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

Like Stealthsquiggle I was plagued by tellings-off from DD today when she worked out that it was saying I was driving too fast.

Thanks for picking me MNHQ and thanks to TomTom for the satnav kit! Here is my initial feedback

- What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 5000?

It's a really solid, quality feeling gadget. I like the simple clean lines (very Apple...!) and the mapping on screen is very clear and easy to follow.

I was disappointed that there wasn't even a simple cloth pouch to protect the screen included with the product. For the RRP of £259.99 I would have expected to see something basic at least. Most people wouldn't want to leave the kit permanently installed in their vehicle because of the theft risk. Therefore its reasonable to assume most people will want a proper storage case for the device. For an expensive bit of kit it comes across as cheap to not include a basic soft cover for at least the main screen unit to protect it from scratches.

- How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?

I thought the guided tour you get when you first switch the device on was VERY clear and gave a good introduction to the funtions of the device.

Having read the feedback on the sign up thread it seems a lot of mumsnetters who are testing this product have concerns about
(a) how crashy/unstable the updating process is; and
(b) the memory size needed on your laptop to run the necessary files. It would be good if at least the memory size issue could be addressed by TomTom, and I will report this post to flag it to MNHQ

I have found it easy to enter destinations and get a route mapped but like lots of us testers I cannot get the VR to work. Serena/TomTom isn't listening! . This is disappointing as obviously it's preferable to speak commands at the device if you are driving, than to be trying to fiddle about tapping at a screen.

- What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?

I have made some local journeys and some longer ones since getting the device. I haven't gotten lost yet but on some familiar routes like to my Mum's it's trying to take me on routes I know are slower. However, at least it re-routes quickly and doesn't shout at me to turn around!

I have noticed that the audio instructions don't work very well on double mini roundabouts or complicated junctions but the mapping is clear enough to indicate where you will need to turn/go. Poor thing didn't know WHAT do do when faced with this... it was still waffling on after I'd taken the exit for the 3rd roundabout and left the junction but luckily I knew where I was going!

On the approach to roundabouts it'd be good if it told you which lane to use.

I went to the garage the other side of town earlier today and it took me a very random cross country route and because it was lots of fiddly windy lanes and I had to stop for lots of tractors etc I'm sure it took longer than my normal route and was more hair-raising

Other feedback

The promised 1 hour delivery slot didn't materialise and I wasn't given tracking details. I had to go to the courier depot to collect and I was told that the reasonI hadn't been given tracking details is that the sender of the parcel (i.e. TomTom) didn't enter them when they booked the courier I know that I definitely entered my details on the signup questionnaire.

I have also experienced 2 instances where TomTom thinks the speedimit is higher than what was shown on the actual road - in both cases rural roads which are a 40mph but that TomTom thinks are a 60.

My husband took another trip to London this morning and frankly struggled, as another commenter said it doesn't always recognise just places, my husband ended up being sent down a dead end road, switched to using his phone and google maps and got to his destination quick sharpish.

Also on the way home it wanted to send him straight into the congestion areas, although this was possibly the quickest route, it certainly wasn't the best route.

The other problem I've found is putting it on charge when driving as you have to find the port on the back of the cradle which isn't the easiest when you are supposed to be concentrating on driving.

My DD does to a school called St Something, and Serena pronounces this as Street Something.

I'm still fed up of her inability to pronounce "ey" endings correctly.

Interesting that virtually everyone has mentioned the lack of case. I wonder if TomTom will explain their reasoning for not providing one?

I am finding that the voice recognition is getting better - I think I'm getting better at using the "right" tone of voice, but also it seems to be guessing I'm asking to go back to a place I've been before because it has stopped asking me to confirm several times.

Dh (its one of his weeks to do lots of driving for work) took Serena on a 3 hour journey this morning involving 3 motorways. It was accurate to the minute on the eta initially given (in spite of various snarl points on the way), and took him to the correct building on a large site which was impressive.
I may have to pry it from his fingers tomorrow

Right, I have worked out WHY TomTom wasn't listening.

We need to activate the voice control so that it knows to listen for the wake up phrase through the menu, page 90 of the manual has instructions on how to do this.

It now talks to me - but when I said "go to [town name beginning with C" instead it gave me options for petrol stations

Using VR, when I asked it to go to High Street, town starting with C... It offered me the high streets of surrounding villages to that town, BUT not the high street in the chosen town.

I am told I have a clear speaking voice, so I don't think it's me!!

I like the Early Instructions, so you know what to do at junctions in plenty of time. Having the instruction repeated once I'm on top of the junction is mildly irritating though and I don't think there's any way to turn that off, is there TomTom?

