TomTom App and Iphone 3gs "GPS" Questions

Question

TomTom App and Iphone 3gs "GPS" Questions

So I was reeled in by the lure of the 49.99 sale price of the TomTom app. I figured wow my Iphone is amazing now I won't need to buy a separate stand alone GPS. Well I have since tried to navigate to a destination. Only to get messages that say No GPS signal or Poor GPS signal. This confuses me as I KNOW for a fact there is because other people use GPS all the time, I even bought a Garmin for my partner and it has no signal problems in this area. When there is a small amount of signal it tells me to turn on dead end roads. I have it mounted on my dash in clear view of the sky as I figured if it is a real GPS it would go off satellites.

I would not have purchased this app and spent that money if I knew there were limitations on the GPS of the iphone. Does anyone know if this is just a problem with my phones GPS specifically or how the iphone handles GPS. I guess I am just confused that other devices work and the iphone doesn't. And that all the reviews except one were great reviews.

Also I do not live in a non populated area. I live in the second most populous city in the state of Colorado and the 48th most populous city in the United States. When I have these no GPS signals I have Full 3g and full cell signal.

Help please 😟 Its a sad day for the directionaly challenged haha. Also can you get refunded on an app when you are really disappointed in the sub par performance?

Apple, iPhone OS 3.1.2, TomTom App

Posted on Dec 18, 2009 8:58 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 18, 2009 9:43 AM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

Do you get GPS reception with the included Maps application?

Although the iPhone 3G and 3GS have AGPS or assisted GPS, AGPS is used to speed up the GPS acquisition process only. The 3G and 3GS have a dedicated GPS receiver but GPS reception may not be as good overall or in all situations as a stand alone GPS device. A standalone GPS device does not include a cell phone.

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Answer 2

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Dec 18, 2009 9:48 AM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

Try this the next time you use TomTom:

Make sure WiFi is on, 3g is on.
Next, make sure location services is turned on. Settings>General>Location Services on.
Next, launch the maps app. Wait a minute for the app to locate you & the pulsing blue circle to get small. Once done, close the maps app.
Then launch TomTom. See if you notice any improvement.

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Answer 3

Dec 18, 2009 12:06 PM in response to Allan Sampson

The maps app does work just fine.

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Answer 4

Dec 18, 2009 12:07 PM in response to wjosten

Thank you for the suggestion, I tried and the map app works great but it didn't seem to effect the TomTom app

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Answer 5

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Dec 18, 2009 1:52 PM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

I'd contact TomTom customer support to see what they suggest. Your GPS appears to be working fine. That means software and it's TomTom's app.

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Answer 6

Ziatron

Level 5

4,214 points

Dec 18, 2009 2:27 PM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

You need the newer TomTom that shows elevation to fix this.

The old version has no elevation in the display.

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Answer 7

drshame

Level 1

105 points

Dec 18, 2009 5:44 PM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

Got sucked in by the price, didn't you?
There are numerous posts and complaints about the GPS Implementation that were made worse by Tom Tom's original Price.
From my experience, their customer support is useless.
They mad to make a separate cradle/GPS Chip platform to get their app to work in a more reliable manner. By the time you add up the app and the Cradle...it's much more expensive than a decent basic GPS, imho.
Try turning it on and placing it on your dashboard for a while to see if it can acquire a better signal.
The ads for IPhone GPS apps fail to mention all the real-world problems we've all had.
Maybe you'll be lucky/
Read this quick, it'll probably be deleted asap!

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Answer 8

Dec 18, 2009 7:38 PM in response to drshame

I've had no "real-world" problems or otherwise with GPS access, but I haven't purchased the TomTom app and I don't plan on it.

The OP indicated having no problem with GPS access with the included Maps application. The only "real-world" problem the OP is having is with the TomTom app.

