No voice instructions

[Brian Dugan]

I have downloaded the TomTom Go app to my iphone and although the route displays I get no voice instructions

 

[Brian Dugan]

Meant to add the sound isn’t muted on the app and the phone volume is turned on full.

 

[canderson]

@Brian Dugan
No suggestions, but I'm moving this over to the Navigation Apps / iPhone / GO Navigation area instead of Android. You may get better answers there.

 

[Brian Dugan]

Yes I thought I’d put it in the iPhone section. Thank you.

 

[canderson]

Good deal.
Yeah, the volume situation for Android and iPhone are both NOT intuitive if you ask me.
Sorting out the several global volume levels from app specific volume levels is a bit of a mystery to me at times, even on Android.
Which iPhone are you using to run it?

 

[Brian Dugan]

IPhone SE iOS 16.2

 

[Brian Dugan]

I have solved the problem. My iPhone was connected to Bluetooth so the TomTom on the phone thought it was giving instruction to the car to come out of the car speakers but the car wasn’t receiving them. Switched Bluetooth off and all is well.

 

[canderson]

Interesting. Just suggested that kind of issue to a TT Rider 400 user yesterday, but wasn't so lucky. They use BT for audio a lot.

 

[Brian Dugan]

Hopefully it will help somebody.

 

[BJB]

Unfortunately switching off BT means for example no smart watch connection to in this case an android phone while using GO app. Also having BT off on phone causes problems with phone calls in/out via the cars touch screen. I have received calls which I accepted on cars touch screen ( phone also showed usual accept/decline message ) but after ending call no more voice instructions from go app until closing/re opening app.

 

[canderson]

It's really a matter of deciding what you want in charge of what.

The original poster had a bit of a different issue -- the Rider series will broadcast its audio via Bluetooth.

You don't need to shut down BT on your phone, and I don't think that's what the OP did, either -- just reconsider what you want your phone's BT to do. If you're using the GO app for Android, have you tried Android Auto to deal with the navigation audio, leaving the BT connection for hands-free use by your vehicle?

 

[Brian Dugan]

Unfortunately switching off BT means for example no smart watch connection to in this case an android phone while using GO app. Also having BT off on phone causes problems with phone calls in/out via the cars touch screen. I have received calls which I accepted on cars touch screen ( phone also showed usual accept/decline message ) but after ending call no more voice instructions from go app until closing/re opening app.

Doesn’t affect me as I don’t have a smart watch and never use my phone in the car. I’d rather concentrate on driving. Thanks anyway.

 

[BJB]

It's really a matter of deciding what you want in charge of what.

The original poster had a bit of a different issue -- the Rider series will broadcast its audio via Bluetooth.

You don't need to shut down BT on your phone, and I don't think that's what the OP did, either -- just reconsider what you want your phone's BT to do. If you're using the GO app for Android, have you tried Android Auto to deal with the navigation audio, leaving the BT connection for hands-free use by your vehicle?

My car a 71 reg Mini doesn't come with Android auto. However there are 6 audio output channels in Settings Sounds and Warnings on the GO app. With BT enabled on my Android phone four of them are not compatible with spoken route instructions - "Alarm" seems to be but audio quite faint.
However "Ring" channel seems to work ok ( I made and completed a phone call using cars touchscreen which didn't upset the GO and hopefully an incoming call won't)
So I've now switched to RING channel but presumably this may not necessarily be the best channel for other car models that don't have Android Auto

 

[Chrisp]

I'm totally confused by this thread. It started with a volume problem using the app on iPhone, now we are talking Android. I have the app on my iPhone SE and it says nothing despite the sound turned on and the voice at maximum. I want to link the app to Apple Car Play, which it does but still with no sound. I also need to use my phone in the car to receive calls. I'm at a loss and terribly disappointed with the Tom-tom app.

 

[Willy875]

@Chrisp

I don't know if that can help?

Sometimes sound loss on CarPlay can be related to iOS update issue on iPhone. If this is the case, be aware that it is enough to install the most recent version of the mobile browser. Then just follow these steps:

Check the connection to your CarPlay car radio;
Restart the iPhone and the vehicle;
Go to "Settings" and set up CarPlay again;
If there is still no sound on CarPlay, here are some other avenues to follow.

