Unable to connect message for traffic data

[PeterMa]

I have a OnePlus Nord2 phone and TOMTOM Go Essential device. I have connected the phone via bluetooth and is seems to have some sort of connection ...Hands-free calls is showing connected.....but Data for traffic shows the message: Unable to connect; anyone know why this is and what I can do?

 

[Willy875]

Have you agreed to share information with Tomtom?

 

[canderson]

See what happens if you use your phone as a WiFi hot spot and connect your Essential to that. Are you then able to receive traffic?

 

[PeterMa]

I've connected to my phone as a wifi hotspot but it makes no difference; how do I agree to share information with TOMTOM?

 

[PeterMa]

I've checked - I have agreed data sharing

 

[canderson]

While you may be connected between device and phone, that doesn't necessarily mean that your cellular plan currently allows for using your phone as a hotspot device to the internet. Have you used your phone that way previously - for a PC for example? If not, you may need to check with your carrier to be sure it's part of your plan.

 

[Willy875]

At the top of the GPS screen on the right is the icon of the 2 cars, is there a cross or without the cross?

 

[PeterMa]

I have used my phone as a hotspot with my laptop and never had a problem

 

[GOTO GOSUB]

I am interested in any potential outcome to this as well. I have recieved notification that my SIM is nearing an unsupported status (Vodafone killing off 2G here in the UK) so I have for the first time tried to connect my GO 5200 to a mobile phone via Bluetooth. In my case it is a Pixel 6 Pro, and I get the same problem as the OP - handsfree, yes. Messages, sure. Data - "Unable to connect".

I am aware on the latest version of Android at least that I have to enable Bluetooth data tethering under Settings - Network and Internet - Hotspot and Tethering. I am also aware that for some reason Google think it's a good idea (or it's a bug) to keep turning this option back off. However ignoring that, my Bluetooth settings on my phone indicates that the GO 5200 paired OK.

My provider is GiffGaff (02 MVNO) who does support tethering on all plans.

Connecting to my phone as a WiFi hotspot works as you would expect, but I do not wish to use this as 1, Bluetooth is offered and ideally should work, and 2, this is going to harm the battery life on a phone that is worth much more than a 7 year old sat-nav.

I would be very interested to hear if anyone has managed to get their SIM enabled TomTom to connect to a Pixel phone's data via Bluetooth.

 

[canderson]

I am interested in any potential outcome to this as well. I have recieved notification that my SIM is nearing an unsupported status (Vodafone killing off 2G here in the UK) so I have for the first time tried to connect my GO 5200 to a mobile phone via Bluetooth. In my case it is a Pixel 6 Pro, and I get the same problem as the OP - handsfree, yes. Messages, sure. Data - "Unable to connect".

I am aware on the latest version of Android at least that I have to enable Bluetooth data tethering under Settings - Network and Internet - Hotspot and Tethering. I am also aware that for some reason Google think it's a good idea (or it's a bug) to keep turning this option back off. However ignoring that, my Bluetooth settings on my phone indicates that the GO 5200 paired OK.

My provider is GiffGaff (02 MVNO) who does support tethering on all plans.

Connecting to my phone as a WiFi hotspot works as you would expect, but I do not wish to use this as 1, Bluetooth is offered and ideally should work, and 2, this is going to harm the battery life on a phone that is worth much more than a 7 year old sat-nav.

I would be very interested to hear if anyone has managed to get their SIM enabled TomTom to connect to a Pixel phone's data via Bluetooth.

First, where is this information about an imminent shutdown of 2G by Vodafone coming from? I certainly haven't seen it anywhere.

That said, I'd recommend you use your Pixel to connect to your 5200 using WiFi, not Bluetooth. Battery life isn't the problem you think. While WiFi uses more power in operation, it operates at a far lower duty cycle due to much, much higher bandwidth. As one who has been keeping 2 TomTom's running over WiFi for some years now, I can assure you that you're phone isn't going to be damaged by this kind of use, and avoids the issues sometimes caused by multiple concurrent BT connection types. And I've got a lot more to lose with my S24 than a Pixel 6 Pro!

 

[GOTO GOSUB]

Look at you, with your S24 !

My mistake on the 2G switch-off. Vodafone UK have already turned off their 3G network ( here ) but have not said when they will switch off the 2G network ( here ). All that has been said is that none of the network operators plan to continue their 2G or 3G networks beyond 2033 ( here ) and that same document hints that this is the absolute latest since the operators can close their networks earlier than this.

