Connect to Computer Screen

[Coys]

Does anyone know how to disable the infernal "Connect to computer" (along with its even more annoying instructions on how to do it) screen which comes up about 30 seconds after my Start switches on every single time, even immediately after, er, connecting it to my computer and installing all offered updates. It always comes up after I have started driving so I have to lean over and press OK, which is obviously not ideal.

It is driving me so mad that if I can't fix it I'm going to bin the one year old device and buy a new SatNav from another company. If only my old One didn't finally give up the ghost I'd go back to that.

 

[dhn]

There may be an issue with the cable being used.

 

[Coys]

There may be an issue with the cable being used.

I don't think so. It's the cable which came with the device and the upgrades always work fine. Annoyingly it's a silly right angled USB connector so I can't try another without buying one.

 

[Coys]

There may be an issue with the cable being used.

OK, I've just done a bit more testing and you do have a point about the cable, although I think it's a "feature" rather than a faulty cable.

1) If I start the car with the cable in so that the device starts up automatically (rather than having to fumble behind the thing to find the poorly positioned power button), then I get the "connect to computer" screen (even if I disconnected it from a computer two minutes ago).

2) If I remove the cable and start the device manually then I don't get the screen.

Seems stupid to me, but there you are.

 

[dhn]

I would suspect either the cable or the power being output from the cig lighter. If the unit detects .5A (what the typical computer usb port outputs) then it thinks the device is going to be connected to the computer. A cig lighter output is normally at least 1.0A (or higher). So, can you try in a different car or try with a different cable in the same car to isolate where the issue is ---- cable or cig lighter output.

 

[canderson]

@dhn
Determination of whether to offer the "Connect to computer" is not reliant upon available current - the device is seeing something on the data lines (real or otherwise) that is causing this.

What we have never established, and the OP has not mentioned, is whether he/she is using the original cigarette lighter adapter, or a USB outlet on the vehicle to power the device. If the latter, then the explanation is obvious. If using the supplied cig lighter adapter, then we have another issue.

 

[dhn]

You know far better than I, canderson. Hope the OP checks back.

 

[Coys]

@dhnWhat we have never established, and the OP has not mentioned, is whether he/she is using the original cigarette lighter adapter, or a USB outlet on the vehicle to power the device. If the latter, then the explanation is obvious. If using the supplied cig lighter adapter, then we have another issue.

I think you've got it; I'm using a dual output USB splitter in the cigarette lighter socket, which I use to power both my SatNav and speed camera detector simultaneously. I still don't see why that screen cannot be bypassed after the first time one has connected the device to a computer though.

Thanks to all for your comments and coming up with an explanation.

 

[canderson]

Actually, I have not come up with a suitable explanation at all. A cigarette lighter adapter, even a 'dually', should not give the appearance of a 'host' when something is connected to it. I referred to the ports now commonly supplied as part of the vehicle itself for connection to the vehicles audio system (e.g., thumb drive to play mp3s). Those will give the appearance of a USB host to a connected device like your TomTom... but that's not what you have.

That's not to say that the adapter you are using isn't suspect. If you have the original that came with your unit, give it a try long enough to see if it behaves the same way or not.

As to "why that screen cannot be bypassed" - understand that the TomTom thinks it is being physically connected to a PC (for reasons yet to understand), and when it is physically connected to the PC, your choice of logical USB connection (or not) decides the entire behavior of the unit. If you say "No", it uses the power supplied by the PC to operate and to some degree, charge the battery. If you say "Yes", then a USB session is started with the PC, and the screen on the unit becomes inoperable, and what you do with it from there must be done using the PC. So there's a reason it always asks when it thinks it has a PC connection going.

So again - if you have the stock adapter for your unit, give that a try long enough to determine if the dual adapter you are using is the culprit.

 

[Coys]

So again - if you have the stock adapter for your unit, give that a try long enough to determine if the dual adapter you are using is the culprit.

OK, I've tried it with the stock adapter for my Road Angel and it does work as intended, so it is the USB adapter which I'm using. The TomTom must be more sensitive or use different logic to my iPhone5 and Road Angel though, since those devices both work fine with the adapter without thinking that they are connected to a computer USB port.

Thanks again.

 

[Andy_P]

A USB device checks the conditions on the two "data" lines in the USB connection to determine whether it is connected to a dedicated charger, a computer that can also charge or something else.

As far as I know, a dedicated charger
(or strictly speaking a "Dedicated Charging Port" according to the USB Battery Charging v1.2 Spec and Adopters Agreement)

....should have a short circuit on the two data lines, so they may be missing on your twin adapter.