Error code 1008?

[mvl]

I'm very grateful to this forum for posting up the link to the "workaround", but I am disappointed that TomTom have not pulled the new software from their servers until they get this fixed. Like many others, I just did an auto-update using TomTom Home, and the new software broke my LIVE Services (Error code 1008).

I just attempted a routine update to my GO740, and HOME said "error: forbidden" when attempting to check for new apps. So either deliberately or by accident, the app has been pulled.

Who knows? Maybe a new app will be loaded within hours.

 

[tokuro]

their web page is "down" with this message right now.

The TomTom Map Store is closed while we're updating and improving it. Our apologies for the inconvenience. Please check back soon!​

TomTom, portable GPS car navigation systems

maybe something new is coming up???

 

[mvl]

You know... we probably are all forgetting... but it is August.

Map 855 is due in August.

 

[vlbaindoor]

You know... we probably are all forgetting... but it is August. Map 855 is due in August.

But I was offered Western and Central Europe Version 850_2800 yesterday and to put it on my Tomtom 940 I had to do a bit of file re-arranging - had to move all US maps on my GO 940 onto a SDHC card using file manager.

So why was I offered 850 if a 855 is due any time soon then? I had bought my device in May this year and my previous attempts at using the Latest Map Gurantee all seemed to come to nothing - but yesterday the HOME software on its own said that there is a new map but I did not have enough space on my device.

Something fishy going on.

 

[simonhamnett]

Error 1008

I am currently suffering the Error 1008 on my tom tom 'Go' 940.

I have had no support apart from 'bear with us' and go back to the old software from, the so called - 'tom tom support'.

Does anyone know, or can they guess :

1. How long it will take for tom tom to to fix this bug ? Or even if they care to ?

2. Do Tom tom plan to compensate so called "live sevices' users for their inconvenience?

3. Does anyone else on this forum feel tom toms response this issue is acceptable? Considering paying customers have paid for live services that tom toms so called software 'update' breaks ?

I'm particularly interested in Mr. VLBaindoors opinion is on this.

Many thanks for your time in reading this and your replies, if any.

Best regards,


Simon Hamnett. Disgruntled owner of a Go 940 with NO ***PAID FOR*** "LIVE" SERVICES, and a Go 910, catastrophic failure just out of warranty at 13 months old and now an expensive paper weight. :-(

 

[vlbaindoor]

I am currently suffering the Error 1008 on my tom tom 'Go' 940.
I have had no support apart from 'bear with us' and go back to the old software from, the so called - 'tom tom support'.
Does anyone know, or can they guess :
1. How long it will take for tom tom to to fix this bug ? Or even if they care to ?
2. Do Tom tom plan to compensate so called "live sevices' users for their inconvenience?
3. Does anyone else on this forum feel tom toms response this issue is acceptable? Considering paying customers have paid for live services that tom toms so called software 'update' breaks ?
I'm particularly interested in Mr. VLBaindoors opinion is on this.
:-(

Thanks for that vote of confidence.

But I neither work for Tom Tom nor have any "inside" information.
What I have been mentioning has been my own opinions.

As I mentioned elsewhere the main selling point for their x50 devices which are marketed as being the latest and greatest is actually the software that runs on them - the Navcore 9 - this is as against their x40 devices which in my opinion have better hardware but old software.

I would have personally loved to get my hands on the source code of Navcore 9 and the tool set required to build the binary - but I cann't.

I am a Linux Enthusiast but enthusiasm has limits.

 

[mvl]

1. How long it will take for tom tom to to fix this bug ? Or even if they care to ?

I've seen Tomtom take anywhere from 1-3 months to fix bugs like this. But they haven't committed to any specific timeframe.

2. Do Tom tom plan to compensate so called "live sevices' users for their inconvenience?

Since Tomtom's workaround of "downgrading the application" gets LIVE services working, and returns the device to the same old app that's been available and functional for 6 months, I doubt Tomtom would be willing to refund any money over the delay of the upgrade.

owner of a Go 940 with NO ***PAID FOR*** "LIVE" SERVICES,

Why don't you try the downgrade?

 

[vlbaindoor]

I've seen Tomtom take anywhere from 1-3 months to fix bugs like this. But they haven't committed to any specific timeframe.
Since Tomtom's workaround of "downgrading the application" gets LIVE services working, and returns the device to the same old app that's been available and functional for 6 months, I doubt Tomtom would be willing to refund any money over the delay of the upgrade.
Why don't you try the downgrade?

This problem would keep annoying all new users - mainly because - due to the way in which Tom Tom have released this 9.04 Navcore, user's devices would get almost automatically updated without much intervention required from users and then their LIVE services would go dead. Then they would be made to look like fools as the Tom Tom Customer Services would treat it as if it is customer's fault.

