TomTom GO 5000 feedback thread NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This thread is for the MNers who've been trying out the TomTom GO 5000.

Below are some questions to get you started but please feel free to add other comments too.

In terms of your first impressions...

• What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 500?
• How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?
• What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?

Please also note that TomTom may use your anonymous feedback comments on their website and social media channels, as well as elsewhere.

Thanks,
MNHQ

I might have posted this already but I find it impossible to find anything without a postcode. Which is annoying. Even things like 'Massive City Hospital, Correct Road' don't work. However am loving it for my job driving to random new locations each day, I do feel I can basically trust it. Although it doesn't know of major roadworks & road closures so I have to re route us around that.

Am so glad I didn't download Stephen Fry if you lose Serena. He was on Graham Norton recently and he just comes across as a self-satisfied crushing bore. I could not put up with him droning on in the car.

We downloaded Stephen Fry and have reverted back to Serena without any issues . I think the problem with all the celeb voices is the same ,they have limited phrases and get very repetitive using them .We tried the Bugs Bunny one ( at my DDs insistence) and that's enough to drive you completely bonkers . I will be sticking with the lovely Serena .

After a little help from Tom Tom support (I had been following the online help for the issue I had, but apparently I was to follow the help for receiving a windows error despite not having a windows error - worked anyway!) I have finally been able to connect to my computer so have done the updates - only took about 30mins which was ok. I have also added Stephen Fry - he survived about 10mins on a journey with us then I had to put Serena back on!

TomTom took me on a very strange route, instead of following the road I was on, it directed me to go through town; I followed it but it took me on a loop! Told me to make a sharp right turn which was onto a dual carriageway with a divider in front of me so if I turned right, I would've been on the wrong side! I turned left but it recalculated and tried to get me to go round to the same place! Luckily I knew where I was going so I was able to figure it out myself - wouldn't have been happy if I didn't know the area!

On a brighter note, we got stuck in traffic at the weekend, TomTom had been off but I switched it on and was quickly able to see how long the hold up was - unfortunately couldn't find any worthwhile alternatives but it was nice to know where the traffic went to.

Thank you for your comments so far :) TomTom have some responses for some of your queries/comments over the past couple of weeks, and I'll be posting these shortly!

@noisytoys

My code for the Stephen Fry voice doesn't work. I keep getting an error message

TomTom have said "Hello noisytoys, in case you still haven’t been able to get your voice please reach out to us via [email protected] so we can look into why you can’t download it."

@CMP69

Oh and I forgot my reason for posting It died this afternoon I switched it on and it came up with some system message gubbins. Took about 3 or 4 off/on reboots to get it to work

TomTom say: "Sorry to read you experienced this. If the problem persists please reach out to us via [email protected] so we can help further."

@BiscuitsAreMyDownfall

So I finally remembered to download Stephen. I got it fine and it downloaded onto my Tomtom, but Ive gone into settings and voices and he is not there? Ive tried to buy it again just in case I did something wrong, but the website is saying Ive already bought it. I have no updates according to My TomTom either, so where is Stephen hiding?

TomTom have said: "Hello, could you please give us a call on 02079 490 132 or contact us through the following page: bit.ly/1umhfvm ? Our agents can quickly check what went wrong in case you still don’t see your voice in the menu."

@SarahSnail

I found my first niggle with the Tom Tom yesterday! Driving around a unfamiliar area, I needed petrol. So using the VR mr Tom Tom picked up immediately a long list of petrol stations near by which I found pretty impressive. However when It came to my selecting one I had to read out the number it was in the list..... taking my eyes off the road to read the list and then no matter what I tried it just could not understand any number I was saying at all??? in the end I had to pull over and do it without using the voice as I wasn't getting anywhere with telling it numbers.

TomTom say: "Hello SarahSnail, sorry to read you had some trouble with the voice control. You actually need to say “Number 1” or “Number 2” for the device to understand you – not just “one” or “two”. Hope this helps in the future!"

