There appears to be an issue with in some cases , older GPS devices that many still have and rely upon.
Come April 7th , it may stop working
The problem stems from the fact GPS signals include a timestamp and part of the timestamp is a week number stored as ten binary bits. Ten bits allows it to store 1,024 weeks before it resets, which means the reset happens after roughly 20 years. On April 6 – April 7th, that reset happens, potentially causing GPS devices around the world to stop working.
The good news is, existing GPS devices can be patched to avoid this being a problem. However, a patch being available depends on how old your device is and how reliable the company who sold it to you is for issuing software updates. If your device isn’t patched, then it will revert to an earlier period of time and GPS positioning will most likely fail.
Companies are sending out emails to owners , if you registered it ? Informing you of the update.
To quote from TomTom
“The GPS Week Number Rollover (WNRO) occurs every 19 years, with the next roll over taking place on 6 April 2019. Similar to odometers in older cars rolling over from 99,999 km to 0, the GPS WNRO is the resetting of the GPS calendar back to 0.
When the calendar resets, it can cause a miscommunication between GPS satellites and GPS receiver chips. As a result, some chips in satnavs will lose the ability to process certain functions.
What does this mean for you? It’s time to check your satnav. Depending on your device, you may need to update or upgrade.”
Check on the website of the maker of your device.
Richard, my gps is hard-wired into my Mazda as a dashboard unit. I take the SD card that holds its map data out every quarter and update the maps. I’ve searched the TomTom website but can’t find anything about dashboard units, only portable units. You don’t happen to know anything, do you?
Cheers