your Tomtom is shutting down 5..4..3..2

[RDub]

last ditch attempt

So before returning my 720, i left it on over night, out of the cradle to drain the battery. Did another reset..nothing, same problem shutting down. I am thinking it is a lithium Ion battery issue...but im no expert. Exchanged it at work today for another, im updating atm..we shall see.../peruses garmin's website

 

[bobaloolie]

So before returning my 720, i left it on over night, out of the cradle to drain the battery. Did another reset..nothing, same problem shutting down. I am thinking it is a lithium Ion battery issue...but im no expert. Exchanged it at work today for another, im updating atm..we shall see.../peruses garmin's website

I've been taking a look also at the Navigon as an alternative. I think it's a little shy on POI data... but lots of potential there.

 

[RDub]

append

Still updating, but interesting note, while on the phone with tech support(getting new device code recognized), i asked about power being on or off when connecting to an adapter or cradle. He said to be safe have it powered down...
which again points at an issue with the hardware.

I really want this 720 to work, its a slick unit and when working rocks!

Back to updating, more to follow...

 

[bobaloolie]

Still updating, but interesting note, while on the phone with tech support(getting new device code recognized), i asked about power being on or off when connecting to an adapter or cradle. He said to be safe have it powered down...
which again points at an issue with the hardware.

I really want this 720 to work, its a slick unit and when working rocks!

Back to updating, more to follow...

I've tried starting right off of the power source, and unfortunately, it has made no difference.

 

[nicwilson]

Hi,

I bought a Go720 brand new yesterday and have found the exact same issue with shutting down every 3 minutes.

TomTom Australia support informed me its a known problem. He informed me to delete the file "mapsetting.cfg" in the Australia folder on the GPS itself.

This is the folder that holds all of the POI stuff it seems on mine so should on yours be the name of the map you are using.

he said once is file is deleted, the problem will no longer occur.

cheers
nicwilson

 

[RDub]

good info Nic, i'll pass it onto customers. By-the-by, my replacement has had no problems..that i havent created

 

[nicwilson]

good info Nic, i'll pass it onto customers. By-the-by, my replacement has had no problems..that i havent created

Since I have now done this one thing to note to the users is, this file holds your favorites, so note them down first before deleting it as you will need to redo them afterwards. I will report back when I have tested this solution fully.

cheers
Nic

 

[bobaloolie]

Hi,

TomTom Australia support informed me its a known problem. He informed me to delete the file "mapsetting.cfg" in the Australia folder on the GPS itself.

I just returned a 920 for the same issue, exchanging it for a new one. Prior to downloading the new system software, the new one hasn't had this issue (however, I think it is after the update that the previous two have done this, but I haven't been able to test it).

If this occurs again, I will try deleting this file "mapsetting.cfg". For those in North America, you will find it located in the "North America" folder of your TT hard drive once you've connected it to your computer (for us Mac users, at least, it shows up on the desktop as a hard drive).

 

[eclimax13]

just so u guys know,,,not sure if its been said...u need to power on your tomtom before connecting it to the car charger...since doing this mine has never shut off....just a glitch in the software

 

[bobaloolie]

Yes, I can confirm two ways now to beat this bug:

1. Start the TomTom then connect it to your car adapter. (I believe you can leave it plugged in at the unit, but unplug it at the cigarette lighter while it starts.)

2. If you do start it with it plugged in, when the screen asks if you wish to connect to the computer, say "Yes." The TomTom will reboot and then stay on (at least it did for me).

The third solution, which I'm presently trying, is to return the unit (which is what TomTom advised). I am in warranty, so no big deal. I haven't had it in the car yet, so can't tell you if this is a consistent problem across the board.

 

[jobe]

I think I got around it

bobaloolie, i think your suggestions are working for me.

I too, had the same issue, shutting down after 3 minutes while driving. I did the following and I have not had the issue again (knock on wood so far).

- changed the battery saver settings to keep the screen on all the time
- changed the setting to shut down the TT automatically when it loses power source
- when you plug it in the computer and you are done with TT Home, use the menu option to disconnect TT. When you are told it's safe to disconnect then unplug the USB from the computer.
- when in the car, turn the TT on before plugging it into the 12v. power socket in the car.

these things have worked for me so far and I will start adjusting the settings back to see what is triggering this again.

ohh one more thing, I did one time turn it on, remove the SD card, insert it and had it reboot

so I am not so sure which one of these steps fixed it but I have been happy with it so far.