@AlfieandAnnieRose

Hi, my only problem with the TomTom so far is that the mains cable to charge the device makes it difficult to fit it into the stand. First time I did this I spent about 10 minutes trying to slot it in but the wire was in the way so I gave up otherwise I would be late. Made the 2 hour journey to London with the sat nav on my lap instead! I think I read a comment on the other thread that there is a slot at the BACK of the stand for the charging cable to go through? If this is correct then it is not very clear. Actually I must be quite thick as I seem to be the only who had this problem!

TomTom have said: "Hello AlfieandAnnieRose, there is indeed a dedicated slot for the charger cable on the back of the mount. If you’re still having trouble finding it please send us a short note on [email protected]. "

@iwantavuvezela

I have posted earlier but just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed using this new TomTom (bigger screen, clear graphics, I even enjoy switching it on - unlike our old tom tom which would show a dreadful picture for ages). I am really impressed how quickly it finds the satellite (a major bug bear of mine with our old one) I still have to download maps etc, I have an ipad, my Dh has a laptop but he uses it at work so have not found time to do this yet - the length some have spoken it takes has put me off! I know I need to do this. Do I just go to the Tom Tom site to do this? Sorry, but the lack of information (even a printed getting started pamphlet makes this difficult)

However despite all of this, thank you for letting me try this updated piece of kit. I am really enjoying it and am very pleased ....

TomTom say: "Hello Iwantavuvezela, we strongly recommend you update your device – as long as you have a stable connection it should not take that long. However, updating is only possible on a personal computer or laptop and you need to follow the steps listed here: www.tomtom.com/getstarted There should have been a booklet in the box directing you to this site. Apologies if that was not the case!"

@stealthsquiggle

I had lost the thread for a while there.

Ok, so I am about to download Stephen Fry because DS thinks it will be really cool, but in the meantime, a couple of "challenges"

VR stopped working! It just didn't listen, and when I went to voice control on the menu it said something along the lines of "voice control is not possible with your screen language" - except that the screen language was as it always had been, set to UK English . I have brought it inside to charge (see next point) and it has now randomly started working again, but DD was most disappointed not to be able to show VR off to Granny and I am not sure she is going to forgive that one any time soon.

The other is a general gripe. It is plugged in all the time in the car. Admittedly my power socket shuts down when the ignition is turned off but I have done some pretty long trips in the last week (>3 hours a day for 3 days in a row) and yet the battery is completely empty and I have had to bring it in for a top up charge. Surely the power is gets in the car should be enough - it is asleep the rest of the time, so the implication is that it is using power faster than it can charge, which would be a fairly fundamental design flaw IMHO.

I do love the accuracy though and the traffic mapping is awesomely accurate, on the whole - the only downside is that when it says I am going to be late, I know it is right (unlike my old sat nav, when I could kid myself that I could improve in the time it gave me....)

TomTom say: "Hello stealthsquiggle, your device should never run out of battery as long as it’s connected to the power socket in your car. However if not connected anywhere and just in sleep (not completely turned off), the device still consumes a bit of battery. If that stacks up over several hours it might explain what you’re experiencing. In case the battery loses charge too quickly, even when connected – that is definitely a malfunction and you should reach out to us on [email protected] so we can help further. "

@MyNameIsInigoMontoya

I have a question. If TomTom says it has found a faster route and asks if you want to take it, are you meant to be able to say "Yes" using the VR? I noticed there was a microphone icon showing, but it didn't seem to react if I said yes and also didn't show the alternatives for long, so I often missed them before I could manually do it safely.

Also - in the manual, it looks like you can only use VR with a computer voice that does street names (i.e. Serena) - though it did seem to work when I selected other built-in voices, by just switching back to Serena when I used VR.

But since downloading Stephen, I couldn't get VR to work well for me today so I'm wondering whether that is because of using that voice?

Thanks.

TomTom have said: "Hello, we wanted to come back to your question. You should not need to go back and select Serena to use voice control. You should just need to have at least one computer voice installed on the device. Best way to test is to simply test the “Hello TomTom” command when you have a different voice than Serena selected. If this problem persists could you please reach out to us on [email protected] so we can look into it further?"

@sharontrefusis44

The only thing I have struggled with a little is finding petrol stations, so I guess I might need to figure this out whilst at home stationary rather than driving along almost out of diesel. When I see symbols on the right hand side of my satnav with distances I keep thinking I can just press them and my satnav will take me to them, but I am pretty certain this isn't the case.