I don't know how other countries are fixed with their 2G coverage - if 2G being phased out is the reason behind TomTom's announcement then it seems a bit unfair on UK users who still have access to 2G on Vodafone (possibly for some time yet) but TomTom don't just sell to the UK market and the SIM did have roaming enabled for a number of other countries. It may be that they cannot selectively disable SIM's by region or don't have any control over this at all and it's Vodafone as the provider that are driving this.

It would be nice if we could change the SIM to another provider (it's under the label on mine next to the SD card slot, so if you've got a pair of tweezers handy you don't even have to take the unit apart), but I suspect the Vodafone APN's are hard coded into the TomTom software making this impossible without TomTom exposing this in their UI. I tried it with a SIM from Asda (MVNO on EE) and it never connected.

It would also be nice to find out why I cannot connect via Bluetooth, though. I don't have any other devices apart from the TomTom that uses tethering over Bluetooth so fault finding this is that much harder, but I have Bluetooth on all the time for earphones, car hands free etc etc etc without issue. Plus of course it is TomTom's recommended course of remedial action.

 

[canderson]

It would also be nice to find out why I cannot connect via Bluetooth, though. I don't have any other devices apart from the TomTom that uses tethering over Bluetooth so fault finding this is that much harder, but I have Bluetooth on all the time for earphones, car hands free etc etc etc without issue. Plus of course it is TomTom's recommended course of remedial action.

I'm a bit surprised that your Pixel is giving you stability problems with Bluetooth. Previously, there have been some issues with not playing nice with Apple's Bluetooth stacks (Apple insisted on writing their own), but no real issues with Android devices.

Not sure what your 6 Pro options are, but here's some interesting history and what may be a selectable option of recent Pixel Bluetooth stacks that may be relevant to your phone IF you've got Android 12 running on it.

Android's new Gabeldorsche Bluetooth stack is enabled by default in Android 13

After years of testing, Google has enabled the Gabeldorsche Bluetooth stack by default in Android 13. Read on to learn more.

www.xda-developers.com

Meanwhile, I continue happily along with WiFi here.

 

[GOTO GOSUB]

Thanks, when I get the chance - which to be fair is probably going to be over the Christmas period now - I will go poking through the developer settings to see if there is anything there of interest. I am on Android 15, BTW. I will post back if I find a solution, just in case it helps anyone else who happens to find this thread.

 

[peterthebike]

I have a Samsung Galaxy A33 and get the same Unable To Connect message for Traffic Data on my GO 5200. My provider supports tethering and I've turned on Bluetooth tethering on my mobile settings but still the error remains. Hopefully someone can help us.

 

[Willy875]

Instead of using Bluetooth, use your phone's Wi-Fi hotspot. It works much better.

 

[GOTO GOSUB]

I have now been able to get my 5200 to connect to my Pixel 6 Pro (Android 15) via Bluetooth. In my case it involved a factory reset of the 5200 but I suspect that this was not necessary since the "logic" behind how the TomTom connects seems a bit out of sorts when it has a choice, something that I had not noticed before I started looking into this closely. There is also a potential gotcha on the phone.

On your phone, first of all make sure that Bluetooth tethering is enabled. On stock Pixel Android 15 this is under Settings - Network and Internet - Hotspot and tethering - Bluetooth tethering.

Gotcha: The default appears to be off, plus there are reports in the Android forums of this turning itself off at random. I have seen this but not since I have made a successful data connection.

Remove any previous attempt from your phone at Bluetooth pairing of your TomTom. I don't think this is necessary but it's a quick way of having the phone forget any prior settings related to the TomTom and cannot hurt.

Now disable (forget) any active WiFi settings on the TomTom or configure the Bluetooth settings away from a known access point.

Gotcha: If WiFi is present and connected, the TomTom seems to stop trying to connect via Bluetooth. This is not a problem once it is set up (in fact it's probably preferable), but it completely stopped me from making that initial connection so it looked like data over Bluetooth just did not work when it does. Arguably in this configuration the error message on the TomTom saying that data over Bluetooth cannot be established is incorrect, something like "Using WiFI" would be better. It is even more confusing because the TomTom says it can connect for voice and messaging over Bluetooth.

Now, on your phone, go into Settings - Connected devices and "Pair new device".

On the TomTom, go into Settings - Bluetooth and "Add phone". Watch your phone and when the TomTom appears in the list of available Bluetooth devices, select that.

