Tomtom 730 had a fit

[apatterson]

I have owned my Tomtom 730 Europe 31 satnav for about a week now, it has been fully updated and has the latest maps as of a week ago. Today while using it to find an address in London the sat nav had a bit of a hissy fit and several times the screen went in to the menu and several options flashed up and went away. There was no pattern to this and I did the usual turn it off and on again but it still happened so I pulled over, did a reset on the unit and reentered the route. Lo and behold it did it again, went mental etc. I have not had any issues with this unit in the last week and it has been used every day, several times in the day for periods > 2 hours. The only change from any other time is the fact I was in a different car, a Nissan Quashquai with a bluetooth head unit. I had thought the bluetooth was casuing the issue originally so I disabled it on the Tomtom but it made no difference. I was unable to find the option to disable Bluetooth on the car however so that part of the investigation is still unresolved. Something aside is the fact I used the 730 on my way home in my usual Volvo without any issues so the finger of suspicion is still with this Nissan. Final part of my moan is the fact that after the Tomtom had its little huffy I noticed the FM transmitter option has returned in the menu system but the firmware version is still the latest, weird or what?

So, is the Nissan to blame, are there other reports of Quashquai Bluetooth head units interfereing with the Tomtom? Am I missing something? has anyone else seen this issue?

TIA all

AP

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF.

That's weird and I wouldn't suspect the specific car is part of the problem.

BUT...........

Bluetooth fuctionality with the 730 and other models with that feature is touch and go sometimes, especially with firmware 8.351.

Supermod Mikealder is not only UK based but knows all about this Bluetooth stuff as well. If he doesn't post here in the next 24 hours (he apparently never sleeps so I expect a response by him before Midnight YOUR time) then pm him with your problem.

 

[mikealder]

A fellow Brit and an Ovlov driver as well let alone using a TomTom for GPS, you do have taste! (its no surprise I am British, drive an Ovlov V70 and use TomTom devices).

The jumping around on the menu is usually caused by either dirt or debri getting lodged between the screen and its surround, try running the corner of a business card around the gap to dig any rubbish out, it is also possible whatever caused this has fallen out of the gap already and would explain why the device was happy to work in the Ovlov, just removing a unit and swapping between cars can be enough to dislodge any debris that should be in the gap!.

I very much doubt the Bluetooth had anything to do with this issue, the FM Tx option has probably reappeared due to the mp3 player being activated, with Navcore 8,351 as long as you have the mp3 player working you can have nav instructions also via Bluetooth, this might have occured when the screen when haywire!

If the Nissan supports A2DP via Bluetooth try pairing the TomTom to it as the audio quality is far better than you can get with the FM Tx, depending upon which Ovlov you have its also possible to add Bluetooth to the decent car and enjoy what Bluetooth can offer in terms of quality and no interference - Mike

 

[apatterson]

Mike,

Thanks for the information, I will have a look at the screen and give it the once over with a paint brush I keep for this sort of issue. Fortunately the Nissan was just a rental while the Volvo had the once over. I think I am going to disable the Tomtom Bluetooth in any case, I dont tend to use the phone while driving as this usually involves a shopping list from SWMBO or support calls from customers. In fact I dont really use any of the features I just wanted a decent nav with a screen that is readable. The only reason I didn't go for a newer model was the lack of SD slot on said device. What did cross my mind while in the crudcar (apart from dismal build quality, poor handling, pointless vehicle) was the fact my 730 uses a Bluetooth remote and this in some way was affecting it. Anyway I am going to brush the Tomtom and use it again today so hopefully that is the end of it.

Thank you again for the advice.

 

[mikealder]

A brush isn't much good for digging out debri from the gap between the screen and screen surround, use the corner of a business card as thats much more effective - Mike

 

[apatterson]

Happened again, several times

I tried the cleaning with both brush and business card and neither worked, I spoke with Tomtom support who decided the unit was faulty. I have now returned the unit and have swapped to a different sat nav unit because the 730 is no longer available.

 

[canderson]

I tried the cleaning with both brush and business card and neither worked, I spoke with Tomtom support who decided the unit was faulty. I have now returned the unit and have swapped to a different sat nav unit because the 730 is no longer available.

I'm very curious as to what they offered you as a replacement.

 

[spook45]

I tried the cleaning with both brush and business card and neither worked, I spoke with Tomtom support who decided the unit was faulty. I have now returned the unit and have swapped to a different sat nav unit because the 730 is no longer available.

WOW, I guess I should consider myself lucky that I got my RMA replacement 730 about a week and a half ago.

I too am also interested as to what they offered you in lieu of the 730. Please do tell.

 

[mvl]

My local Best Buy (USA) has tons of 730's in stock, brand new.

In Europe the 730 is an early 2008 model, the 740 and 750 have both been released since. I suspect that no 730's are available any longer with the Europe maps like apatterson had.