GPS POI > GPS Forum > TomTom > Satellite reception: Keep getting no satillite or poor

Roadtrip · Guest

We have had our Tomtom for a few years....Don't use it every day. When I just was trying to program. I keep getting no satillite reception. We are in a major city in BC. I have charged the battery while on....I believe this to be correct. Help What does waiting for the GPS mean?

lachlan · Posted: 08/17/2009 09:06pm Post subject: Post subject: Satillite reception

Connect your device to TomTom Home software on your PC and check for updates. When you install the GPS Quick Fix file it will lock onto Satellites quickly. It's a good idea to update once a week to keep the Quick Fix file current.

grantdale1 · Posted: 08/22/2009 05:24am Post subject: No Satellite Connection

I had the same problem and when I contacted TomTom support, they walked me through a complete reinstall of the software. The reinstall was about 3 months ago, and I have not had the problem resurface.
Try contacting support and ask them to walk you through the reinstall.
Grant

vnbt1 · Posted: 08/31/2009 11:09am Post subject: No Satellite Connection

I find that I need to update the GPS Quick Fix file every 2 or three days,
otherwise the unit can take upto 15 minutes to locate the new satellite orbits.
Tall buildings in the city can also affect satellite reception.

sw20921 · Posted: 09/07/2009 10:08pm Post subject: Satellite locks

Wow. The software on those units must be really corrupted, or the units faulty. My 500 and 930 have taken one minute at the very most - less than 10 seconds usually. Hooking them up to Tomtom Home should hopefully help. Mind you - my 930 has a different party trick and locks up and reboots every third startup...

graycon · Posted: 12/05/2009 06:34pm Post subject: Satellites locations

TomTom wants you to update your TomTom via home software at least once a week so satellite positions can be saved to device for that week.

narsamma · Posted: 12/06/2009 03:21am Post subject: Re: No Satellite Connection

My TomTom is often unable to find a GPS signal.
I get the error message “No Valid GPS Signal Found”.

This problem is just one of many known bugs in TomTom XL GPS devices. The worst part is that this error does not goes away even if I charge the TomTom unit completely and leave my GPS to sit for a few days.

I changed the option from Minutes (dm.m') to Degrees (d.d) but it did not help in solving the problem. I frequently need to hold the reset button for a long time, and when it comes back up, sometime it is just fine. I keep my TomTom Home software updated and even use a misterious TomTom Quick GPSFix spyware.

I called TomTom and their only recommended solution was to use the latest Home software and Quick GPSFix option, despite there was no assurance that it would fix the problem.

Honestly, I expected more from my TomTom.

graycon · Posted: 01/08/2010 11:57pm Post subject: Reception

Seriously, Tomtom after sales service is nothing short of pathetic, and it a worrying sign to see so many faults with an item that is supposed to be a the top of the tree item (and an expensive one at that).

sirja · Posted: 02/05/2010 09:48pm Post subject: Tomtom GPSQuickFix

Hi Guys!
Without gpsquickfix the device (GPS or TT mobile) doesnt know where the satellites are, so therefore it starts scanning til it finds them, although the old go500's picked them up pretty quickly by itself . The new devices dont therefore gpsquickfix is essential to quick connection
sirja

nicholasdavidroberts

There is a similar thread on here and I do hear reports from friends with other makes of GPS/SatNav that fix times vary. Clearly you need a good signal, so the middle of a city is not necessarily a good thing as you may not have a good view of much of the sky. The other thing is that all GPS chipsets store ephemeris data and if this has not been updated for a while then any GPS will take a while to acquire.

I use an unbranded 'cheapo' bluetooth receiver the size of a matchbox because my PDA does not have a built-in chipset. Because I use it daily, start-up (acquire) time is almost immediate, but noticeably slower if I have either gone on holiday for a couple of weeks and not used it or if I have taken it to another country.

Take your unit somewhere where it can get a good look at the sky and leave it on while you make a cup of tea or cut the lawn... I bet you'll have a much better start-up time after that.