When prompted to confirm the pairing request, I made a point of confirming it on the TomTom first, then the phone - I am not sure but when I was trying to get this to work it appeared that if I confirmed it on the phone first it did not work.

From here you can change the Bluetooth features such as disabling calls and messaging. I use the hands-free kit that is a standard factory fit in my car, so I have turned these off but left the data enabled.

And that's it. However - one gotcha remains.

The TomTom only updates its traffic every few minutes. If the TomTom has updated recently (either by the on-board SIM or WiFi), it can take several minutes before any changes you have made regarding Bluetooth may be evident. This caught me out and led me down the wrong path on a few occasions because the Bluetooth data status does not update in between.

Once the TomTom has made its first connection over Bluetooth tethering the presence of WiFi does not seem to be an issue. For example, when I drive off from home / work my TomTom can connect via WiFi. However once I am on the road and out of range, it connects quite happily over Bluetooth (no need to remove the SIM, the logic here appears to favour a Bluetooth connection over the internal SIM). The TomTom also reconnects to WiFi on its own when in range.

Just a reminder - on the 5200 at least the SIM can be removed without dismantling the device. It is behind the small ID sticker next to the microSD card slot that can be lifted using a pair of tweezers. The SIM just pulls out (don't try pushing it in and hoping that it will pop out) but does also require tweezers in order to catch the edge.

I hope that this helps someone else who may be having difficulties in connecting to the TomTom services over Bluetooth.

 

[peterthebike]

I have now been able to get my 5200 to connect to my Pixel 6 Pro (Android 15) via Bluetooth. In my case it involved a factory reset of the 5200 but I suspect that this was not necessary since the "logic" behind how the TomTom connects seems a bit out of sorts when it has a choice, something that I had not noticed before I started looking into this closely. There is also a potential gotcha on the phone.

On your phone, first of all make sure that Bluetooth tethering is enabled. On stock Pixel Android 15 this is under Settings - Network and Internet - Hotspot and tethering - Bluetooth tethering.

Gotcha: The default appears to be off, plus there are reports in the Android forums of this turning itself off at random. I have seen this but not since I have made a successful data connection.

Remove any previous attempt from your phone at Bluetooth pairing of your TomTom. I don't think this is necessary but it's a quick way of having the phone forget any prior settings related to the TomTom and cannot hurt.

Now disable (forget) any active WiFi settings on the TomTom or configure the Bluetooth settings away from a known access point.

Gotcha: If WiFi is present and connected, the TomTom seems to stop trying to connect via Bluetooth. This is not a problem once it is set up (in fact it's probably preferable), but it completely stopped me from making that initial connection so it looked like data over Bluetooth just did not work when it does. Arguably in this configuration the error message on the TomTom saying that data over Bluetooth cannot be established is incorrect, something like "Using WiFI" would be better. It is even more confusing because the TomTom says it can connect for voice and messaging over Bluetooth.

Now, on your phone, go into Settings - Connected devices and "Pair new device".

On the TomTom, go into Settings - Bluetooth and "Add phone". Watch your phone and when the TomTom appears in the list of available Bluetooth devices, select that.

When prompted to confirm the pairing request, I made a point of confirming it on the TomTom first, then the phone - I am not sure but when I was trying to get this to work it appeared that if I confirmed it on the phone first it did not work.

From here you can change the Bluetooth features such as disabling calls and messaging. I use the hands-free kit that is a standard factory fit in my car, so I have turned these off but left the data enabled.

And that's it. However - one gotcha remains.

The TomTom only updates its traffic every few minutes. If the TomTom has updated recently (either by the on-board SIM or WiFi), it can take several minutes before any changes you have made regarding Bluetooth may be evident. This caught me out and led me down the wrong path on a few occasions because the Bluetooth data status does not update in between.

Once the TomTom has made its first connection over Bluetooth tethering the presence of WiFi does not seem to be an issue. For example, when I drive off from home / work my TomTom can connect via WiFi. However once I am on the road and out of range, it connects quite happily over Bluetooth (no need to remove the SIM, the logic here appears to favour a Bluetooth connection over the internal SIM). The TomTom also reconnects to WiFi on its own when in range.

Just a reminder - on the 5200 at least the SIM can be removed without dismantling the device. It is behind the small ID sticker next to the microSD card slot that can be lifted using a pair of tweezers. The SIM just pulls out (don't try pushing it in and hoping that it will pop out) but does also require tweezers in order to catch the edge.

I hope that this helps someone else who may be having difficulties in connecting to the TomTom services over Bluetooth.