TomTom say: "Hello sharontrefusis44, we wanted to come back to you on the petrol stations question you had. It is actually exactly as you imagined – you can press the petrol station in the route bar. The device will then zoom into it on the map to show you exactly where it is and give you the option to add it as a stop on your route! Hope this helps!"

@chickensandbees

Used it again today on the M5, it thoughtthere were road works where they weren't any but apart from that worked well.

Would be good if the speed recognised temprary speed changes on motorways when they are reduced to 60 etc.

Can anyone put postcodes in or is it just street names?

TomTom have said: "Hello chickensandbees, you can use both postcodes and street names when you search."

@Erdelyi

Does anyone know how to make it tell you the journey time? I would rather have a clock for the actual time and a counting down journey time rather than just the eta. My old TomTom, which was a good 10 years old, did it this way and I much preferred it. I have looked in the online manual but can't find anything to help. Have to say as time passes I am becoming increasingly disenamoured by this version and would be very unhappy if I had paid around £250 for it.

TomTom have said: "Hello Erdelyi, regarding the remaining travel time question, you can go to Settings from the main menu and then select Appearance and Arrival Information. There you select “Show remaining time” and it will then be displayed during navigation."

@EddieVeddersfoxymop

Wondering why I got an email the other day from tomtom asking me to activate tomtom traffic? I thought the particular model we were testing had a lifetime connection and I can see traffic hotspots on my device.......???

TomTom say: "Hello, your GO 5000 does indeed have a lifetime subscription to TomTom Traffic. However, you do still need to go through a one-time registration process so your services could be linked to your account. In case you have not done that yet, please open the menu and select Traffic and Speed Cameras."

@IAmASkeletonLover

TomTom accurately got me out of a traffic jam the other day. First time I've had effective route re-planning rather than seemingly random decisions so that was good.

A criticism. I got 30 seconds down the road yesterday and TomTom said battery low and switched off. A battery indicator would be good so you can see how much charge there is. Or am I missing something?

"Hi IAmASkeletonLover, Sorry that wasn’t clear, but there actually is a battery indicator. You can find it in the main menu. Additionally the device warns you when the battery level is too low or critical. We advise our users to connect the GO 5000 to the car charger whilst driving to ensure the battery level won’t ever get low. "

@lynniep

So having used it over half term, I have come to the conclusion that

: once its en-route, its very good. Always flags up the traffic cameras (DH likes this) and quickly recalculates.
: voice recognition is more trouble than its worth. Massive fail for me.
: it hardly ever knows what I'm looking for if its not a standard street address. In fact even if it is (e.g. my work address) it doesn't always work. Sometimes that fact that you have not used capital letters is the difference between finding something and not finding it. Sometimes its just spelling (there should be a 'sounds like' function) Sometimes it knows the postcode but not the street that matches and vice versa. This is incredibly annoying.
: I would be gutted if I spent £250.
: it is pretty to look at and sticks to the windscreen way better than any other.

TomTom have said: "Hi lynniep, you are right – you do have to enter the address accurately in order for the GO 5000 to find it. The reason for that is that there are many street names and places that are spelled similarly and sometimes one letter can make a big difference."

@MimsyBorogroves

I've found a fair few roads now where the speed limit warning is wrong - and these aren't roads where the limit has recently changed. Perhaps tomtom should think about having a user function to send in changes to speed limits, much like they do for speed cameras?

TomTom say: "Hello MimsyBorogroves, apologies if that wasn’t clear, but there is a way for users to report incorrect or changed speed limits. Please refer to page 72-75 of the user guide for a clear explanation of the different things you can report: bit.ly/1fXjOuq ."

@SophieBarringtonWard

We used TomTom over half term for a long drive down M6 and M5 then around Cornwall.

Really liked the updates on traffic jams etc, and they seemed to be accurate (apart from recently developed queues which it hadn't picked up on yet).

Around Cornwall - which we know well, and have our routes everywhere - it really surprised us by constantly taking us down little lanes we had never been down before. Totally different route from ours to visit Granny. I am not sure it really saved any time as they were such narrow lanes although it might have been quicker on paper than the A roads, once you have crawled through at 20mph through the mist I am not sure that it is!