I have missed all Apple's ads for iPhone GPS apps, specifically for turn by turn voice navigation apps such as the TomTom app, but of course Apple isn't going to mention a problem with a 3rd party app for the iPhone with an iPhone advertisement. Name one company that has ever done so especially in regards to a 3rd party product the company has no control over whatsoever. This is a TomTom problem, and TomTom isn't going to include this with their ads for their product either.

Comments like this should be deleted ASAP.

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Answer 9

k6rff

Level 1

0 points

Dec 19, 2009 1:24 AM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

TomTom are very much a Dutch company. They are quick on the selling but slow on the backup. I have had various incarnations of TomTom - mainly on XDA's. The product is basically good but their support is apalling.
My problem has been that the app needed the holder - which I bought - but I was not keen to use the bluetooth hands free on offer as my Audi has an excellent system installed, which works perfectly with the iphone from the steering wheel. I just wanted a good holder with the GPS signal assistance. All was well on version 1 and on the update 1.2 but version 3 now has the sound randomly playing through the stereo or the tinny little holder speaker. I have repeatedly asked tomtom for help but they 1st tried the reinstall everything (which I didn't think would work - but I did it) to blaming Apple ( cannot be- the firmware/hardware has not changed)to now saying that they do not support my configuration BUT they have, at last, confirmed that the enhanced GPS only works with the bluetooth connection to the holder. As this would stop my bluetooth to the car this is of little use to me.
Whenever, you speak or write to tomtom support, you have the feeling that they know significantly less about the product than you do.

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Answer 10

drshame

Level 1

105 points

Dec 19, 2009 11:24 AM in response to Allan Sampson

I beg to differ.
I have had problems occasionally with all my GPS apps...with Tom Tom being the least reliable.
A full restore helped some, but not for increasing Tom Tom's ability to find and hold a satellite fix.
I am truly saddened by another poster disagreeing with me and urging sysops to delete my post for purely editorial , subjective reasons.
This forum should serve as an honest discussion locale, sharing mutual concerns and suggested fixes.

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Answer 11

Dec 19, 2009 11:44 AM in response to drshame

This forum should serve as an honest discussion locale, sharing mutual concerns and suggested fixes.

Regardless what you, I, or anyone else thinks this forum should serve as, the following was copied from the terms of use for these discussions, which isn't always enforced to the letter.

http://discussions.apple.com/help.jspa#terms

Post constructive comments and questions. *Unless otherwise noted, your Submission should either be a technical support question or a technical support answer.* Constructive feedback about product features is welcome as well. If your Submission contains the phrase “I’m sorry for the rant, but…” you are likely in violation of this policy.

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Answer 12

whoomee

Level 1

0 points

Dec 19, 2009 1:33 PM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

so that we don't repeat this issue again, for anyone with a 3GS, spend $10 more and buy the Navigon MobileNavigator NA v1.4

... earlier today, I got a full GPS lock in the interior of my house (w/ no windows)

since v1.4 was released earlier this week, the GPS lock is precisely the same as Maps ... at least from my experience

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Answer 13

Dec 19, 2009 2:10 PM in response to CoffeeSalesStar

I have the Tom Tom on my 3GS. Almost all GPS mapping software will screw up occasionally on the iPhone. My stand alone Garmin is more accurate and reliable. The fact that Tom Tom sells a cradle with an enhanced GPS chip for the iPhone tells me that the internal iPhone GPS chip is weak. As documented on another site I researched prior to buying the Tom Tom for iPhone, two guys running the same app with identical configured iPhones in the same car had different results. One had no GPS signal while the other had full GPS signal. Variances exist in GPS chips, apparently. From my experience, I do know that software 3.0.1 works well with the Tom Tom, the 3.0 does not.

I live in north central Illinois, mostly rural and have not had any weak GPS issues with the operation of the Tom Tom app. I posted once how well it operated.

When you experience a weak GPS signal, I suggest:

1) Go to the setting application and reset the location warning
2) Do a reboot. Press the power button and home button until the white apple logo appears.
3) If step 2 happens too quickly, do another reboot with the same procedure. Consider the reboot to be okay when it take a long time to boot up.

zoz

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