Argh... It tried to send me down the back alley again yesterday! I ignored it this time but then ended up in traffic on the main road beyond. I wonder if it would have found a different route to avoid that traffic if it hadn't been merrily trying to send me down the back alley?

It would be good to have a feedback option to point out inaccessible streets as well as speed cameras, so the device could learn what routes can't be used!

Also, is the device feeding back my route/traffic data and learning as it goes? I ask because until two days ago, when picking up DH from work, for the final section it always sent me the direct route where I was in traffic for five minutes or so. Last couple of days, traffic has been no worse but it's now sending me a different route that overshoots and doubles back. A fair bit longer, but faster because of traffic flow!

Had another play with parking earlier, using voice control this time. It brought me up a list saying:

1- Car Park
2- Car Park
3- Car Park
4- Car Park
5- Car Park

with no map showing which one was which. Then asked me to choose my car park. Not terribly helpful!

In terms of your first impressions...

• What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 500?

Its looks nice and feels substantial (not like it would break if accidentally dropped). I liked the size of the screen, not too big but equally not too small.

• How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?

I think my problems with this lie with my wifi rather than the tomtom. My first problem was plugging it into the computer to register it and download the software, this wasn't that clear. Then when on the Tomtom website the site obviously knew i was on a mac but the button to push to download the software didn't make that clear and i had a small panic about it not being mac complainant but realised my mistake - but a clearer button would be good. Once updated its been great.

• What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?

We've used it round the city and its interesting because its taken us our normal shortcut routes/rat runs we use which i wasn't expecting, previous sat navs have kept us to main roads. DH has been using it to and from work and says its useful to see how long the journey will take that day!

We're off to Scotland at the end of next week so the confidence we have got from using in the city we know is going to be great.

What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 500?

It arrived in a shiny box and it took me a day to open it! I realized that I feel slightly overwhelmed by technology and had the same feeling 3 years ago when I got my ipad, and I left it in its box, stroked it a few times before actually opening it! But I opened it up, and switched it on! WAs pleased to see it come on immediately I liked the screen size, seemed intuitive although I would have liked one of those small easy set up type pamphlet with it.

~ How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?*

I wanted to get using it, so I switched it on, and found it really impressive how quickly it found where I was. My (old ) satnav was taking ages to this, and there have been occasions I have been stranded somewhere unable to get the satnav to find where I was! So this is a huge improvement, and as I have used a sathav before it felt pretty easy to find my way around using it. I think I need to make sure that I am aware of all its features so that I use it properly.

I like the Voice recognition and have loved ordering it to take me home everday. I have also had the realization that the Tom tom is probably the only person in our household listening to me, and not answering back! Long may this last. I have not played with accents yet, but will try out more options this weekend when I have some time.

What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?

I started for the first two days to make journeys that I knew, as this allowed me to see how the tomtom worked with not having to worry about how it worked. I made a few wrong turns to see how it would respond to this, all went well.
I then made a longer trip out to a part of London I am not very familiar with and it led me down a few wrong paths! This might be because I have not updated the maps etc (but I saw from the previous thread that it could take about 13 hours to upload, and I will do it this weekend). So will need to see if that was the reason.

Overall I am very happy with it, and would like to use the weekend and next week to really try all the features on the TomTom. I will come back to this thread once I have done this.

Just to add more feedback to my previous comment upthread. I drove today to a large town some 11 miles from me, but Serena wanted me to take a succession of small, twisty unclassified roads instead of the main A road. Not sure why that would be, the main roads are clearly faster and safer.

We then decided to go to our nearest city, some 17 miles from where we were, so this was our first test of city driving and speed cameras etc. The voice recognition is really poor when I asked it to search for Union Square, Aberdeen. When I manually searched for it, it came it up - it's a big enough place!!!! Not sure why it didn't show when I searched VR. HOWEVER, the directions to it were a load of rubbish. It kept trying to put me to the wrong side of the road, then a bus station, then a one way road the wrong way. If I didn't have local knowledge, I'd have been very lost indeed.

I also noticed that the speed limit indicators are frequently wrong too, one is particular that the TOMTOM said was 15mph but is actually 20mph, and has been for at least 15/20 YEARS!!! (it was 15mph at one point, many many eons ago......)

Not such a great day with it today, first drive into the big city and it didn't cope so well.

I've made my inaugural voyage with TomTom!

To answer…

In terms of your first impressions...

• What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 500?

