TomTom Via 280

Have had this unit now for at least 6 years and have been very happy with it. Would only buy a tomtom GPS – Unable to charge the battery, have removed the battery to replace but now find that I cannot buy a replacement. Unit did still work plugged into the vehicle but unable to do a search other than in the vehicle which is rather inconvenient. Show details

PLENTY OF OPTIONS TO CHANGE SETTINGS – As my unit had in the past been satisfactory I decided to try and find out why it now had troubles. Went into "Settings" and found battery strength was very low. With the unit switched off, I used a matching phone charger for at least six hours, as I found that it will not recharge fast enough when in use in the car. Changed "settings" so that it… Read more

no longer shuts down when ignition turned off., and that has cured my premature shut down problem, but It now has to be switched off manually. I can live with that.

Tested mounting on a picture frame glass and had no issues with falling off. Cleaned the mounting area on the windscreen with a quality glass cleaner, and now the unit remains on the screen, even in very hot sunlight. This does not stop the unit shutting down when it overheats, but at least you are visually notified of the temporary problem.

I would recommend to unhappy owners, that they check that the unit is set up to their requirements before consigning it to the rubbish bin.

TomToms maps are now unusable in rural areas – My TomToms has been good friends for a long time, but their usefulness has ended. Even with help from customer service I've found that the latest maps are still unusable in rural areas. I've found that there are far too many blocked roads on the maps, that are not blocked at all. I have found myself being diverted away from obvious good routes,… Read more

and sometimes having up to an hour added to my trips because of map errors. To me that makes TomTom sat navs unusable on trips.

You may wonder what is the point of their existence, good question. My only option now is to use Google

Maps on all trips.

I believe that the Google Maps (GM) are closely related to the TomTom maps, but there is a serious quality difference between the two. For me TomTom is now usable but Google Maps are fine (I've been using them side by side to compare them). My friendship with, indeed my reliance on my TomTom has now ended, even very helpful customer service can't improve the poor maps.

Perhaps this problem is the logical result of Lifetime Free Maps. We get only what we pay for, and free maps have to be very inaccurate or poor quality maps.

The speed warning on my TomTom is still quite good and very helpful in avoiding speeding fines, but that I'm afraid is not enough; a satellite navigator has to do the job that it's purchased to do.

May 15th 2017 Update: TomTom maps are no longer fit-for-purpose

I'm just back from a trip, and the TomTom maps have failed me again. Shortest route or quickest route makes little difference. Allow an extra hour for map errors and being sent by some ridiculous route to avoid a "blocked road" error. Google Earth with downloaded maps is now my best option.

Is there some way that we can BUY good quality maps for a TomTom?

Accurate, Fast, Reliable.. I would Buy Again – I bought this Fabulous Device Few Months Ago.. It's Classic, Looks Beautiful, It's Fast, Easy to Use, and User-Friendly!! Maps - Accuracy: 99.9%, Reliability: 99.9% Signal Strength: Excellent!!! Updating the Device: Easily Updated Maps and Premium Camera Detect Multiple Times (Fast and Easy Steps) Installation in Vehicle: Easy and Strong… Read more

Mount on the Screen (Far Better and Stronger than Other Competitors)

Score: 5/5

January 14th 2018 Update: TT VIA 280 - Best Ever GPS

This is the Best GPS I have Ever Had

I have Used Almost All Brands (and Many Models), But None Satisfied than VIA 280.

Reasons:

1). Accuracy - 99.5% (Almost 100%)

2). Speed - Very Fast

3). Interface - Best in Every Respect.. Excellent Contrasts, Sharp Colours Make me Able to Take Quick Decisions in Spur of Moments. Far Superior than Any other GPS (No GPS can Match it).

4). Bluetootch - Talking through the Device While Driving (My Favourite Feature)

5). Price - Very Cheap for the Quality of Service it Provides.

Reliability -

Thank you TomTom for this Wonderful Model.

Can you Bring the Latest Version of VIA 280 with Worldwide Maps, Live Traffic Updates, with the same features, e.g. Interface, Bluetooth, Memory Card, & Other Features!!!

map problems – If you connect your device to your computer you will get map updated when available first you have to download on your computer My Drive Connect to receive updates then connect the GPS to your computer via USB Hub which all computers have or another thing is ring TomTom for advice I have done all above an have no problems with tomtom have had tomtoms for past 6-7yrs Advice Ray Show details

Great unit – Brought this for the free Australian map updates mainly. Very easy to read. I put all my destinations into favourites before i leave on a trip. New route favourites tap where you want to go. Updates easily through my drive connect. Took it to north america, purchased and installed Canada map before we left all worked flawlessly drove about 5000 km… Read more

in Canada. USA map to big for internal memory and no external memory card. Reading reviews dont know if newer models are as good.