The users will have to make deliberate efforts to stop their device going through this 'upgrade' of Navcore - which is a very bad way of releasing new software from Tom Tom.

Given this level of customer friendliness they expect their customers to pay 12months of LIVE subscriptions in one go. They must be joking. I am making up my mind now - probably I would not subscribe when my present free trial of three months ends - and certainly not if they expect 12 months subscription in advance.

I had a Garmin device until recently and I am beginning to think that I made a mistake by buying Tom Tom. May be I should have bought another Garmin.

I have a question now - How many disgruntled customers does it take for Tom Tom to realise they are loosing customers?

Or may be that their business model has changed and they no longer care about their existing customer base, they would rather go after the iPhone / GPS Enabled Mobile Phone devices market.

Garmin seems to have already brought out this Windows OS based Phone in collaboration with Asus which allows GPS as well - called as "n?vifone M10". I would not be surprised if Tom Tom followed suit.

 

[mvl]

Or may be that their business model has changed and they no longer care about their existing customer base, they would rather go after the iPhone / GPS Enabled Mobile Phone devices market.

What's scary is that they said LIVE services is the their strategic focus. And sustained LIVE issues on both sides of the pond is pretty embarrassing given that's supposed to be their focus.

Tomtom's biggest problem is they act like a startup and focus all their efforts/energy on the next new thing. Production issues on existing devices (especially if the device has been around for a while) get far less attention from their development area.

That's a recipe for short term profits but long term disaster, and it's starting to happen.

 

[vlbaindoor]

Tomtom's biggest problem is they act like a startup and focus all their efforts/energy on the next new thing. Production issues on existing devices (especially if the device has been around for a while) get far less attention from their development area.

That's a recipe for short term profits but long term disaster, and it's starting to happen.

I once worked for a company that has remained a "Start up" since its beginning some 10 years ago. Typical problems were:

1. No Product Roadmap
2. The CTO was more of a Chief Support Officer - barely able to solve existing problems - never able to plan for future
3. The chief bean counter was in charge - so anything new to be developed had to bring in cash from within the quarter - or else development not necessary

People who work for such a company would be completely de-moralised and always on the look out for new job - so nothing really gets done.

All it takes for the competition to bring down such a company is a law-suit by a big company.

I would not be surprised if this has been the story with Tom Tom as well.

There was a law-suit or a threat of it by Microsoft against Tom Tom.

 

[simonhamnett1]

Error 1008

Thank you Mr. Baindoor and MVL for your replies. I appreciate your time and honesty.

I think this is really sad. Everything I read on the net suggests that tom tom have just taken the money and ran. They've certainly taken at least ?600 GBP from me in purchase prices and fees for services that I cannot access. Talking to their tech support I find they are rude and just don't give a damn about my problems.

It's a disgrace. But now I just now feel sad. The Sat Nav is such a great devise, but this kind of attitude from big corporations just shows how they deserve ( as Mr B and others point out ) to go out of business. But I'm sure now the fast buck has been made only a few crocodile tears will be shed.

Call me sentimental, but is this what it has come to? - Large companies ripping off the little guy just because he's naive enough to believe he can expect value for money ?

I guess I am just naive, if you live by the consumer dream of reliable technology, you'll die by it. I guess I've learned the lesson.

Simon H - Guess who won't be buying any cutting edge tech in the next decade? And an i pad owner I won't be. I'll stick with a paper map and a pencil from now on.
Who needs this kind of nonsense in their lives ???

 

[vlbaindoor]

Thank you Mr. Baindoor and MVL for your replies. I appreciate your time and honesty.
It's a disgrace. But now I just now feel sad. The Sat Nav is such a great devise, but this kind of attitude from big corporations just shows how they deserve ( as Mr B and others point out ) to go out of business. But I'm sure now the fast buck has been made only a few crocodile tears will be shed.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, many of these companies are actually not BIG Corporations - their products are used by millions may be - but that alone does not make them Big.

Being big needs to have greater mindshare of people. Being big needs to have long term mindshare. Being big needs to have long term plans, long term vision etc. This is apart from being worth a few billions of money.

Are Tom Tom really big? I don't think so. It is probably a company that gets associated with Sat Navs in the minds of motoring public. Are they big in terms of turnover? I don't think so.

They seem to be showing all signs of being a start-up as someone pointed out. And start-up means no long term plans, no long term strategy. Looks like after the initial success, any company has only limited time left to really grow big or remain a 'start-up' forever. May be Tom Tom is now a forever-start-up company.

Look at the history of Amazon, Google, Yahoo etc. They were start-ups some 10 to 15 years ago - now they are giants - why? Mainly 'mindshare' of the public.

What saddens me is that many of these companies which take an early advantage of Linux, Free Software etc fail to embrace the idea of 'community' and giving it back to community and gaining bigger mindshare and thus becoming truly big.

