Problems Finding Satellites

[dwgsp]

My understanding is that the satellite-broadcasted ephemeris is only good for a few hours. If you turn your Tomtom back on within those few hours, you reacquire signal in 10-30 seconds.

I'm not sure what a "few hours" is, but it certainly is less than an 8-hour work day. My experience is that without quickgpsfix, the signal lock takes about 3-5 minutes on average if the device has been off for a few hours.

That would seem to imply that your TomTom receiver is not saving the orbital data for all of the satellites (the "almanac") that each satellite broadcasts on a regular basis. That sounds like either a bug or a design flaw.

/Don

 

[Evil Scotsman]

I did the quickfx as suggested last week and for a couple of days it was like greased lightening! Then yesterday it took a GOOD 20 minutes! not two TWENTY. I was home before the signal kicked in. Right Saturday couldn't have been 15 - 20 SECONDS and had a strong signal. Went home and plugged it into the computer and did ANOTHER update. See what happens

 

[mvl]

A new QuickGPSfix comes out once a day. I'm not sure how long a given one lasts: at least couple of days, not longer than a week.

 

[geocacher]

I have a go 910 and have had this same problem on more than one occasion. I update my TT at least 4-5 times per week. I would stop and shut off the unit for about 30 minutes and then it would take up to ten minutes to lock onto sattelites.

 

[Doctor_Venkman]

I have had this problem since July 4. I have a TomTom One XL-S

It started as not getting a satellite lock but now has progressed to losing locks once they've been established. I drove for 50 miles this weekend in mostly clear and open skies and did not get a lock until I was almost to my destination.

Sometimes it takes 5 - 10 minutes to get a lock after power up. Other times it loses lock after being on for several minutes and having a good signal. Times of day do not seem to matter. Sometimes it works then at the same time on another day it doesn't.

It's really starting to hack me off. Luckily I haven't had to rely on it to get me to/from an unfamiliar area when it's been acting this way. But if that does happen, I will probably start using my TomTom for target practice and buy a Garmin.

 

[dhn]

A reset of the unit may help

 

[gatorguy]

Dr Venkman, are you downloading Quickfix updates? If so, try doing without them. Overall I've had a much more satisfactory time to lock by just avoiding Tomtom's computation file. If you use your TT at least every two to three days, it just doesn't help much and could actually hinder satellite location.

 

[AZ-K9]

Just got back from a trip where my one XL had frustratingly poor sat reception making the device useless. On the road to San Diego it was fine, but two days ago would start losing sat fix and go grey. Once in a great while it would work for about 20 minutes then go back to to the grey screen for an hour or more till I turned it off then on. Needless to say, I reverted back to using road signs.

I had time to "experiement" with the thing, doing a reset several times didn't help, even doing such outside with with a clear sky view. I went to the display screen showing the satellite status and saw it cycling through various sets, with acceptable reception levels shown in each of the satellite windows in most of the tries. It woudl then simply zero out and go dormant for no apparent reason, and every few minutes the first satellite on the screen would show a bit of reception then go away.

I about threw the thing out the window, more tempted to do so after trying to return ti to walmart where it was refused...

 

[mvl]

I about threw the thing out the window, more tempted to do so after trying to return ti to walmart where it was refused...

Call Tomtom phone support. This isn't normal behavior. If phone support can't get it working properly they'll warranty swap it (assuming it's less than 1 year old).

 

[AZ-K9]

Will do thanks. Got it in January, and bought the extended from WalMart.

 

[Wildboy3]

AZ-K9,

What you describe is the exact problem I am having... I cannot find a good solution. I've tried format, re-install, reset factory settings, hard reset, everything. I finally gave up and contacted TomTom. They've offered me solutions, but they were the same as what was advertised on this website, nothing new. I'm in the process of getting mine exchanged.

Please keep me posted on your findings, I will do the same. I really hope this can be fixed, I don't really want to go out and buy a new Magellan, but I may have to!!!

JF

 

[Doctor_Venkman]

A reset of the unit may help

I forgot to mention in my post that I tried that the first time or two it started screwing up. Hard reset using the button on the bottom of the unit. It did not help.

Dr Venkman, are you downloading Quickfix updates? If so, try doing without them. Overall I've had a much more satisfactory time to lock by just avoiding Tomtom's computation file. If you use your TT at least every two to three days, it just doesn't help much and could actually hinder satellite location.

I downloaded a Quickfix on July 5 after the first incident. It did seem to help a little in acquiring the initial satellite lock after power on. But still would lose signal. I downloaded a new one last night. It seems that acquisition is faster now and signal strength has increased. Time will tell if it fixed the dropped signal problem.

BTW, I use the unit daily but rarely connect it to the PC.

 

[AZ-K9]

Called today, after 20 minutes on hold spoke to a nice lady and described the problem. She politely told me I did not do my reset properly by holding he button down for 20 seconds and said one simple push would not reset the unit. She also hinted that a fix put out recently was buggy and that they push out new ones weekly. She talked me into keeping it for a while.

I reset it and it seems to work inside my house, taking a trip tomorrow and I'll see if it works now.

What does suck is she looked up the serial number and tried to tell me that I had one week left on my warranty, going by the mfg date in their system. When i told her I had the receipt dated January 09 she changed her tune fairly fast.

While I'll take the hit for failing to do a proper reset, I can certainly state that based upon the 20 minute wait on hold, poor performance of this unit (needing a reset in the first place) and the apparently strict warranty enforcement of this device I will never purchase a Tom Tom device with my own funds again. They've effectively run me off with a lack of customer service on a device that was gifted to me.

 

[mvl]

Your device probably isn't broken then. The quickgpsfix file only lasts a few days. You have to plug into your PC every couple of days to keep it fresh and working.

This is a byproduct of GPS technology in general. Most GPS systems take 5-15 minutes to properly lock onto a signal (or relock, if signal gets dropped). The quickfix process gets the signal to lock in seconds.

Problem is, an outdated quickfix file slows down the process even longer than 15 minutes. Either use quickgpsfix all the time, or erase it from your device.

Some high end devices from other brands have a different quickfix-like process that doesn't need a computer plug-in, but no Tomtom models have it so far.


Also, Tomtom will honor your warranty from 1 year of your receipt. Pretty standard in the industry.

When I call, the wait is about 3-4 minutes top. I'm wondering if they prioritize the queue for owners of the GO line, as many others have reported 20 minute waits too.