How to get gps to display street names

Joined
Feb 26, 2013
Messages
5
Location
Canada
TomTom Model(s)
go2535
Hi,
I am new to TomTom (my last gps wasn't). How can I get this Tomtom to display street names?!.
I know my own city by street names, not their "County highway numbers"). This is extremely annoying. I see that I can change street names, but I don't want to have to rename every street in my city. I also just learned that my gps refuses voice control and tells me the "selected country is not right". Shouldn't a gps know what country it is in? Apparently the fix is to reboot it (which also loses all my settings). So if I have to do this every week, then I would have to rename every street number in my city on a regular basis. So far I am totally unimpressed with this Tomtom.
Does anyone have a solution for me, besides throwing it away?
Thanks, Randy
 
We have you located in Ottawa, is that correct? If not, can you narrow down your location further so we can look at the mapping for that area?

Also unclear about why the device is putting you in another country. From what you described about the mapping issue, it knows where you are and is producing a map under your car icon, so I think you're talking about another and more specific problem, perhaps related to the voice in use. Which voice do you have selected?
 
First, I am using the default language for North America. Second, the voice control did initially work. Then it stopped working. When I start the car it was saying "deactivating voice control". The icon was still on the screen, but when I click it I would get "voice control not available for selected country". I found a "work-around" online that involves rebooting the gps, but also loses all my configuration settings and my phone pairing. If I rename every street in my city and lose the settings I will have to do them all over again. Some people have said they have to reboot theirs every week.
As for the maps, I have only had this gps a few weeks. I have found numerous major arteries in the city (Ottawa) labeled with their "county highway number". I can't scroll around the map to find anything, because it doesn't give me the street names. When I am looking for a turn I can't get the name of the upcoming intersection. What is REALLY stupid is that once I turn onto the street it tells me the real name of the street (which means it does actually know the street name). How stupid is this?? Today I left my residential neighbourhood street and turned onto county highway 32 a block away. Once I made the turn it told me I was on Hunt Club road. I got to the next intersection where there is a right turn lane. I was in the through-lane. It thought I was on a ramp. When I went straight through the light it told me I was on Hunt Club road again but that it was about to turn back into county road 32 ahead of me. It's a straight road! Not only is this very frustrating but also very inconsistent. Sometimes it knows the street name and sometimes it doesn't?? This is my own city. What will happen when I am in a strange city and have to know the name of the street ahead of me to find my turn? If this is the best that Tomtom can do then maybe buying one was a mistake. My last (other, non-Tomtom gps) was extremely accurate and also knew what country it was in. Very frustrated!
 
As I'm from the UK, please forgive me for not understanding things like "through-lanes" etc. but I've just loaded up the US and Canada map on my TomTom Go1005and this is what I found.

First I went to the "view map" screen, then tapped "Find / Address"
I changed the country to Canada (using the small flag icon on the top right)
I then entered "Ottawa (ON)" as the City.

When it asked for a street, I started entering "Hunt..."

At that point it was already offering me as possible options:
Hunt Club Pl
Hunt Club Pvt
Hunt Club Rd
Hunt Line Rd
Brewer Hunt Way

... so it certainly knows the name Hunt Club Road.
I don't know what house number you want so I left that blank and tapped OK.
It then gave me the option of searching a crossroad or "anywhere"which gave me this screen:

attachment.php


So again, it definitely knows (and shows me) the actual street name.
---

You haven't given me enough detail to plan the same route you were on, but if I drive south-west down Hunt Club Road on a route to Bank Street, this is what it looks like on screen:

attachment.php




The first picture shows the name of the road we are currently travelling on at the bottom centre.
There is a slight "kink" ahead in the road. so the route arrow shows a "kink" and it is still showing "Hunt Club Road" as the "next" road (named at the top right of the screen).
Note it is also showing the name of a cross road we are approaching (Conroy Rd) on the main display.

--

attachment.php


In the second picture, we have passed that kink and so it is now showing the up-coming right turn on the direction arrow at the bottom and is also showing the road name of the road we are turning onto (i.e. Bank street) at the top right.

We can also see the names of two more side streets as we approach and pass them... Maple Park Pvt and Pike St.

At all times we can see the name of the current street in the bottom centre of the screen.

So I'm not sure why you're not seeing any of that info... I can see the name of the road I'm on, the road names of the next intersections and also the road name of the street I an expected to turn onto.
 