Many of them seem to fail to get past their initial success - they seem to slowly fade away from the public mindshare. They seem to be happy with their initial success and then they somehow feel that to actually grow they have to embrace Microsoft - rather than get more mindshare and grow as such. Bean counters take control and future growth is stunted.

Look at what Garmin is doing with Asus - they have brought out a Windows based mobile phone and though there is talk of an Android based device is supposed to follow, that seems to depend on initial success of this Windows based device - in other words - may never happen.

Asus did a few nice things initially - their Asus EeePC which ran Linux for example - so they have Linux history - but have they given much back to Linux Community - I don't think so. There may be some but not anything that significant. They are back with Microsoft now. And Linux Community once again feels betrayed. Compare this to what say IBM or Sun have been doing.

Both Garmin and Asus are two companies I have some mindshare for - but they do not seem that loyal to the cause of Linux and so I don't see any reason to be loyal to them myself. Now Tom Tom seem to be following the same path.

Sorry that was a long rant - just wanted to get it off my chest.

 

[mvl]

I think this is really sad. Everything I read on the net suggests that tom tom have just taken the money and ran. They've certainly taken at least ?600 GBP from me in purchase prices and fees for services that I cannot access. Talking to their tech support I find they are rude and just don't give a damn about my problems.

You may have missed the point of my comment. Tomtom has a workaround, that works 100% in the UK as far as I've heard. See here. Annoying, but I think "taken the money and ran" is a bit too harsh.

Look at what Garmin is doing with Asus - they have brought out a Windows based mobile phone and though there is talk of an Android based device is supposed to follow, that seems to depend on initial success of this Windows based device - in other words - may never happen.

The Android-powered Garmin A50 is already on sale. See here.

 

[simonhamnett1]

Dear Mr. B and MVL, thank you again for your responses and clearly carefully considered replies. ( MVL, thanks for the roll back advice but I find that solutiom unacceptable to me. see below and previous posts ).

And please Mr. B. do rant away ! Tom tom are not listening - but I am listening to you, as you seem to know what you are talking about !

Surely this thread alone will have cost tt a few sales after appearing on their own web list !?

In fact I'm surprised this thread has not been deleted by now ? Do they not care that I'm ranting away here slagging off their hard eared business reputation - Or do they just not give a damn ?

As for MVLs comment that I'm a " bit too harsh ". Is this the first sign that my honest opinions are seen as being unfair to poor little tt ?

I see he agrees with me, I'm right to be harsh, - 90% harsh maybe, the 10% extra is 'too much'.

Anyway, I just don't see how any company can sleep at night when they release software that breaks their own equipment. - In my business that's called - deliberate self harm !

I'm sure everyone can see and agree, that at best this " embarrassing " cock up is extremely irritating for customers. If not dam right indicative of a company that has lost touch with it customers completely and is arrogant enough to ignore legitimate grievances.

I certainly do not see ANY adequate apologies.
Like BP, tt make a huge mess then decide it's everyone else's fault and everyone else should pay to clear up their mess.

I'm no software expert but this looks like complete incompetence - or that tt just don't give a damn.

Anyone care to suggest another reason for the error 1008 ? I'm not talking about technical reasons I'm talking about how an organisation can allow a flagship product to become useless or unreliable at best and just not acknowledge the fact in any meaningful way.

If I did my job like this I'd be fired ! Start up or not.

This is not acceptable to me - If other people feel this is acceptable, I congratulate them on their self control and what I would observe as their *infinite* patients with a company that I think and feel, just does not care to care.

Tom tom have taken my money and ran.

I'm sorry but my patients with tom tom ran out years ago when a friends tom tom sat nav actually caught fire !! ( Yes I'm not kidding it saw the thing ) In her car !

Am I asking too much to expect my sat nav to actually work ? Or am I just naive ?

I like to think foolishly ( fool that I am ) that I am discerning consumer. But tom tom sold me snake oil, promising the world - When I get the item home - I find it does not work. I've bought a pup, I've been ripped off. And when I go back to store to complain they've packed up and moved on. Leaving a sign on the door saying its my fault for expecting it too work !

Sharp practice ! - Time to warn other fools like me about this !


Simon Hamnett - Two tt sat navs - Neither work. Tom tom support = 0

 

[simonhamnett1]

error 1008

It's not just me, this post below, taken from this very website.

Apologies for not gaining permission to quote the guy below. You can't make stuff like this up.
At least I'm not the only idiot who is " having the piss taken out of them " by tt, as we Brits say.

Question to forum members - Are tom tom finished a brand ?

I don't see a way back from here unless they are cash rich? This must be dammed expensive for them.

