Review on 🗺️ TomTom Via 1525SE: 5" GPS Navigation Device with Free Traffic, US Maps, Advanced Lane Guidance, and Spoken Turn-By-Turn Directions by Jay Aukuso

I have been a die hard fan of TomTom products for almost 20 years and have never been disappointed. However, I found out last month that my XL IQ has not been supported with "lifetime" cards for 9 years and can therefore no longer receive "lifetime" cards - the question arises as to how life is determined. However, I realized that I had almost a decade since the device was released and I would have found another similar one and opted for TomTom, a brand I trust. I bought the VIA 1525SE because it seemed to have all the same characteristics (size, functionality, "lifetime" cards, etc.) and received it quickly. I charged it and then plugged it into my computer to update the maps. The first step was to copy the file named NAV4. This first update took almost 10 hours. The device restarted and started updating the map via MyDrive Connect. This gave an estimated charging time of 2 hours the first time. Timed out at 39% and restarted. Two hours left, timeout, repeat flush. After spending the whole weekend completing the maps, I gave up and after another reboot tried to control the device. Maps are not installed, writes. I searched for support on the TomTom website and asked for support on the forums several times. I tried to send an email through their website but the 'Send' button just refreshed the screen. Eventually I found a phone number and called and spoke to a young lady who could do little more than direct me to MyDriveConnect. Absolutely nothing in terms of support. Eventually I at least got MyDriveConnect not to start the automatic update and was able to get it to briefly display "MyContent" and found a message saying the drive was corrupt. I tried "Restore" but that wasn't available, nor was the "Delete" option. And unfortunately there is not enough disk space to upload the files. Another call out to their writers for directing me back to the forums where Plain Joe Blow could possibly give me an answer that the producer couldn't. What is this support? Brilliant, I think they shouldn't hire tech help and just let the keyboard warriors do the work for free and when that doesn't work they totally deny it. Now I need to find another GPS company that I can trust. , it will never be TomTom again.