Is my Tomtom traffic receiver working?

How can i tell if my Tomtom Traffic receiver is working?

When you first plug in the traffic receiver in a message will briefly be displayed saying "Tomtom traffic receiver connected" Then an image will a displayed down the right side of the screen.

If you look at the display there is a green circle at the top, this is showing that you are successfully connected the TMC traffic, If this shows an animated arrow this means it is connected and downloading information, If this downloading image does not turn to green after 15 minutes or it is red there may be a problem with it.
If it is red it may be that you are not in an area covered by TMC, Although if you get good radio reception you should get the TMC signal, Some have reported not being able to get reception because they have a reflective or heated front Windscreen, although other with these features have had no problems. (try routing the power cable (Antenna) over the mirror or along the dash)
If it is red or continues to have the downloading image displayed try this.
First update your device with Tomtom home or MyDrive Connect for newer models, even if you have done this recently you should try again since using the traffic receiver. Then reset your device, Older models have a small hole on the bottom where you push a pin, newer models just have the power button, you press and hold if for 20 seconds and it will reset.
In most cases this will fix your traffic problem, If not it may be faulty.
Please note if you have a combined charger/traffic receiver, this must be plugged into the 12 volt power supply to work.

How can I get traffic alerts on my Tomtom

You know how it is, You leave your house for what should be a 30 minute drive, pull on to the trunk road and it's solid with stationary traffic, You could have gone another way and avoided it but now you are stuck, if only you had known.

I will list a few options for getting traffic alerts on your Tomtom.

Subscribe to Tomtom Live HD traffic

I have tried this service a few times and it is very good, It's around £30 a year so If you clock up a lot of miles this is well worth it, some newer units have a years free trial or even come with free lifetime HD traffic which is a great option. 

You can't get HD live traffic on all units, If you have a live unit (It will have live on the front) you can get it, other units can connect through a smartphone, this will use data and is a bit of a clumsy option, but does work. When I tried this it was very accurate, Where it said the problems began they did and where it said they ended they ended.

Can't I get traffic for free

Yes, But not completely, There is a system called TMC which is broadcast through the RDS Radio system, This service is free but you need a traffic receiver to get it. You can get a combined traffic receiver car charger for around £20 to £40. The good thing about this is it is free. It is not as good as the Tomtom Live HD traffic, it sometimes gives false alerts, coverage can be patchy, It sometimes warns about  roadworks but there are no actual jams. I have noticed in resent years this has improved. 

well worth getting but make sure you get the correct one for your model.

There is a lot of mis-information about which traffic charger fits which model.

If you have a unit with mini usb follow this link

If you have a unit with Micro USB follow this link

Be careful as some people sell units as Micro usb but they are mini usb with an adapter, these do work but are not a neat option.

Listen to the Radio

Not a new option but can still be a good one, Local stations usually give local problems and Radio 2 gives nationwide, You can set most modern car stereos to interrupt the music with the traffic.

Use a smartphone

There are many apps which give traffic information, Also Google maps will show traffic on a map. One problem with this is you need to check it before you leave or stop to check it.

Check my computer before I leave

Not a bad idea even if you have one of the above options, Google maps, Tomtom traffic planer and others will show traffic on the route, Also the AA and the BBC give traffic information