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Hi,

I am assumig that the lack of a clear answer means this gps is NOT capable of giving me approaching street names in downtown Ottawa. Otherwise the response would be "yes, and here is how to get it to do it".
I can start on Uplands drive heading south towards Hunt Club Road. It tells me I am approaching "county highway 32". When I turn right onto Hunt Club road (west) it tells me I am on Hunt Club road. Every major artery that I pass also only identifies itself ONLY as a "county highway number". That includes Uplands drive, Riverside drive, Prince of Wales Drive, Merivale road, and Woodroffe ave. If I turn onto any of these roads the label will change to the actual street name. Once I turn onto Woodroffe avenue it will tell me that it is actually Woodroffe ave. This is TOO late when I am watching the map and searching for a turn, and need to know when it is coming. It also means I cannot scroll through the map to identify a destimation, then select it to tell the gps to take me there.
So I still have the same question .... how do I get my gps to display street names in downtown Ottawa? Is it possible?
 
Under Voice Settings, what ydo you have checked? If Read Aloud road numbers is checked, try unchecking it; also, make sure Read aloud Street names is checked.

As far as the 'selected country is not right' message, it's a bug. Do a drum reset (hold the power button about 20 seconds till you hear the drum sounds). You won't lose any settings.
 
Hi,

I am assumig that the lack of a clear answer means this gps is NOT capable of giving me approaching street names in downtown Ottawa. Otherwise the response would be "yes, and here is how to get it to do it".

I'm sorry, I thought my post and the pictures showed the way in which the approaching street names ARE shown. In what different way do you want them shown on that moving map display, please?


I can start on Uplands drive heading south towards Hunt Club Road. It tells me I am approaching "county highway 32"

I could only show an example based on the rough location description you gave.
In that example Hunt Club Road and Bank Street WERE both shown as you approached them.

Can you give coordinates for a start and end point for the route in your second post, pls.
 
I have a Tomtom 2535.

It does NOT display street names as I approach them. It isn't until I turn onto the road that it tells me the real street name. As I approach it I only get its "county highway number" (even in the middle of Ottawa). EVERY major intersection is only identified with its "county highway number". That means that I never know what street I am approaching. Start at the corner of Uplands Drive and Riverside drive in Ottawa. Go south on Uplands drive. As you approach Hunt Club Rd. you only see its "county highway number". Turn right (west) onto Hunt Club road and it tells you that you are on Hunt Club road. Continue west, and every major intersection will only be identified by its "county highway number". That includes Prince of Wales Drive, Merivale road, Woodroffe Ave., Greenbank road., etc., etc. It does not allow me to know what road I am approaching when I am looking for the road name to turn onto. It is impossible to use this thing to find an upcoming turn (which means basically it is useless for navigating through a city).

Now start again, go south on Uplands drive. Turn left (east) on Hunt Club road. Get to the corner of Bank Street. Stay in the "through lane" (the lane that goes straight through the intersection, without being in a right-turn lane or left-turn lane). Sit at the traffic light and it will tell you that you are on Hunt Club road, but that the road on the other side of the light is a "county highway number". Go straight through the light and it will tell you that you are on Hunt Club road, but that you are also on its "county highway number". This thing does this often, tells me I am on two roads at once.

My other complaint is that it constantly turns off the voice control because it doesn't seem to know what country I am in. I understand that rebooting it will reset that, but it loses all my settings. Telling me I can reboot it and that it won't lose my settings isn't helpful when I just reported that it does lose them. I have to reset it every week. Which means I have a gps that can ONLY ever have the factory default settings, since I will not be readjusting them every week (or every time I get into my car). I am seriously thinking about throwing this brand new gps away and buying my old brand name one. :mad:
 
Telling me I can reboot it and that it won't lose my settings isn't helpful when I just reported that it does lose them.

Exactly what "settings" do you lose then? Because that is unusual behaviour for a simple re-boot.
 
I noted the 'factory default' wording.

To the OP:
You ARE using the power button to perform those resets, and NOT using the "Factory Reset" option, correct?
 
I am using the power button to reboot (not the "factory reset" option). At the very least, it is clear that it has lost some stuff when I notice that my car icon choice is gone and it goes back to a big arrow, and it always loses my phone connection.
 

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