XXL freezes up trying any route plan search

[davsarm]

I have a TomTom XXL which has worked well for the past year, until last week. Whenever I try to plan a route using any function (such as address input or POI) it freezes up, then reboots.

 

[Andy_P]

Was this after a map update by any chance?
That's a common issue if you have.

Try connecting the TT to the PC and running TT Home.
Use the on-screen emulator ("Operate my XXL") to
1. create a new route, and
2. create a new favourite

Then exit the emulator, disconnect safely using the icon bottom right and try the TT normally.

Has that fixed it?

If not, we might have to talk you through reinstalling the operating software. Have you ever made a backup?
.....and if not, you REALLY should have done!
Make one now before we start mucking about with the unit, using the instructions here:
How to backup the contents of your unit to the computer (NOT using TT Home).

 

[davsarm]

Yes, that seems to have worked. Thanks!
(And I am creating a backup folder as you have indicated.)

 

[StevePgh]

Is this going to be fixed?

Andy - I know you moderators are not Tom Tom employees (thank you for your services - I hope they at least comp you some units), but do you have any insight as to if and when they are going to resolve this bug? It seems like a huge one - I see one - three posts per week due to this issue here and elsewhere.

It is a pretty sad state of affairs when I purchase a TT XXL device for a relative EXPLICITLY because of its 'simplicity' - which happens to be pushing the extent of her technical proficiency. Updating the unit is teachable (not perfect, but doable with a set of written instructions). Because of this issue bites her I can't have her update the device! I'm tempted to send it back to Costco. It is no longer simple and does not work as advertised.

Last time I had the device and three hours to kill TT Home had some server issues, and then when it seemed to settle down and I got the map downloaded, it wouldn't install due to out of space on MY computer (with 600 GB+ free). Didn't have time to troubleshoot that one yet. Next time, I guess, if there is one...

 

[Andy_P]

HaHa! I think forums like this are too much of a thorn in their sides for them to comp us any units just for being mods here!

Nice idea though....:thumb:

As for this bug..... No, sorry, I've no idea of when (or if) it will get resolved.

TT have so many problems getting the new models to work properly and to interface with MyTomTom, that I think old issues like this have taken a back seat.

 

[canderson]

...but do you have any insight as to if and when they are going to resolve this bug?

FWIW, I know of no sustaining engineering project directed at the XL or XXL models. Not to say there isn't one, but if there is, it's an awfully low profile project.

 

[StevePgh]

I actually own an XXL for myself (I liked the IQ routes and lifetime maps and really never used advanced features of other GPS units - except for that one case where you are going to a campground and all they have to give you is a Lat/Long to get there). I'm impacted by this bug as well. I bought my wife one of the new VIA units for Christmas, and the MyTomTom is a huge step backwards.

I write software for a living, and I'm damn good at it. I would NEVER try to expose a hardware device via HTTP. I understand some of the 'marketing' pressures of having something 'web based' or 'cloud' or fill in the buzzword of the day. I also see developers thinking this is a really cool way of abstracting all sorts of functionality - if you write a low-level interface that has an HTTP face on it, all sorts of interesting functionality can be added to existing devices by pushing out an update of the TomTom website (JavaScript that hits the HTTP port of the driver is likely part of the myTT website), and updates to the PC software (which is MUCH more complex to update than a website) become a thing of the past.

I did not do any analysis at all on how the whole thing is put together, but watching MyTomTom work made me wonder... Did the TT developers fully consider all 275 security software packages out there that may restrict hosting a port? Restrictions in the browser that may prevent certain requests across frames. Multiple browsers, and versions of those browsers, all running a billion addins. Malware in the browser. Malware written by individuals hosted on random websites could conceivably 'guess' the port a TomTom is listening on and do bad stuff. Hopefully, they are only accepting connections from the loopback adapter and even then there should be some level of communications security. Can you upload a POI file to the device w/o being logged into the MyTT site? I'd hope that you can - but that means there can be no real security on that connection with the device....

Oh, the fact that you can't own more than one TomTom device per email address? That's crazy. Oh, and it doesn't tell you in MyTomTom that by associating with a new device you lose the existing one. It tells you that in TTHome when you then attempt to update your other device. So, I had to create a new account using a different email address and associate the XXL to that one. Does anyone want to bet that come spring I will not be able to get a free map update because of this?

TomTom should have had FOR YEARS synced favorites across devices in a household. Why not the ability to grab a contact list from Outlook/Gmail/Yahoo/etc. and keep it up to date as a POI set?

Why does the XXL ask me EVERY MORNING "There are carpool lanes on your route. Would you like to avoid the Carpool Lanes?" WHO THE HECK talks like that? Certainly the distracted driving disclaimer guy didn't approve that one! Why not "Use Carpool Lanes?" Fifteen words vs Three. Double negative questions on mornings without coffee vs simple yes no question (tell me you can answer that question without several neurons firing).

Sorry for the rant. I think I was somehow baited into it Don't get me wrong, I love the directions that I get out of the TT. IQ Routes, quarterly maps, user map corrections are all things that I did not see in the competition. They are easy enough for others to implement, however. You damn near have to be a software engineer to bend the TT device to the needs of the user. It shouldn't be that hard. Ever.

 

[dhn]

Your concerns are many of our concerns as well. And many of us have let TomTom know of them. But we have precious little influence on the decisions their developers make.

One thing though.........

In your model, does it not give you the option under Planning Preferences (or 'Driving Preferences') how to deal with Car Pool lanes so that you check your desired option once and it 'sticks' for each trip?

 

[StevePgh]

I can't recall if there is a setting for Car Pool lanes, but it does not ask again during the trip. The wording of the message is what kills me. I carpool 95% of the time, so I don't want to default the setting one way or the other. Our carpool lanes are different than most - they change directions based on time of day (inbound in AM, outbound in PM and on weekends). I'm not sure if it is possible for the TT to understand those rules, as it always asks for carpool lanes even if they are closed for a specific direction at that time. Since some of the on-ramps for the carpool lanes are not in the same area, this can really cause confusion for someone not familiar with it. This is likely such a far outlier that spending development dollars on handling this case is probably not worth it.

In that same vein, we also have a section of toll road that is free from one on ramp to the state border going west, but if you are going east you pay a toll at the state line (the next three onramps and exits are free past this point). This is something else that is off the wall enough that spending development dollars on handling it is not worthwhile.