Also, thank you all for the wonderful hack to enable the voice recognition. Although I would rather type but if that feature is present, why not enable it. Maybe it's buggy or it doesn't work as good and that's why TT decided to disable it to avoid all the service calls.

so far I love the unit, i bought it for $350 plus tax and I got a one year extended warranty on it for $14 form Sams Club. I think I got a good deal on this one.

I noticed that the directions aren't great, last night the map shows that i will need to take a right and the direction in the status bar showed that i should take left!! very weird and I took a photo of it but my cell phone camera didn't do a good job at capturing such picture at night, the TT screen was too bright for te camera.

Also, I have 2 addresses, point a and point b. If I tell it to go from a to b it uses some ackward path and then when it reaches to b it does not stop there and keep recalculating!! It is weird but if I choose an alternate path it uses the one that normal people use I can share the address points and you guys can plug it in and have the TT simulate the drive (demo it) and see for yourself!

I have all the latest maps and software

with all this weirdness, I still love it! weird ha?

 

[gweilo8888]

All, just to clear up some stuff on this one and I could be wrong BUT.

I bought a tomtom 720 and I had this issue. I took it back and got a new one and it does not do it, HOWEVER, after reading this thing several times I have learned some stuff that is interesting.

Download the documentation for your device at
http://www.tomtom.com/support/support.php?ID=3&Language=4

Goto page 4 before you begin section

Here is the snip
=====
Battery notes
We recommend that you fully charge your TomTom GO the first time that you
connect it to the home dock. It takes up to 2 hours to charge the battery
completely.
When you place your GO in the Home Dock, you are asked if you wish to
connect to the computer. If you select No, the device will switch off if you do
not tap the screen for three minutes. This happens so that the battery can
recharge at a faster rate.
For information on connecting your computer, see Using TomTom HOME
(89).
====

So here is what I think the issue is and possible ways to correct it if you can't trade it in for a new one that does not have this behavior

1. When you plug it in to your car and it asks you if you want to connect to the computer say YES.. (that should prevent the every three minute shutdown trigger)
2. Turn on your tomtom first then plug it in to the cig lighter. that way it won't ask you if you want to connect to the computer and it should not shut down either
3. Take it back and get a new one that does not behave this way.

I did not try my solutions because I already took mine back and got the new one, but as I was reading the documentation the other day I saw that and realized what had been happening.

Let me know if items 1 or 2 helped you out.

J

For some reason my old and your current devices that are doing this for some reason see that the cig lighter connection is in fact a PC connection and this is the issue, and when you say no instead of yes it triggers the 3 minute shut down "feature"

This is a very interesting catch on your part. I'm having a somewhat similar problem in that my TomTom keeps shutting down when in the USB cradle - which I don't want it to do. I now know why, but it's frustrating me nonetheless because I want to leave the device running in the cradle as a "photo frame" of sorts, displaying my images and as I choose, playing my music library as well.

Thing is, I can't do that and leave it charging because it powers off every three minutes. My only other choice is to unplug it, but then obviously it'll only work until the battery runs out (and then when I come to take a trip, the device won't be charged and ready for me either). I can't let the device connect to the computer to prevent the timeout either, because then the only way it can be operated is by clicking "Operate my GO" in TomTom Home - and if I do that, the button to access music / photos / etc. is not available in the interface on the PC (and of course, the screen on the device itself is disabled and replaced with a static "TomTom GO 920 in the cradle" screen).

The only other thing I can think of to try (when I can find the correct power supply which I've mislaid) is perhaps to plug the 920T into a powered USB hub which isn't plugged into any PC, and then tell the TomTom to connect to the computer when it starts up (which it won't be able to do, but might get me around the timeout like in this thread). Bit inconvenient to have to keep plugging / unplugging the USB hub from the PC every time I want to connect it to the computer though, even if it does work...

This is really rather dumb on TomTom's part. It should either be possible to disable this feature altogether, or intelligent enough for the device to understand when it is being used (music or slideshow playing, for example) / not turn itself off if the battery is already fully charged.

Is there any way for me to disable or manually change the length of this timeout?

Alternatively, is there a known firmware version from before the timeout was introduced (and what features will I lose in downgrading to it)?