Thanks for the help. At last I'm connected via Bluetooth for traffic. One comment is initially it was still showing the Unable to Connect message, but after a very short while it changed to Connected.

 

[GOTO GOSUB]

Thanks for the help. At last I'm connected via Bluetooth for traffic. One comment is initially it was still showing the Unable to Connect message, but after a very short while it changed to Connected.

Thank you for the feedback - I am very pleased that someone found my post useful.

 

[GOTO GOSUB]

The default appears to be off, plus there are reports in the Android forums of this turning itself off at random. I have seen this but not since I have made a successful data connection.

... Just a follow up to my previous statement. I have been using the Bluetooth connection without issue for several days and then the Bluetooth tethering turned itself back off following a power cycle. If you restart / reboot your phone it might be worth checking the tethering is still enabled. I have also noticed that the tethering control resets itself back to the "off" position if aeroplane mode is toggled.

 

[mdaniel]

I have now been able to get my 5200 to connect to my Pixel 6 Pro (Android 15) via Bluetooth. In my case it involved a factory reset of the 5200 but I suspect that this was not necessary since the "logic" behind how the TomTom connects seems a bit out of sorts when it has a choice, something that I had not noticed before I started looking into this closely. There is also a potential gotcha on the phone.

On your phone, first of all make sure that Bluetooth tethering is enabled. On stock Pixel Android 15 this is under Settings - Network and Internet - Hotspot and tethering - Bluetooth tethering.

Gotcha: The default appears to be off, plus there are reports in the Android forums of this turning itself off at random. I have seen this but not since I have made a successful data connection.

Remove any previous attempt from your phone at Bluetooth pairing of your TomTom. I don't think this is necessary but it's a quick way of having the phone forget any prior settings related to the TomTom and cannot hurt.

Now disable (forget) any active WiFi settings on the TomTom or configure the Bluetooth settings away from a known access point.

Gotcha: If WiFi is present and connected, the TomTom seems to stop trying to connect via Bluetooth. This is not a problem once it is set up (in fact it's probably preferable), but it completely stopped me from making that initial connection so it looked like data over Bluetooth just did not work when it does. Arguably in this configuration the error message on the TomTom saying that data over Bluetooth cannot be established is incorrect, something like "Using WiFI" would be better. It is even more confusing because the TomTom says it can connect for voice and messaging over Bluetooth.

Now, on your phone, go into Settings - Connected devices and "Pair new device".

On the TomTom, go into Settings - Bluetooth and "Add phone". Watch your phone and when the TomTom appears in the list of available Bluetooth devices, select that.

When prompted to confirm the pairing request, I made a point of confirming it on the TomTom first, then the phone - I am not sure but when I was trying to get this to work it appeared that if I confirmed it on the phone first it did not work.

From here you can change the Bluetooth features such as disabling calls and messaging. I use the hands-free kit that is a standard factory fit in my car, so I have turned these off but left the data enabled.

And that's it. However - one gotcha remains.

The TomTom only updates its traffic every few minutes. If the TomTom has updated recently (either by the on-board SIM or WiFi), it can take several minutes before any changes you have made regarding Bluetooth may be evident. This caught me out and led me down the wrong path on a few occasions because the Bluetooth data status does not update in between.

Once the TomTom has made its first connection over Bluetooth tethering the presence of WiFi does not seem to be an issue. For example, when I drive off from home / work my TomTom can connect via WiFi. However once I am on the road and out of range, it connects quite happily over Bluetooth (no need to remove the SIM, the logic here appears to favour a Bluetooth connection over the internal SIM). The TomTom also reconnects to WiFi on its own when in range.

Just a reminder - on the 5200 at least the SIM can be removed without dismantling the device. It is behind the small ID sticker next to the microSD card slot that can be lifted using a pair of tweezers. The SIM just pulls out (don't try pushing it in and hoping that it will pop out) but does also require tweezers in order to catch the edge.

I hope that this helps someone else who may be having difficulties in connecting to the TomTom services over Bluetooth.

Thank you so much you for this. My situation/scenario was and is exactly as yours. I was ready to give up on a bluetooth connection for traffic etc. but your explanation regards bluetooth tethering was the light bulb moment. I had already done a phone reset without any affect and like you, don't think this is necessary. I did clear the existing home wifi access points from the phone though. Everything is working now for me exactly as you describe. Also had to reset bluetooth tethering after a phone restart as you say in your follow up post (go 6200 / Samsung A54 5g Android 14)