Off topic: Revive a dead TomTom or generic GPS device in under 10 minutes (no CPR needed)
First off, if you have a warranty these instructions will invalidate it (make no mistake about this), secondly if you write-off your satnav this is not my responsibility, (so don’t give your wife my e-mail address)
Okay, caveats over with. As most early’ish adopters of satnav devices will know by now the batteries go in these things long before they become end-of-life – that is of course if they don’t get stolen from your car either. This is mainly due to companies (like TomTom) providing endless free software updates and newer maps at a reasonable fee.
The answer for the braver souls is to take a battery upgrade into your own hands, and it really is not that hard either. You can buy a replacement battery from a number of suppliers. Be sure you know which type you have, mine is a TomTom One v2 and I picked up a replacement battery on eBay for £10
First of all you need a torx screwdriver, every geek should have one of these by now, if you don’t then shame on you!
Next, remove the four screws at the rear of the device – they come out easily and are not glued
Once all four screws are removed gently slide the silver front unit out, you can wedge a min-flat screwdriver to prize open
Ahah. the inside of my TomTom (there is no going back now!) On the right is the battery, it is connected by a wire. Gently remove from the board and make sure to not mistake it for the speaker cable
Now you need to remove the old battery, this is stuck down so your trustly min-flat screwdriver is needed to prize off
You will notice my new battery (on the right) is a higher capacity, this will give me a longer life than before
Assembly time, ensuring you did not remove all the sticky foam you should find the new battery sticks down easily
Screw back together and TADA, your shiny new (well sort of new) TomTom is restored back to the day it came off a factory floor!