TRY DIFFERENT CABLES AND USB PORTS
If ever the port you use to plug in the iPhone does not work, just use the other ports that support CarPlay.

In addition, you should know that iPhones are always picky with third-party cables. If this is the case, try to connect the smartphone with a cable provided by the Apple brand. But if you are already using a cable provided by Apple, try other cables to see if the sound on CarPlay will work, or not.

Do not forget to go to SOURCES (SRC - MEDIA) of your vehicle to select AUX then launch Carplay. Thus the music or the voice of the different GPS applications will work. For AUDI, more info on AUX, see our dedicated article here.

MAKE SURE CARPLAY IS ENABLED
For the sound to work, it is essential to activate CarPlay. Remember that activation may take several minutes. But if the problem persists, it is advisable to check the vehicle manual.

Sometimes the user uses restrictions on their iPhone and disables CarPlay, without their knowledge. In this case, you must:

Go to “Settings” then to “Screen time”;
Tap on “Privacy and Content Restrictions”;
Scroll down until you find CarPlay and turn it off.

 

[Chrisp]

Willy, many thanks for your comprehensive reply on connecting to CarPlay. I'm new to CarPlay so I will go through your suggestions in due course.

My immediate problem though is getting sound from my app so that I can use my phone as a Satnav in my other cars. It just seems ridiculous that TomTom would release an app that doesn't work. Apart from the sound bar directly related to the voice, there must be another hidden somewhere in the app that is currently set on mute.

Anyone got any ideas??

 

[Willy875]

Are alerts and guidance activated?

Have you selected a computer voice?

Did you select read instructions aloud?

 

[Chrisp]

Thanks for your suggestions. Sound is activated, a voice is chosen (and speaks an introduction) and all instructions and alerts are set and the phone is running on maximum volume.

I set a route and went for a drive (not in the vehicle with CarPlay) and the app was silent. I then remembered reading something from an old post about Bluetooth, so I turned Bluetooth off on the phone and now I get instructions. So it would seem that the phone is sending the sound to the car and the car is not recognising it (the car was set to playing music from a USB at the time). The car quickly recognises a phone call, so I need to look into why it doesn't recognise the TomTom app when it's running.

I'm happy that the app is working correctly and I can use it when necessary. I'll look at the CarPlay problem in due course.

Many thanks again.

 

[BJB]

Thanks for your suggestions. Sound is activated, a voice is chosen (and speaks an introduction) and all instructions and alerts are set and the phone is running on maximum volume.

I set a route and went for a drive (not in the vehicle with CarPlay) and the app was silent. I then remembered reading something from an old post about Bluetooth, so I turned Bluetooth off on the phone and now I get instructions. So it would seem that the phone is sending the sound to the car and the car is not recognising it (the car was set to playing music from a USB at the time). The car quickly recognises a phone call, so I need to look into why it doesn't recognise the TomTom app when it's running.

I'm happy that the app is working correctly and I can use it when necessary. I'll look at the CarPlay problem in due course.

Many thanks again.

I have no experience of cars with Android Auto or Car Play but with cars not so equiped you do not need to go for a drive to check that you will get route instructions. If you sit in the car with engine running and select a destination if after 10 seconds or so of the complete route showing on your phone screen you do not hear "you will arrive at your destination at whenever" there will not be any spoken route instructions on the move. Having BT on on your phone will have caused this problem Now can i please refer you to my post on 18th so keep BT on on your phone go into the APP settings/sounds and warnings and select ring and then see if you get the route destination time when you select a destination sat in car engine running. What i dont know is whether the"ring" channel is ok for all types of phone but you can repeat this for each of the 6 audio output channels BT on and then see how your phone reacts after selecting a route

 

[Dave R]

Willy, many thanks for your comprehensive reply on connecting to CarPlay. I'm new to CarPlay so I will go through your suggestions in due course.

My immediate problem though is getting sound from my app so that I can use my phone as a Satnav in my other cars. It just seems ridiculous that TomTom would release an app that doesn't work. Apart from the sound bar directly related to the voice, there must be another hidden somewhere in the app that is currently set on mute.

Anyone got any ideas??

I have same problem, so frustrating! Sometimes I have voice directions and sometimes nothing!