Tom Toms at start up

I've noticed that too. My guess is that the drums indicate a complete (cold) reboot since that's what I hear when I power it on after I reset the device using the little recessed button on the bottom.

That is correct. It's a reboot, not just a restart.

On the later models, there is not a separate reboot button. On those units, if you hold down the power button a bit longer - about 20 seconds on my units, but I don't know if if it is the same on other models - you initiate a reboot instead of just a restart.

FWIW, I have had a couple of instances with my GO LIVE 1535 where the GPS did not appear to be working correctly (a problem getting a fix or a problem getting a LIVE connection) and a "drum-beat" reboot seemed to fix things. There were also other cases where it seemed to have no effect, but in my personal experience I get positive results much better than half the time - and it's really easy to do on the models where the power button can initiate a reboot.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

I recently started my 1605 after it sat dormant for a week and it gave me the bongos...when I use it frequently it does not do that.

Bongos play the first time you cold boot after disconnecting from your puter & as ET said, after a reset (soft or hard).

That can also be a factor, if my understanding of the software is correct - which is not guaranteed.

When you have a normal shutdown, the TomTom actually goes into what might be considered a hibernation mode. In an attempt to provide a quicker startup and satellite acquisition for the people who use their units frequently, part of the GPS keeps running for a while, even though most of it - such as the screen - shuts down.

Finally, after a long enough wait (I have read one week, but I do not know if that is correct) the entire device shuts down to extend the battery life. After that happens, a restart will be a reboot that gives you the drums. Prior to that time, you do not need a true reboot, since part of the core processing was still active.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

A manual reboot also works to get the live traffic going again if it can't get a signal automatically.

Correct - some of the time.

My experience has been that if you cannot get connected to the HD Traffic signal, a "drum-beat" reboot will fix the situation about two-thirds of the time. If you are having problems at rush hour in a major metropolitan area, the success rate may be lower.

I have read that the problem during rush hour is frequently that the phone company (AT&T) that carries the signals for HD Traffic often shuts down their 2G signals (the type received by the TT GPS units) at those times, in favor of 3G signals, because of capacity problems. I do not know as a fact that this is the cause, but it does seem to match my personal experience fairly well.

With best wishes,
- Tom -