Connection to HD Traffic info on 1005 fails - my last TomTom device

[netclimber]

I live and work in Switzerland close to Basel and have bee using many TomTom devices for my business and privately for years. This is my first post in this forum since l never ran into an issue which couldn't be solved. On our previous devices, traffic information was obtained by RDS. I decided to test the Go Live 1005 with HD traffic, which was appraised in many reviews. Well, in my hands this device makes me turn away from TomTom. Connection to Live Services typically fails during the peak hours in the evening, exactly when you would need it. Insidents of not being able to connect are more often since a few week, about the time I installed the new firmware (11.037), but this might be a coincidence. This is one big annoyance, and I find it a big security concern as I find myself holding down the power button in helpless attempts to get a connection through a reboot.

The point is, why should I have to pay for a service which I can only connect to in about 10% of the attempts? For those of you who don't live in Swizerland, let me tell you that we only get one year of live service included when we pay the device, and this at a higher price than one would pay in the surrounding countries. So this leaves me with an expensive GPS device without traffic information.

So, TomTom, please help me. Either deliver a software fix or fix the infrastructure so I get live services in 99% of the attempts, of let me return my device and refund me the money, or provide we a free RDS TMC receiver. I'd be happy to report back in this forum once the situation is solved.

Cheers

netclimber

 

[- et -]

So, TomTom, please help me. Either deliver a software fix or fix the infrastructure so I get live services in 99% of the attempts, of let me return my device and refund me the money, or provide we a free RDS TMC receiver. I'd be happy to report back in this forum once the situation is solved.

On the chance that it may be of assistance to you, I have a couple of comments that may or may not be useful.

First, this forum is not operated by TomTom (the company) and none of the moderators works for TomTom. The people here are just customers like you, who attempt to help other people. Accordingly, you are more likely to get the attention of someone at TomTom itself if you go to the company's own web site.

Second, I am not familiar with the details, but I have read on the Internet that there have been problems recently in your part of Europe with LIVE service because of a major fire at a company called Vodafone that provides the cell phone service used by the TomTom for its LIVE information communications. I have no idea if this has anything to do with your problems, but it is something that you may want to discuss with TomTom.

On an off-topic subject, I very much like the area of Switzerland in which you live. I have been there several times, most recently in early April of 2006, when the river was at flood levels. It is not as spectacular as Lucerne, Interlaken, or Lugano, but I have a special fondness for the area near Basel. (I may be a little biased, as my great-great grandfather lived near Frick before he emigrated to the US in 1836.)

With best wishes,
- Tom -

 

[netclimber]

First, this forum is not operated by TomTom (the company) and none of the moderators works for TomTom. The people here are just customers like you, who attempt to help other people. Accordingly, you are more likely to get the attention of someone at TomTom itself if you go to the company's own web site

Thanks for this fast reply. I realize that this is not the official support forum, but when I read through the post here I got the impression that a support call will only result in the reply: reboot your device, update the firmware.

I have a special fondness for the area near Basel. (I may be a little biased, as my great-great grandfather lived near Frick before he emigrated to the US

Yes, I like this area very much as it invites to spend a lot of time outside on the bike, hicking or climbing. Fortunately, there I can use the Garmin Dakota GPS with the Topo maps and I don't have to worry about missing traffic information.

 

[- et -]

Thanks for this fast reply. I realize that this is not the official support forum, but when I read through the post here I got the impression that a support call will only result in the reply: reboot your device, update the firmware.

I do the same thing myself with almost everything I own, not just the GPS. The actual users of product are often more able to offer useful problem solutions than the official customer support staff. (In fairness to TomTom, the one time I contacted the official customer support in North America, they were very helpful and spent almost 60 minutes on the phone with me, walking me through a series of actions that solved my problem.)

In my opinion, the suggestion to reboot the GPS is actually a very useful one, based upon my own experience. I have found that almost 100% of my problems with my GO LIVE 1535 have been solved by holding down the power button until the TomTom logo appears and a brief "drum-beat" sound occurs - at which time I quickly release the power button. (There is one problem right now for which this fix is only temporary, and the problem reappears again after I disconnect my GPS from the power cable when I reach my destination, but TomTom is supposedly working on a permanent fix. Until then, I just do a "drum-beat reboot" each time I get in my car.)

Updating the firmware is also a good idea, or at least it will be when TomTom finally gets the bugs out of it. As I understand it, earlier this year France implemented a law banning devices that report the exact location of speed cameras, so TomTom released a firmware update that complies with that law. For practical reasons, the update went to all countries, even though it only affects devices when they are being used in France. Unfortunately, the revised firmware introduced new bugs, and TomTom has been chasing those new problems. When those issues are all completely fixed, updating your firmware will be very desirable.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

 

[netclimber]

All right, it seems like I'm out of luck and I will sell My TomTom device on Ebay. I placed a support call with the company and did not get a reply within 5 business days. To be precise, I got an automated reply asking me to check for the latest firmware, which I did. I reported for my issue not to be solved and asked for assistance. Silence...

So here is the situation: My device is working properly, but TomTom seems not to have enough capacity on their servers to deliver traffic info at peak hours. To me, this fraud, as I payed for this service because I need it exactly during these hours. I know, there are a lot of folks loyal to TT in this forum, but how would you feel if your phone would not work at peak hours? Similar situation in my view... So, please, if someone has an answer which goes beyond reset, firmware update or being patient with TT, I'd be happy to read it. Otherwise, please close this thread and I will start my TT-free life...

 

[dhn]

netclimber.......

I will be drawing attention of your situation to a contact I have at TomTom. May not do any good but you never know.......

 

[mvl]

The Tomtom LIVE units all use a GPRS modem. GPRS is a 10-year-old cellular transmission technology.