I almost feel sorry....... Nah - not really ....Greedy B****ds

Best

Simon H





Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2 07-23-2010, 11:17 AM

Is anybody else pulling their hair out at the most useless customer support I've ever received with this current tomtom setup?

I bought a new 950 Live (12 month free subs) about a month ago. After first having issues getting TT to enable the 12 month subs once tied to my TT Account I got about 1 weeks use. Then the dreaded rebooting problem... after discussing with customer support re re-formatting the device and reloading everything the problem persisted resulting in a repair request.

Finally got my repair back today.... a replacement and after running updates discovered that the device return was a simple 950 without the ability to even receive the HD Services!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought the device 5 weeks ago and have so far had 1 week's use and am now going to have to wait until the get back to my angry email query over the weekend before waiting another week to get a new device.

Am I the only person getting the impression TT or of a fast slide downhill here. Customer support is useless and the devices seem to be of lower quality plus given recent screwups with updates their testing processes look shot to pieces.

 

[mvl]

Just to be clear, this is an independent forum of Tomtom customers. We respect the opinions of all our members and have no desire to take the post down.

In periods of fast innovation, every company has to balance new features vs reliable software. Tomtom is far skewed to the "new features" side in their business model, where other brands like Garmin are more skewed to "reliable software".

My personal situation: I have a buletproof, super-reliable, full-featured factory navigation system in my Honda Accord. I love absolutely everything about it, except it's directions. So I don't use it.

I use a Tomtom PND to route because in the congested areas I drive, Tomtom's unparalleled traffic/congestion avoidance finds routes that save me 30-60 minutes a day. I hate all the Tomtom bugs, and trust me I'm making voting lists and doing everything else I can to help Tomtom fix these bugs.

But I make the conscious choice every day to balance the bugs against the traffic timesavings, and for now I still use the Tomtom. If / when Garmin launches HD traffic in the USA, I'll probably buy a Garmin. If / when Acura launches HD traffic in their factory nav, I'll buy a new Acura.

 

[simonhamnett1]

Error 1008

Thanks for the replies, and opinions.

A simple Google search shows that I am not the only person who is outraged by tom toms ( who ever they are* ) inexcusable and unacceptable behavior.

Whether the our outrage is justified or a balance is to be struck is irrelevant to our clearly expressed understanding and feelings.

If anything is known for sure, I think this issue can be couched in the terms of a political question, ( if ethical and moral debates are set aside for a moment )

I for one will make sure that *no one* I know is left in any doubt how strongly I feel negatively towards tom toms* woefully inadequate, arrogant, and plane unhelpful customer service record - Clearly - It's just wrong.

To put it simply or politically: I'll never vote with my cash or belief for tt* again. I'll vote Garmin or some other manufacturer *not in any way* associated with tt*. I'll also make sure I can convince any one I know that they should also take their valuable custom elsewhere.

I think that is fair. Any other political position just encourages tt* to rip off further unsuspecting victims.

I think this forum represents advertising for tom tom* and as such I condemn it for reasons above.

I believe if this forum has any ethical and moral foundation then it is this forums duty to expose tom tom for the poor company that they clearly are. Anything else just perpetuates this corrupt organisations existence.

Anyone who ever believes tom tom has their customers best interest at heart is clearly and irrefutably deluding themselves.

Many Thanks

Simon Hamnett - Not a tom tom fan.

 

[dhn]

I think this forum represents advertising for tom tom* and as such I condemn it for reasons above.

Excuse me?

This forum gets NO money from TomTom whatsoever. What part of 'independent' do you not understand?

I believe if this forum has any ethical and moral foundation then it is this forums duty to expose tom tom for the poor company that they clearly are. Anything else just perpetuates this corrupt organisations existence

Thank you for your opinion about how this forum should be run.

If you spent less time pontificating and more time reading the posts here, you'd find the biggest critics of TomTom are often the moderators here, for both their hardware and software.

As well, we don't ban negative posts of the product or the company.

You have a legitimate right to be upset with TomTom for their actions -- or inactions -- in this matter. You have NO right to imply this forum condones those actions.

 

[canderson]

I believe if this forum has any ethical and moral foundation then it is this forums duty to expose tom tom for the poor company that they clearly are. Anything else just perpetuates this corrupt organisations existence.

You seem to have missed an important point here (more than once). You ARE the forum. Neither the "owner" of this forum nor its moderators work for TomTom.

So you've done your job. You, as part of the forum, have made your thoughts clear.

You're not the only one who thinks that much in TomTom's recent business decisions, products and firmware releases has either been ill advised or poorly executed. My thoughts on recent changes have been made clear in numerous threads. Note the tag under my name. We're not in the business of burying anything here.

As dhn asks, what part of "independent" has escaped you?

 

[mvl]

Regarding the original bug of the 1008 error in the UK, see this post on pocketgpsworld.