Very nice - I love getting new bits of technology & the presentation was slick and swish. Others have commented that a case would be nice - I don't know if this is usual with satnavs as I have never had one before, but comparable bits of kit cost wise (iPad Minis, iPods) haven't come with cases so I didn't notice the lack of one. Everything worked fine plugging it into my computer & updating the software.

• How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?

I found it easy enough setting up TomTom in terms of plugging into the computer, but struggled a bit more working out how to use it! I am fairly technologically competent (haven't dared to try DH on it as he would probably faint in horror being a total luddite), but have still found it a bit tricky. Maybe this is because I haven't used a satnav before. I need to read the manual, which I haven't done yet - was relying on my native wit!

• What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?

I have done a typical bit of around town driving - from my house to my mum's house to soft play to the shop to my house again! TomTom was clear to understand, knew where I wanted to go - traffic avoiding didn't really arise but I am looking forward to testing it on the M6 at the weekend...

What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 500?
A lot bigger and clearer display than previously used sat nav.

How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?
Very easy and straightforward.

What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?
Usual school runs twice a day. Sometimes get stuck in traffic but I'm assuming if it's traffic that wouldn't feature on the likes of AA Roadwatch, etc. then it wouldn't show on the TomTom.
Also, had to go to Ireland and took TomTom with me. It coped with the back roads and country lanes no bother. This has sometimes been a problem with other sat navs.

VR is sometimes tricky. It doesn't always respond and might need two or three goes for it to listen.

The list of potential matches is awkward when you are searching for a place. It is completely hidden by the keyboard, save for the top result.

Overall it is so far a positive experience.

Only marking place for later. So much to learn from others!

Hi everyone,

TomTom have said:

"Hello Mumsnetters,

It’s been great reading your initial impressions and feedback on the GO 5000. While many of you seem to be quite happy with your device and putting it to good use, we’ve seen some recurring questions, comments and issues we would like to address.

Some of you decided to skip updating and use the device out of the box. While that’s definitely easy to do, we still encourage you to update as that ensures you have the most up-to-date maps and most

optimised software. Additionally, we sometimes introduce completely new functionality only available via software updates. Here is a page that can help you through the process in case you have any trouble: bit.ly/ZDBGrJ It’s important to mention that the first time you update, it might take a few hours as both the map and the software will need to be updated at the same time. To speed up the process, it’s best to do this initial update on the most stable and fast internet connection available to you.

Some of you had difficulty finding the complete product manual. While there’s a quick start booklet in the box, we decided to publish the full manual online only, as the continuous improvements we make to the device require frequent updates to the copy of the manual. It being online ensures we can keep it up-to-date. You can access it through this direct link: bit.ly/1CgkODD

A lot of you seem to be using voice control but still have some issues with it. You can find all the information regarding using it on page 68 – 71 in the manual. Unfortunately, you cannot change the sensitivity of the microphone.

Enjoy the rest of your test! We will make sure to come back to your questions in this thread regularly."

What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 500?

Nice looking gadget, looks/feels expensive and a lovely big clear screen. Bit disappointed about the lack of a case. Liked the mount for the windscreen.

How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?

Very easy. took a few hours to download. After that just started pressing buttons to see what was what. Haven't had to refer to the manual yet.

What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?

School runs
Junior football
Shopping trips

I have taken Serena everywhere with me. I like the way she names the road you turn onto. I have even learnt a few local road names I didn't know.
Haven't bothered with the VR function, quite happy to set it before I go.

OK, TomTom, that was a bad idea.

I was quite happy with it. Until I got slapped on the wrist for not updating it and set out to do so.

I am computer literate, and can solve most issues, but cannot get the bloody thing to connect. At all. I have reset the TomTom, reinstalled the software, updated Flash - I am just running Windows7, so nothing exotic.

OK, I fixed it - but it involved me downloading and manually updating the drivers. That's not good. It is updating now... I am going to go and feed DD and ignore it until much later, so I hope it's not planning to be needy about it's update process.

I liked it better when I just got it out of the box and it worked

LOVE this little thing........... M1 standstill at 5pm .... little TomTom kindly alerts me to the new route, which is only 5 minutes extra driving time and to my surprise not a traffic jam in sight. How have I managed all this time without this TomTom?
I was home about 2 hours earlier than I would have been and never even knew this route existed.

Hello mnhq and TomTom. Thank you so much for allowing me to test the new TomTom Go.

What was your initial impression of the TomTom GO 500?
It looks great! I love the size of the screen and the feel of the unit itself. The packaging was functional and attractive.

• How easy did you find it to set up your TomTom?