In the USA, AT&T has been shutting GPRS off in peak hours, prioritizing traffic for newer more efficient technologies (WCDMA/HSPDA/etc).

This is relatively new, starting over the past year, and getting more acute as all the smartphone usage causes cellular networks to get more congested.

If you are experiencing a rush-hour-only event, then I'm sure the same issue is occurring where you live. HD traffic's data is very good when you can receive it, one option is to replace the GO LIVE with an iPhone and a Tomtom app, giving you HD traffic in a newer cellular technology which is less prone to shutoffs.

 

[netclimber]

The Tomtom LIVE units all use a GPRS modem. GPRS is a 10-year-old cellular transmission technology.

In the USA, AT&T has been shutting GPRS off in peak hours, prioritizing traffic for newer more efficient technologies (WCDMA/HSPDA/etc).

This is relatively new, starting over the past year, and getting more acute as all the smartphone usage causes cellular networks to get more congested.

Thanks for this new information. This would explain the behavior of my device. I finally received an anwer from TT. The text is in German, and the message is: Our service is working, no issue - reset your device. Ha, this was very helpful! :yawn: And this although I wrote them, that I did a firmware update and multiple resets. So I really think TT should do better. I will contact them for another answer, but my hopes are small.

So, the best option seems to turn away from TT. There is no use for a device with perfect traffic information when I cannot receive it when I need it...

 

[henry-root]

I sympathise. I just bought the new 1005 EU ver 2 which is supposed to have all sorts of goodies like Tripadvisor etc. It has sure but with a very limited data base. Silly me. I paid an extra £70 for nonsense. Sadly the HD Traffic is very limited too.

Perhaps I will try to wait until the nice ideas of TomTom actually match their products.

I am of course speaking to TT direct with little success. This note is by means of a warning to other potential users - Save your money!

 

[netclimber]

I am of course speaking to TT direct with little success. This note is by means of a warning to other potential users - Save your money!

I like to differentiate on this. I like TT for its maps, the routing and accurate ETA prediction. But, I was buying this specific device so I can use it for the daily commute with detailed traffic info. And this is exactly where it falls short. And, with TT not responding adequately to my support request, TT also does not get points for its support department.

 

[dpbiker]

The Tomtom LIVE units all use a GPRS modem. GPRS is a 10-year-old cellular transmission technology.

In the USA, AT&T has been shutting GPRS off in peak hours, prioritizing traffic for newer more efficient technologies (WCDMA/HSPDA/etc).

This is relatively new, starting over the past year, and getting more acute as all the smartphone usage causes cellular networks to get more congested.

If you are experiencing a rush-hour-only event, then I'm sure the same issue is occurring where you live. HD traffic's data is very good when you can receive it, one option is to replace the GO LIVE with an iPhone and a Tomtom app, giving you HD traffic in a newer cellular technology which is less prone to shutoffs.

This all sounds very plausible. But, what I don't understand is why all my other live services work fine while HD traffic will not connect. Clearly I've got a cell connection if I'm able to quickly download Yelp results or do a Google search, no? I still feel as there may be some software issues that TomTom is either unwilling or unable to fix contributing to the connection issues.

It's disappointing to me that I bought my Go Live 1535 a couple months ago unaware that I may have been better off with the TomTom iPhone app. Just like Netclimber I purchased this device specifically for my daily commute and that's where it's failing time and time again. Even more frustrating is when it works, it works quite well.

 

[dhn]

The Live Traffic is fed by one set of servers in the Netherlands. Other LIVE Services come via other servers.

Here is a somewhat dated video of the LIve Services centre:
http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?t=8983&sid=e967f73ee39c80e1238e111dd7e45a2d

 

[Andy_P]

I'd not seen that video before...
So the whole data centre is powered by one big TomTom! (1':55" in)

No wonder it keeps falling over! :lol:






..

 

[dpbiker]

The Live Traffic is fed by one set of servers in the Netherlands. Other LIVE Services come via other servers.

Here is a somewhat dated video of the LIve Services centre:
http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?t=8983&sid=e967f73ee39c80e1238e111dd7e45a2d

So are you saying it's an issue with TomTom's ability to serve up traffic data rather than a connectivity issue with AT&T? Maybe it's time for TomTom to invest in some rack space stateside.

 

[dhn]

No, not at all. It may be with AT&T not providing the info properly. It IS under investigation at TomTom, I can tell you that. With high priority.

 

[dpbiker]

No, not at all. It may be with AT&T not providing the info properly. It IS under investigation at TomTom, I can tell you that. With high priority.

That's great to hear!

 

[netclimber]

To report back on my support communication with TT. This is the final answer I received:

vielen Dank für Ihre Geduld!

Ich habe gerade die Antwort bekommen und kann Ihnen die folgenden Informationen mitteilen:

Das Gerät hat die Momente ohne Konnektivität in der gleichen Weise wie ein Handy hat. Das heißt, Berichterstattung wird nicht direkt verglichen , da es ein anderes Mobilfunknetz nutzen kann und der Service bekommt eine andere Priorität.

Es tut mir leid Ihnen derzeit keine bessere Mitteilung geben zu können, wünsche jedoch noch einen schönen Tag.

Sollten Sie weitere Fragen haben, können Sie sich gerne wieder an mich wenden!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

So what it says that is that the device has communication issues like any other mobile phone. Ha, thanks a lot! In conclusion, TT HD traffic is not worth buying for me, and the TT customer support does not life up to my expectation.

 

[canderson]

The part that disturbs me is this:

"und der Service bekommt eine andere Priorität."

We have been hearing rumors that 2G service has less priority with AT&T here in the U.S. as well, and during rush hour, that seems to be causing problems.