TomTom GPS Hit By Leap Year Glitch

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 4/04/2012 10:02 Updated: 4/04/2012 11:25

The leap year has thrown the car navigation system TomTom into utter disarray.

The in-car GPS system is displaying a grey screen and a message saying the TomTom "does not have a GPS signal".

TomTom says on its website that the issue is caused by a datestamping bug in the software within the GPS receiver provided by a third party.

The Telegraph reports that the firm says the "global positioning system firmware which was causing a limited number of models to fail to identify their location".

The glitch has been a known issue since 31 March, and customers in the UK, Australia, Switzerland and Denmark are affected.

One TomTom user told the BBC that the machine malfunctioned on a trip from Gatwick Airport to Cornwall.

Graham Pitt said: "It refused to shift its position from Gatwick and kept showing a message saying 'looking for valid GPS signals'".

"I assumed it had broken but when I went to check TomTom's website I saw there were similar complaints about a range of models on its discussion boards. I feel this should have been made public earlier to alert customers to the problem."

A fix for the issue is posted on TomTom's website.

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The leap year has thrown the car navigation system TomTom into utter disarray. The in-car GPS system is displaying a grey screen and a message saying the TomTom "does not have a GPS signal". To...
The leap year has thrown the car navigation system TomTom into utter disarray. The in-car GPS system is displaying a grey screen and a message saying the TomTom "does not have a GPS signal". To...
 
 
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08:41 AM on 04/09/2012
I expect many of the idiots who follow Sat Nav instructions to the 'T', will be taking legal action against TomTom - loss or earnings, missed meetings, etc, etc. LOL
01:59 PM on 04/16/2012
This has nothing to do with people following instructions to the "T". Not sure why you refer to them as idiots though - almost as though you never make mistakes in your life, ever...

I personally rely on my SatNav to get me from A to B as I travel all over the country daily. It's not necessarily for the motorways or other major roads, and often just for the ability to estimate actual arrival time. However, when you are traveling to different places each week, or to different areas in the same place, you try doing that with an A-Z sat in your lap or routes just memorised. No, didn't think so.

GPS has become such a common part of life that it's up there with the likes of electricity, flowing water, internet, mobile phones etc. People just expect it working, and rightly or wrongly they depend on it. When you switch on your SatNav, you expect it to help get you where you need to be (yes, with some common sense thrown in). I had no such assistance getting somewhere the other day and was late to an important meeting because I was in an area I didn't know.

My fault for not allowing for such eventualities? Sure, I have no problem accepting responsibility. At least I don't go around acting like an idiot taking great pleasure from the misfortune of others who were affected by something outside of their immediate control.
04:18 PM on 04/04/2012
Ah well. Back to the map eh !