Via 280 Tom tom – I have owned this Tom tom Via 280 for about five years and it has been great. The service is very good form Tom Tom and the updates work very well. I have lifetime maps and they keep all up to date. I have even added some poi which are very useful. Couldn't go on holidays without it.

Never again – Have 3 Tom Tom gps that were OK for around 4-5 yrs, slow to respond to updates and dodgy touch screen. They seem to get lost easily but they do find the way after an extra few hundred kilometers.. When the battery shuts itself there is no warning, it won't work at all ever again as batteries are not available for purchase anywhere in the world for… Read more

Tomtom gps. Have tried several different suppliers online who happily sold me wrong product. Money wasted would buy paper maps and street directories that will never stop working.

Bluetooth speaker low, screen digitizer replaced – Had to replace the screen digitizer after it started to act weird and not clicking on the place i touch, also the bluetooth speaker sound sucks and can not hear the other party clearly. Lucky i'm into electronics and replaced digitizer for cheap, donno how it would have cost if i went to someone.

Never again! – Had to replace two units in a year! Now the third replacement died within 6 months! Signal used to get lost suddenly just outside metro area. Battery charge goes out very very quickly. Sometime it just 'hangs' for sometime !!! Would not recommend to buy TOMTOM car GPS. Waste of money!

Via 280 crap – It was great until the last update. It cleared all the memory and couldn't be reset. Going into the bin. I tried the support people but it seems if you are out of warranty the free updates are useless. I will never buy another TomTom. After having 4 units over the years.

no maps – after 2 hours of reading common questions and trying every thing i still have no maps. right click on settings icon - there is no settings icon. i gave up and threw it in the bin. wast of money and time. it seems tom tom have had map loading problems for years and have done nothing to fix the issue - now thats customer service i don't need.

TOMTOM have has ended the lifetime maps for Via, I can only say a crap company that reneged on its – TOMTOM has ended the lifetime maps for my Via, I can only say a crap company that reneged on its promises. How does a company get away with just cancelling its free lifetimes map guarantee on one of its products, it was the main reason I purchased, NEVER again TOMTOM.

Worked for first 18 months then lost GPS signal – I bought my VIA 280 in July 2016. I was happy with how it worked and did regular updates. However in the last 2 months its ability to find the GPS signal became slower and slower until it became unusable. Yesterday we drove from Sydney to Melbourne and it didn't pick up the GPS signal until we were in Albury, i.e. 6 hours after setting off!!! I have now replaced it with another brand as this is unusable. Not impressed at all.

Via 280 ...crap – 2years ago Bought one 3rd time for update unable to connect. Took it to where I bought it they were unable to help me with the problem. I used it occasionally. 3 weeks ago it went completely dead. I am a pensioner and can't afford to throw my money away. Will never buy tpmtom again. Dissappointed pensioner.

always looking for gps signal – it is pretty bad, after 14 months it has stopped working always looking for signal and never find it. called the customer service and they told me to put it back to factory settings which I did. it did not do anything. I had to throw it to rubbish! I will never buy tom tom again. this was the second time it led me down

After major update of the system, my Tomtom Go 5100 and 6100 dead, not charging battery – After updating the system my GPS dead, charging via car cable not working need to charge via wall charger, signal freezing, need to turn on and off to function properly. Speed camera alert sometimes not working or not displaying. Some of the route map not updated even its life time map update. Giving wrong direction, even its fastest or shortest, need to fix it.

Horrible – The navigator never finds a valid GPS signal and therefore is a paper weight. I have tried everything from GPS Fix update to a factory restore and still nothing, don't waste your money on one of these. I have an old Tom Tom XL which is working better than my Via 280.

VIA 280 - Disappointing – Doesn't turn on with engine. Died after 12 months. Unable to 'restore' original software. Night time colours are slow to cut in. Blue tooth speaker is not clear. Is sometimes slow to locate satellites. These are just a few of the problems. I am not happy with this product and will have a serious look at some alternate brands.

