Horrible Experience-Don't Buy TomTom If You Are a Mac SnowLeopard User

[vbigelow]

My daughter purchased a TomTom XL335T for me as a Christmas gift. I'm a MacBook Pro user running OS 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard) and my daughter purchased the unit because in the packaging, it claims the unit software is compatible with Mac OSX.

I used the unit once and discovered the maps were out of date. So, I connected it to my computer to register and update it. That's when the fun and games began. Partway through the update, an error occurred and my unit was ejected (improperly, it said) and the process aborted. I wasn't particularly concerned until I discovered that I now had no maps on my unit. When you get the "No maps found" message on your unit, it means there is no data. You get no other screen options at all.

I called tech support and waited 30 minutes for an agent. A process was emailed to me. The next day, a Sunday, I spent the entire day following that process sent to me by tech support as well as others suggested on the Internet in a vain attempt to restore my maps. No tech support was available on Sunday, so I was forced to wait.

Monday, I called tech support and was told it was a compatibility issue between OS 10.6.5 and TomTom Home. They said it was a recent issue and they were working on it. Hmmm....Snow Leopard has been out for how long???? How many TomTom users are there running Snow Leopard??? Indeed, a quick check on the Internet after the phone call revealed that this problem is NOT new at all and there are many frustrated users out there wondering why this issue has not been addressed.

The solution suggested for me? Go to the library and use their computer...find a family member who will let you update on their computer....WHAT?

When I asked to speak to customer service (because I wanted them to overnight me a new unit with maps installed that I would not update until they worked out the software incompatibility issue), they said they couldn't. They would have to put in a request and it would take 3-5 days for their royal highnesses to get back to me.

Customer service is everything to me. I will never buy another TomTom product.

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF.

Supermod canderson is an expert when it comes to Macs so look for him to pop into this thread sometime soon (today). If he misses it, just pm him.

In the meantime, were you updating the map on the unit? Did you happen to make a backup using Finder, not Home, prior to the update?

If you look here (path may vary on a Mac):
c:\documents and settings\yourname\my documents\TomTom\Home\Downloads\Complete\Maps\

do you see a map in compressed cab format?

If so, look here:
https://www.tomtomforums.com/genera...nstall-downloaded-map-without-using-home.html

and use Stuffit where you see reference to WinRar.

Also, take a gander here:
https://www.tomtomforums.com/general-tomtom-discussion/24466-how-free-up-space-when-using-mac.html

 

[canderson]

HARDLY a Mac expert!

To the OP - check the two links that dhn has given you, but do them in REVERSE order. You'll want to assure that the trash can that your Mac created on your TomTom (it's a goofy setup) has been emptied before you attempt to install the maps on your unit or you'll likely find you've got inadequate space.

 

[cambiatagn]

There is a TomTom/Mac Snow Leopard Problem

I had a similar problem yesterday - naturally, I was trying to update and set an address in my TomTom XL 340 prior to leaving to play a concert at a venue I hadn't been to before.

My TomTom unmounetd in the midst of a map upload. Then, the unit said no maps were there, but it wouldn't allow me to load a new one because it said there was no space.

The first TomTom support tech walked me through removing hte map file from my TomTom and then loading a new one. It took forever and, again the map didn't fully load. THis time, I got a message saying I couldn't access the map.

When i called back, the new tech asked if I was using a Mac. When I said I was, he said, please tell me you're not using 10.6. When I confirmed I was, he said that there is an issue (supposedly on Apple's end) that is causing this in 10.6. He said that I needed to use either a PC or a Mac running 105. When I used or PowerBook, which has 105, it worked and my unit is now running properly. But it was like it had been completely reset. Everything was wiped out.

I can't find any info about this in the Apple site.

My daughter purchased a TomTom XL335T for me as a Christmas gift. I'm a MacBook Pro user running OS 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard) and my daughter purchased the unit because in the packaging, it claims the unit software is compatible with Mac OSX.

I used the unit once and discovered the maps were out of date. So, I connected it to my computer to register and update it. That's when the fun and games began. Partway through the update, an error occurred and my unit was ejected (improperly, it said) and the process aborted. I wasn't particularly concerned until I discovered that I now had no maps on my unit. When you get the "No maps found" message on your unit, it means there is no data. You get no other screen options at all.

I called tech support and waited 30 minutes for an agent. A process was emailed to me. The next day, a Sunday, I spent the entire day following that process sent to me by tech support as well as others suggested on the Internet in a vain attempt to restore my maps. No tech support was available on Sunday, so I was forced to wait.

Monday, I called tech support and was told it was a compatibility issue between OS 10.6.5 and TomTom Home. They said it was a recent issue and they were working on it. Hmmm....Snow Leopard has been out for how long???? How many TomTom users are there running Snow Leopard??? Indeed, a quick check on the Internet after the phone call revealed that this problem is NOT new at all and there are many frustrated users out there wondering why this issue has not been addressed.

The solution suggested for me? Go to the library and use their computer...find a family member who will let you update on their computer....WHAT?

When I asked to speak to customer service (because I wanted them to overnight me a new unit with maps installed that I would not update until they worked out the software incompatibility issue), they said they couldn't. They would have to put in a request and it would take 3-5 days for their royal highnesses to get back to me.

Customer service is everything to me. I will never buy another TomTom product.

 

[canderson]

My TomTom unmounetd in the midst of a map upload. Then, the unit said no maps were there, but it wouldn't allow me to load a new one because it said there was no space.

If you can get past the unmount issues, understand that as the procedure was half completed, there's a good chance that your TomTom now has a full trash folder that needs to be emptied (see above) before you'll ever be able to fit the map back onto it again. Be sure to give that a try if you need to use your 10.6 Mac again down the road and the process fails mid-way again.

It's interesting that TT is pointing specifically to 10.6. A failure in the process can cause a TT to appear to be too full to hold the new data no matter what version of OSX is being used. I wonder if the disconnect of the USB device is what is at issue with 10.6? You are not the first person to comment about difficulty keeping the TT connected during an update on a 10.6 machine.

 

[lec510]

Customer service is everything to me. I will never buy another TomTom product.

I am now a Linux user (Ubuntu to be precise), but never for a moment I think of thrashing XP. I keep at least one of my old PC that has XP on it, or dual booted with Ubuntu, for these cases.
As for Mac, do you think that you will fare better with others like Garmin, Magellan ?

 

[Krellan]

My daughter purchased a TomTom XL335T for me as a Christmas gift. I'm a MacBook Pro user running OS 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard) and my daughter purchased the unit because in the packaging, it claims the unit software is compatible with Mac OSX.

Customer service is everything to me. I will never buy another TomTom product.

Not a bad idea. My experiences with TomTom are among the worst I've ever had with any corporation that makes consumer products. Extremely brittle software, and useless tech support, are a bad combination.

The one good thing about your TomTom is that it's a recent purchase. I hope you can still return it!