Had some issues using the search function. TomTom simply hadn't heard of a particular hamlet, even though it is signposted from the road and on entering it so definitely exists by that name (to the highway agency anyway!). Luckily we knew the way anyway. I also would like to be able to search for certain facilities in a "find me the nearest x" way - we were able to find the nearest big supermarket as we figured it would have a petrol station so searched by garage, but would have liked to be able to simply search by supermarket. Similarly on the way home we wanted to stop off at the nearest Pizza Express and knew there would be one in the town we were near, so I had to use my phone to search for the postcode to enter into TomTom. I'm sure the technology is there to be able to do that directly with TomTom?

Overall though we really like it and it is an improvement on our previous system of maps, and Google Maps on my iPhone.

TomTom have said: "Hello SophieBarringtonWard, sorry if that wasn’t clear, but when searching for a certain facility like supermarket for example, the results that are presented to you are ordered by proximity. If you want to pick the closest supermarket near you, you simply choose the first one in the list."

@alemci

I have used the Tom Tom today. I find it very good once it gets going but sometimes it seems unable to find an address and it doesn't seem to work with voice recognition. For example I tried to go to my mum's house which has been there since the 70's but despite having the postcode etc it couldn't find it.

also it doesn't hold any information. i wish it had a favourites so you could mark your regular places and addresses. Is there such a thing?

TomTom say: "Hi alemci, Thank you for your question and yes, there is a way to mark your favourite places and addresses. We call the favorites “My places” and there are several ways to pick a location you want to add to my places. One of them is by selecting the location on the map. To do that, you find the place on the map that you want to add to My Places by moving the map and zooming in on the destination you want to select. Press and hold to select the location. Then select the pop-up menu button and then select “Add to My Places”. You can edit the name of the location to anything you want so you can easily find it later. When you then press Done, you have successfully saved a location to My Places and thus marked it as a favourite. To read more about it and the other ways of selecting a place that you want to add to My Places please follow this link: bit.ly/1oOtk7P."

tom tom fail today. Just getting back on the thread. Will do more once my nerves have settled (and I've had a wee, picked kids up, done the beavers drop off. ....)

@CMP69

A few more thoughts I really don't like that is shows your speed, as it is lower than my cars speedo and I would trust that first, so irritating! My old TomTom Go had a POI feature that marked all the restaurants/museums/public places along our route which was fab if you fancied a break or people needed a toilet. With the new one it appears you need to search for a specific name ie Mcdonalds/Asda rather than a generic supermarket/restaurant chain, and there is no way to find independent shops/cafes/etc if you are in an unfamiliar area and don't know names or postcodes, that I can see. There needs to be a report roadworks feature like there is for speed cameras and speed limits, there is a big chuck of the A1 between Morpeth and Alnwick marked as roadworks, but the actual roadworks are only about 1/2 a mile right at the end and this has been the case since i got it.

TomTom have said: "Hi CMP69, thanks for your comment. There actually is a way to report incorrect road restrictions within map corrections. Please refer to page 72-75 of the user guide for a clear explanation of the different things you can report: bit.ly/1fXjOuq .

For the sake of other users, if there is ever a map error that you want to report of a type that is not shown in the menu, use the Map Share Reporter on TomTom.com. You can also find it here. bit.ly/1yz2ODz."

@Rishi79

Used GO5000 to guide us through the dark to Stansted Airport. It did wonderful. Hubby was quite impressed when GO 5000 informed him about the junction closure on the M11 and took us on a different route with NO hassle. He Said he is not going to drive anywhere without it.

=> Where to see the remaining battery level? Am I missing something on the front ?screen?
=> We would like to see the total hours left for the journey rather than seeing the estimated arrival time.

TomTom have said: "Hi Rishi79, thanks for your questions. Firstly, yes, you can see the battery level in the main menu. It’s just one click away from the map screen. As for the remaining travel time, you can go to Settings from the main menu and then select Appearance and Arrival Information. There you select “Show remaining time” and it will then be displayed during navigation."