life ..

That's not very helpful.... and probably wrong. Especially as "dirt under the bezel" is VERY often the cause of this behaviour.

 

[Mnx4]

Thanks for the replies!

I do not have a screen protector on the tomtom. I took an index card, folded it in half and used it under the edges of the screen bezel. (Just to double check, the bezel is the black border around the screen?) I managed to pull out a little grime from that corner, but not a ton. I'll be using it over the next few days to make sure that's what did it.

Thanks for answering this question again, I had no idea what sort of search terms to use to find this problem.

UPDATE: After the original cleaning, it looked like the problem started quickly after turning it on. There was a lot less debris on the trouble side than the other sides, so I don't know if it was still a problem with the dust. I took a plastic membership card and started pushing it into the rubber gasket along the edge in question and that seems to have resolved it for right now. I've left it sitting on my desk and the screen hasn't changed.

Any other suggestions if this doesn't work?

 

[Andy_P]

Next step would be to try removing the bezel completely.

It just pulls off, but unless you have the knack only after you've broken all your fingernals and scratched the case!

 

[Mnx4]

Just a quick update. I was able to remove the screws from the back of the case, and through those screw holes, I pushed the screen-bezel out of the case and removed the bezel and the gasket. It seemed clean, minus a very small amount of debris. The only thing that looked out of place was the gasket on the side in question looked wavy or ribbed like the collar of an overwashed t-shirt (baconed). I cleaned the screen and the gasket with isopropyl alcohol, put it back together, and I'm gonna test it out over the next day or two. If it still messes up, I'll remove the gasket and see what happens.

Thanks again!

 

[Mnx4]

Well, I'm glad to reply that messing around with the gasket has been a success so far! I don't know if it will happen again but I at least have some idea of how to fix it next time.

Thanks for the help!

 

[canderson]

Well, I'm glad to reply that messing around with the gasket has been a success so far! I don't know if it will happen again but I at least have some idea of how to fix it next time.

Thanks for the help!

You're in some new territory here that has taken the interest of a couple of us. There have been a number of reports where 'gunk' wasn't the answer, and we concluded that there was a mechanical issue with the bezel, often related to temperature. Since you're the first (I think) to report specific issues with the gasket, please do keep us updated.

So disassembly, minor cleaning with alcohol and reassembly -- that's the extent of what was done?

 

[Mnx4]

You're in some new territory here that has taken the interest of a couple of us. There have been a number of reports where 'gunk' wasn't the answer, and we concluded that there was a mechanical issue with the bezel, often related to temperature. Since you're the first (I think) to report specific issues with the gasket, please do keep us updated.

So disassembly, minor cleaning with alcohol and reassembly -- that's the extent of what was done?

Yep, just ran a q-tip with some rubbing alcohol along the edges, whether or not it needed it and along the surface of the screen where the gasket would sit. Snapped it back together and it's been working fine since.

Was the temperature/bezel hypothesis that the bezel itself would expand or warp due to temperature extremes? My only rationale for believing it was the gasket and not the bezel is I didn't think the plastic bezel would be capacitive. Granted, I have no idea if the gasket is either, just thinking out loud. If it's not capacitive itself, maybe it's moisture getting trapped in between the screen and the gasket. High purity alcohol would be great for drying it out.

 

[wineberry89]

simple solution

The simple solution for this problem? Remove it from your car, place it under one of the cars tires, then back over it. I've got my grandson's brand spanking new GO630 here (a graduation gift to him), that has had this problem from the get-go, fresh out of the box.

It appears to me that Tomtom needs to get their act together, and fix this problem. At this point, I am ready to go purchase a Garmin or other brand to get something that actually works, and has some value. Right now, this POS is about ready to hit the trash bin.

 

[dhn]

Then return it for a refund or exchange.

 

[Andy_P]

Did you ever get your itineraries working, Wineberry?

You asked for help here and here last year, but never came back to tell us if the advice given worked....

 

[wineberry89]

Did you ever get your itineraries working, Wineberry?

You asked for help here and here last year, but never came back to tell us if the advice given worked....

Yes, I did get it to work, and Thanks for asking. That was on my XXL530. That unit works great. Especially when compared to the GO 630 I gave my grandson. That one has a very funky keyboard setup, besides the menu flashing thing.

 

[canderson]

That one has a very funky keyboard setup, besides the menu flashing thing.

The 630 can be configured for both ABCDEF and QWERTY style keyboards in Change preferences. Are you seeing something than one of those two?!?

 

[TomNe]

Hello,
I can confirm this problem has nothing to do with dust under the bezel but with misalignment of the gasket. Carefully run something sturdy (a rounded toothpick f.e.) along the gasket between screen and bezel and you will notice it's somehow wavy in the upper right of the screen. With a little pressure I was able to 'straighten' it a bit and until now the device runs without error again. It may only be temporarily as vibration of the car probably can bring the gasket back into its bad position but it's worth a try. I had this problem with a GO730 but it could work with the 630 too.

 

[Andy_P]

Hello,
I can confirm this problem has nothing to do with dust under the bezel but with misalignment of the gasket.

Maybe so.... In your case....

Very often it *IS* just grit under the bezel.

 

[Corson27]

heat

I'll throw another idea out, I have a 1 yr old GO730 which started this last week, (one month past the 1 yr warranty..yeah me lol)

I have only used its say about 10 times in the last year so I was pretty sure it is not dirty, though I would admit it could get dusty sitting on a shelf waiting to be used.

It is ok when I turn it one for about the first 10 mins, but once it gets hot it starts to press the bottom right hand side (around the "next" button in the menu.

Making a link of heat and the problem I am testing it now, after 10 mins it starts, if I spray it with compressed air, it cools the screen for a few mins, 1 or 2 nothing will happen, once the temp cooling wears off goes back to jumping again, I have tested this about 5 times in a row and each time cooling off the screen for a bit with compressed air will make it stop jumping.

Ok now ideas what that could mean or what to do next? I guess take it apart is the next option.... I'll let you guys know how I make out

 

[Mnx4]

So the problem came back What's worse is it came back during a 10-hour drive, so I had to use my phone gps the rest of the way. I removed the bezel and the gasket and just let it continue working, but then it started up again. So it may be the actual protective covering over the screen that's causing the problem.

Any ideas on that?