Margaret – Me too I purchased this tom tom and from the beginning it wouldn't turn on with engine, would get stuck, had to turn off and then turn on again to get it going, had trouble navigating all the time and now after 18 months its died. Never again. NO point returning of cause warrantee is finished and that's how these companies make their money.

Tom Tom – I have a Tom Tom Via 280. In the early days the gps would drop out constantly but now with constant updates its pretty good. Being a truck driver you have to be aware that it thinks you are a car and be aware of low bridges & time of arrival. Does make mistakes, tells you to turn right when its a left turn. just be aware & don't follow it blindly.

unreliable GPS with satellite connection issues. failed just after 14months after purchase – the unit has failed on me just a few months after the warranty expired. the phone Bluetooth failed just 4 months after purchase and now 14 months later, it will not connect to any satellites. i have defaulted the unit, uploaded the latest updates, left it outside in the yard for 3hrs and still will not connect to the satellites. i regret buying… Read more

it, was just a waist of my money, as only lasted 14 months with constant Bluetooth and signal issues.

should have went with a navman or garmin,...

No GPS is perfect in this price range - Maybe we all have to spend $300-$500? – It seems to work ok and connects to GPS in an ok time...but streets that exist and have been here for 20 years are sometimes missing when you search. WTH ! I have had Garmin and Navman models in the past (same price range) and they never had this issue unless it was a new estate. Also it's annoying that I can't transfer MyDrive favorites or POI's… Read more

to this device. This is 2016 right or is it a ploy to make you buy the $500 model? So long as it has the street in the database and gets me there which it does 99.9% of the time I'm happy for the $169 I paid.

Voice recognition works well !

tomtom product is rubish – The maps accurate and reliable but I have to update the navigation every single time before using it and it takes so long time(About 20~30 min) to get GPS signal so I could not use it so many times. as a result of it, I need to use the google navigation by my phone. I've regretted that I bought it. I just wasted my time and money.

Tom Tom VIA 280 - unreliable - this is not a GPS - totally failed on product description – I have similar experiences to those already detailed about slow to connect to GPS. This device is not a GPS...... It is total crap......... Each so called 'quick GPS update' results in slower time to connect. Now you can consider yourself lucky if you get a connection once every few days, and even then it is lost after few minutes, and it can not even follow the route you are taking. It is time to get a real GPS from an alternate supplier.

unreliable GPS with satellite connection issues – Had similar experiences , not sure whether to ditch my VIA 280 and go to competitor, most unreliable GPS keeps on searching for Valid satellite signal , have to constantly update my VIA 280, if you are on a holiday you are stuck unless you have your PC to udate

Not happy client – Don't have anything to do with Tomtom it is a crap product and a worse company. I bought an update - they took my money and did not deliver. o customer support of any kind. Only a fool would deal with these liars. Tomtom is a dishonest company, there are much better products available. Save your money and buy a paper map from honest people - not Tomtom.

Too many hassles – I've had my via 280 for around 3 years. Lifetime maps and I subscribe to camera updates annually. I'm quite happy with the maps themselves but that's about it. Every time TomTom update the program at their end, I have the devil's own job of resyncing so that my laptop tells me if there's an update when I start it up. When I renew the maps… Read more

annually, I can get no confirmation on the unit that the renewal has taken effect. for example, renewed maps on 17th Feb 2016 - finally got them working last week, two months later. Can't get them on the phone - directed to other number which in turn was disconnected. Email support line doesn't respond. All in all, this crowd is worse for backup service than a Holden Car dealer (Australia) of the 1980's. The bottom line - The maps are ok but when this unit goes toes up, I will be haunting the forums to ascertain a replacement with better profile, i.e. reliability, ease of updating, and access to some form of support for people like me in the brain dead category. THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER ALL ROUND PACKAGE OUT THERE AT LESS THAN A KING'S RANSOM.

Check what has lifetime updates – Whilst I have not had the problems that some speak of regarding slow acquisition of satellites, except in the canyons of high rise cities where it is to be expected, and have found the maps to be pretty reliable; I was a little surprised when I purchased my new unit, complete with speed cameras and lifetime maps, to receive an email two days later… Read more

telling me that my subscription to the speed camera updates had expired and asking me to pony up an extra $50 to renew it.

Bit tough TT!

Need to replace – I'm able to use it sometimes. I said sometimes because most of the time, it can't detect the places I been keying in. The software really needs to be updated and I had my son do it for me but he said it doesnt connect. Also the touch screen is slow for me. can anyone here recommend a better brand that is not too expensive