I've got a TomTom 920T, currently running App 7.481 (9086/080324), GPS v1.21, Boot 5.4106, Map 'North America' v715.1712.

And I've had to tell the device not to switch off four times already, just while typing this message.

 

[dhn]

Under preferences-->battery saving--> do you have UNCHECKED 'turn off when external power lost'?

 

[gweilo8888]

Under preferences-->battery saving--> do you have UNCHECKED 'turn off when external power lost'?

Yes, I do. (Presuming you're replying to me, and not somebody earlier in the thread).

If you read the post I quoted, you'll see this stupid timeout when in the cradle is a conscious decision on TomTom's part.

I just need a way to circumvent it.

 

[dhn]

Yes, I do. (Presuming you're replying to me, and not somebody earlier in the thread).

If you read the post I quoted, you'll see this stupid timeout when in the cradle is a conscious decision on TomTom's part.

I just need a way to circumvent it.

Yes, I did read your post. I hardly think it's a 'conscious' decision on TomTom's part or every 720 would have the same problem, I would think. Mine does not show that behaviour. That's why I asked about other possible factors ....

 

[worldtriad]

tomtom shutdown problem

Unfortunately I have a tomtom that's refurbished that has the same problem! I also have had it start up on its own without me turning it on. The turning off message was annoying and it wasn't charging the battery. I kept on checking connections on both ends. Mine never shut down, just got the warning over and over again.

But I did notice when I had the TT on and running on battery power and then I plugged it in to the lighter when the battery got too low, I did not get the warning message that it was going to shutdown in 10 seconds every minute or so. The battery did not charge up even after 2.5 hours.

I also noticed that my charger was getting very hot which is not what my other chargers do. I have one for my Mortorola and it works without heating up.

I called tech support today and they are sending me a new charger, so I'll see if it works better. I now have the plug in hint to remember also.

The other weird thing is my computer voice Sue is missing. I can't download her and I don't think any of the other computer voices are giving me TTS, but I will test it again before I fight that battle.

 

[dhn]

The other weird thing is my computer voice Sue is missing. I can't download her and I don't think any of the other computer voices are giving me TTS, but I will test it again before I fight that battle.

It seems that only home 2.3 is offering TTS computer voices now.

 

[hidalgo]

Hello,
In order to prevent your tomtom from shutting down when connected to PC through USB port, try the following, it worked for me.
1) Using Notepad, create a new file with 1 in it and save it as noautosuspend.dat or simply use the file attached.

if you have the extension .txt, just rename it to the above name with .dat extension.

2) Put the file in the root of your tomtom.

3) Reboot!

That's all you need to prevent your tomtom from shutting down at regular intervals when not in use. Hope this will help you guys!
Cheers,
Hidalgo!

 

[okc720]

Fix !!!

Hello,
In order to prevent your tomtom from shutting down when connected to PC through USB port, try the following, it worked for me.
1) Using Notepad, create a new file with 1 in it and save it as noautosuspend.dat or simply use the file attached.

if you have the extension .txt, just rename it to the above name with .dat extension.

2) Put the file in the root of your tomtom.

3) Reboot!

That's all you need to prevent your tomtom from shutting down at regular intervals when not in use. Hope this will help you guys!
Cheers,
Hidalgo!

This worked for me !! I feel much better about my 720 now...

Thanks for posting this tip !!

OKC720

 

[Mark E]

Hello,
In order to prevent your tomtom from shutting down when connected to PC through USB port, try the following, it worked for me.
1) Using Notepad, create a new file with 1 in it and save it as noautosuspend.dat or simply use the file attached.

if you have the extension .txt, just rename it to the above name with .dat extension.

2) Put the file in the root of your tomtom.

3) Reboot!

That's all you need to prevent your tomtom from shutting down at regular intervals when not in use. Hope this will help you guys!
Cheers,
Hidalgo!

This solution does work to prevent the unwanted shutdown while the unit is in the usb cradle (at least on my 920). Unfortunately, adding this file also prevents the unit from automatically shutting itself off when external power is lost.

The 'power off if external power is lost' feature is more important to me. I like having the unit turn itself off when I turn off the ignition switch in the truck.

The fact that some units display this behavior and some don't coupled with the fact that Hidalgo's fix does prevent the behavior, tells me that this is definitely a software issue. It seems like something that should be easily fixed by TomTom.

BTW, Hidalgo, where did you find the information about adding the noautosuspend.dat file?