It wasn't difficult at all. Which is good as the little picture instructions were a little rubbish. Something to do with aliens taking the sat nav but I can't stop them by taking it indoors or something of the sort. Updating was easy enough although took a long long time. And the satnav said it was complete hours before my computer did, which confused me a little. And the time left fluctuated wildly so I never could work out how long I had to wait. We worked out the voice activation and address search with ease, its very user friendly.

• What journeys have you made so far with your TomTom?

My DH has had control of the TomTom this week as I've not been very busy. He's a HGV driver so it's had a workout! From Sheffield to Rugby, to Milton Keanes, to Derby, to Wakefield, to Selby, to Newark, to Pontefract to Doncaster and to Waverley. He loves the traffic updates, that has in itself saved him many hours already. Doing what he does time really does mean money for his boss so he's certainly earning brownie points! He likes that it always gives an accurate time of arrival also. The voice activation works well enough, although it struggles when there is background noise. It finds addresses with ease and calculates routes really very quickly. For the first two days he used it he also had his very old satnav working at the same time as he was reluctant to trust the TomTom after using another brand for so many years. From day three the old satnav was thrown in a drawer and it's safe to say the man has converted! I'm now really looking forward to my turn next week.

stealthsquiggle that sounds a nightmare. I haven't updated yet as apparently from
Yours and other comments it takes hours and requires stable internet which I just do not have here in the sticks.

Blondie it wasn't the downloading (it is hopefully doing that now, up in my office) it was connecting the thing to the PC which didn't work.

I have to admit I didn't study the instructions first, because it's just a USB connected device - how complicated can it possibly be ?

I have never had anything be quite so difficult to sort out, and I had to dig quite far into the support site (and interpret the instructions which were written for a different windows version, even though mine is supported) to find somewhere where I could just download the drivers, so it wouldn't be a solution for the fainthearted.

No one else has reported quite the same problem, so I probably did something wrong. It was an honest test, though, as that's exactly what I would do with something I had bought instructions are for wimps

OK I have had a VERY BAD experience with mine this morning. I wanted to like it, but if it does that to me again it will be out of the window... it seemed to go completely and utterly screwy and I've no idea why!

I decided to let it take me to work and was a bit surprised when it took me left out of our road (even though work is in the other direction and I virtually always go one of two ways, both of which involve heading right) but decided to trust it as it might know something I didn't, and there is at least one route where you can go that way, though it's usually a long way round.

But... it then decided to take me along the High Street (crazy busy, bus lanes, bikes, queues and would be a VERY odd way to go to my work) - before starting to double back to right near my house again, so we almost came full circle

This was bad enough, but then it wiggled off in a different direction, so I thought fine, maybe there's a big bottleneck on the normal route or something... until it started taking me LITERALLY in circles around a load of side streets that had absolutely NO connection with getting me to work. Round and round the same bit, with the ETA getting longer and longer and getting stuck in the traffic calming I may have repeatedly said some very bad words and threatened it with violence until I decided enough with the trust thing and cleared the route and headed back towards my normal way.

After that I tried getting it to set a route from my new location to see if that was any better - it was a BIT better, but first tried to make me do a dogleg through two very narrow, cobbled back alleys to reach the main road instead of just driving to the end of the (clear) road I was on. Then it sent me an alternative way to the dual carriageway, which ended up in a long traffic jam to join it.

By the end I only just got to work in time despite starting with loads of time in hand, the journey was approx. 50% longer than it should have been and I missed the bacon-sarnie-and-magazine time I was hoping to get before work

It would have helped if I could have found a way to zoom out a bit more but not to the "full route" view, I found when looking at the full route I couldn't see enough of the detail to check it made sense, but in the other view I could only zoom out enough to see the next one or two turnings but not what came next, so I couldn't get a feel for which way it was trying to take me after that.

But mainly I would like to know what on earth was going on to make it go such bizarre ways I will be more wary about trusting it now especially if I have the kids in the car so they don't learn the bad words

Have done a few school runs now and I am enjoying using the TomTom for my journeys. Glad to see on the feedback that the manual was not in the box but online. I have even managed to set my home location. I took my mum out on a shopping trip today and she was very impressed with the voice control lady telling us where to go. One thing I did notice it was giving me a previous name of my road that has been changed about 10 years now. I love the TomTom sleek design and I am enjoying learning new things with it every day. Roll on Tomorrow's adventure.

Mine went a bit loopy this afternoon - it lost all sense of direction then screen flashed on and off for a while totally locked and unable to activate the menu at all, all because I tried to cancel a route. When I tried to add a new place it froze again and I resorted to unplugging it and taking it off the dock fro a bit. It seems to have overcome it's strop now but had I not been in the next town along and really needed to know where I was going/with a time limit I would have been totally stumped.