Internal Error - Cannot share track, please try again later -> Fix coming?

[cande]

Hello everyone,
I know this has already been asked, but does anybody know if and when a fix for the "illegal characters" issue with exporting/sharing recorded tracks/routes will be released?

I found a post from 2018 where TomTom Support answered that if a track or route has been saved with characters such as ":", "." in its filename, there is no way to export it from the Nav's internal memory to the SD Card.

Renaming the track is also impossible and since many modern Navs (Rider 550 in my case) are not compatible with TomTom HOME, you cannot sync the internal memory's content with a computer.

I recently made a trip and formatted a SD Card to be able to record the routes.

My fault is that I started recording, but forgot to stop it (if you stop the recording you are prompted to save the route and forced to give it a name) before shutting down the device.

If you shut down the Rider 550, the recorded route is NOT saved to SD Card, but in its internal memory instead (despite my SD Card is formatted for that purpose) and a filename with ":" is used by the Rider itself.

So, TomTom is using illegal characters and the wrong path to store recorded routes if you shut down the device and forget to stop and save the recording and this BUG is known since 2018 at the earliest (that is 6 years ago!)... any chance to get a fix for this?

I am really sad not being able to save and share my trip.

Cheers!
Daniele

 

[Willy875]

Hi

Look here https://download.tomtom.com/open/manuals/Rider_Wi-Fi/html/en-gb/index.htm#MyRoutes.htm

a My Routes
How to export tracks to a memory card for sharing?
How to import routes and tracks from a memory card?
Or how to import routes from your computer via USB

 

[cande]

Hi Willy,
Thanks a lot for your reply.

> How to export tracks to a memory card for sharing?
Of course I tried this and result is the error message "Internal Error...".

Please see this post: https://forum.ironbutt.org/index.php?threads/tomtom-errors.2419/

In particular:

"This issue occurs when the track that you recorded on the device offers a default name and you save it with the same default name. This name contains special characters such as '.' and ':'. These special characters cause these errors. The team is working to get this issue resolved at the earliest. May we apologise for any inconvenience caused."

(this is the answer from TomTom Support Team on Aug. 19, 2018)

As I previously wrote, I did not give a name to the recording, since I shut down the Rider 550 without stopping it first (my mistake!), so the "default" file name with illegal character was created by the device's operating system.

What we need here is to:
. include the possibility to RENAME internally stored routes/tracks in the next OS/Firmware release;
. include the possibility to backup/sync the internal memory content to a computer in the next TomTom MyDrive Connect (aka TomTom HOME 3) release, as it was possible with TomTom HOME 2 (sadly not compatible with modern Navs).

As you correctly point out, it is possible to transfer routes from a computer to the Rider via USB using TomTom My Drive Connect, so... why is it not possible to perform the opposite?
Why there is no way to transfer internally stored routes from the Rider to a computer via USB?

Please note the following about recording a track from the Manual's link you kindly provided:

TomTom Rider - User Manual

On step #3: "Enter a name for your track or you can leave it at the suggested date-time combination."

This is the very exact cause of the issue! If you leave the suggested name (date-time combination), the time part will contain ":" that is an illegal character and your saved track will become unshareable!

So not only the operating system has a serious file storage/management bug, but the official manual heads you to that bug.
After 6 or more years, why this was not addressed, at least by correcting the user manual to AVOID suggested/default naming and the use of "illegal characters"?

Any clue on how to mount (make visible as an external storage device) the Rider's internal memory to a computer? Recovery mode? Hacks?

Cheers!
Daniele

 

[Reddar]

I'm also looking for a work around solution to share the recorded tracks with illegal characters.

Patrice

 

[Willy875]

Your itinerary, you can share it either via an SD card
Or via Facebook, or by email, or on X
If special characters are not accepted, rename your file.

 

[Reddar]

Sorry but if you read carefully the Cande topics you will understand that your comment is out of the scope.

 

[Willy875]

I mainly understood that special characters are not accepted by the GPS.
So to get around the problem, rename the route before saving it.

Will Tomtom fix this problem? In my opinion, it's no.

 

[cande]

Yes, the take home message (after falling into this trap/crap) is to give a name without special characters to the recording when you stop it and, most importantly, to remember to stop and save a recording before turning the unit off...

... my hope is to find a way to export/share my existing (badly) recorded tracks, but it is impossible to do that.

In 2018, TomTom's Support Team stated that they were actively developing a fix and the fact that 6 years after nothing changed leaves me with just little hope, but let's keep hoping.

in the meantime, I will try to crack into the device's internal memory with less conventional ways...
... if I find a solution, I will post it here.

Thanks for all your kind answers.

Cheers!
Daniele

 

[Reddar]

Hello,

The issue description is good but the root cause is not the good one : it is not linked to special characters.

Do the following test :

• activate route recording,
• stop recording . The file name is "Sep 30 18:46". Don't change anything.
• Click on Add. The file is recorder in "My routes"

Then :

• Go to My routes,
• Share tracks, select "Sep 30 18:46",
• Share ==> the file is on the SD card with the name : "Sep 30 1846.gpx"

BR

Patrice