Enable Text-to-Speech: TomTom or Garmin
Jun
8
2008
Quite a a few new Garmin and TomTom owners have written in this week to say they had just picked up new devices, but feared they got the wrong device since their device didn’t (apparently) have text to speech. Some of them have even gone so far as to return the device for another, only to find the same issue– or return the device and purchased a different model. Chances are, their device did have text to speech, but it wasn’t enabled on their device. Here are some generic instructions on how to enable TTS on Garmin and TomTom devices.
Note: These instructions will vary a little bit from model to model, however they should still show you enough information to get you going.
TomTom
Tap on the map to access the Main Menu, then select ‘Change Preferences’ on the Main Menu.
Find and select ‘Voice Preferences’.
Select ‘Change Voice’.
Use the left/right arrows to browse through the list of voices until you find a voice that reads ‘Female Computer’ or ‘Male Computer’. If the voice is not labeled as ‘Computer’ it will not speak street names. After picking the voice, click ‘Select’.
Ensure that ‘Read aloud street names’ is checked, and click Done a few times to accept your new preferences.
Garmin
From the Main menu, select ‘Tools’.
From the tools menu, select ‘Settings’.
From the Settings menu select ‘Language’
From the Language menu, click on the button under the ‘Voice’ label.
Select a voice where the name ends in ‘(TTS)’. If the voice is not labeled as ‘TTS’ it will not speak street names. Click OK a few times to accept your new preferences.
I used these instructions for the nuvi 650 but when i choose the language none of the options have TTS. I have updated it to the newest map pack. Is there something I am missing?
Perhaps you don’t have any text to speech voices installed on your device.
Thank you soooooo much. The instructions to make my Tom Tom XL 330s say the street names were perfect. I was ready to return my unit because I thought it was broken. I wish the instruction book had such an easy explanation. It doesn’t tell you that you need a Computer voice to make it say the street names and not a Human voice. That would be too easy I guess. Thanks Again!!
Glad to help– I think we have saved TomTom quite a few returns with this article.
i was about to do the same thing!!!
I have the XL330S & I changed the voice to female computer but don’t get the option to read aloud street names it is grayed out yet when I first picked up the unit on leaving the mall the voice read aloud the street names but has not since
& in no way can I find any way to reset it
Thank you in advance
Robert
I have been looking at the TT XL 330S over the Garmin 255W or 260 and will prefer TTS voices. From what I can find there is only one female and one male (computer)voice on the 330S that will speak the street names i.e. “Turn left on Main Street” Are there additional computer voices UK/Australian/Canadian accents that can be downloaded from TT Home as alternatives?
Roger, yes, there are.
Like Zach I have a nuvi 650. I’ve had it for 7 months, with street name voice prompts. Recently the street name prompts suddenly stopped & they defaulted to the generic \in x feet turn left\ etc. I can’t find the \language\ option that zach found on his 650 & my menu views are different from the example shown above. I have software ver 4.6, audio ver 2.20, gps sw ver 3.00. Why did this feature suddenly stop? Is my unit defective?
Ron
My son recently downloaded the map updates for my nuvi780 and now the text to speech does not work. In the upper left of the screen there is a picture of “lips” with an “X” through it. I’ve followed all the suggestions (volume not on mute, FM transmitter off, voice set to TTS) and still no text to speech. I cannot remove the “lips” icon with the “X” through it.
Thanks for the help,
Ed
thank you so much for this simplistic explanation of enabling the TTS. I bought a TomTom XL yesterday and was told that ’spoken street names’ meant TTS. Anyway upon coming home i tried it out and it did not say street directions like i thought it would being an apparent TTS device. i was literally about to exchange or refund it!
so luckily i stumbled upon this. Once again thank you!
“spoken street names” does mean TTS. However the ONE XL model doesn’t have TTS. The ONE XL-S and XL-330s models do have it though.
Thank you! Like others here I, too, was about to return my unit because it wasn’t speaking the street names. I changed from the default TTS voice to a human voice the instant I bought it because I don’t care for the TTS voice. I guess I’ll have to get used to it…(!) Thanks again.
Hi,
I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to remove the adhesive of a TomTom XL330s that is used to mount the suction cup from the car windshield. I wanted to move it to another car.
thanks,
robert
Depending on the surface, this can be a real bear to loosen, esp. if on a painted surface or cushioned vinyl part of the dashboard.
Soften the adhesive first with a squirt of WD-40 (Jig a Loo, NutsOff etc.) around the edge of the disk and very patiently pry it up a little at a time with a tool like a spoon or putty knife that is not too sharp as to scrape. More squirts of solvent plus patience plus gentle effort and time is the only way to do it right. The heat from a sunny day on the dash will help a bit too with the adhesive.
Try to keep the effort between the foam and the disk, NOT the foam and the dash surface.
Residual foam tape and adhesive will roll up under a cloth moistened with the WD-40. A final clean up with alcohol (even Vodka) will finish it off
3M sells double sides foam tape that will sub for the original adhesive when remounting.
Date: 20090616
I was so frustrated with the TOMTOM 130S GPS bought only days ago trying to enable the \speak street name\ function via the ‘Change preferences’ option. I could not find such check box until I followed the instructions above. Thank You Very Much for the help.
Quick question: When I don’t follow the TOMTOM driving instructions, how come it does not say ‘recalculating routes’ or something like ? Thanks in advance.
Franklin, it is sort of personal preference. The argument is that after you miss a turn, you can’t go back in time, so there is nothing you can do about it. The “recalculating route” message on devices that give it stress some people out knowing they missed a turn. Regardless if the GPS announces “recalculating” or not doesn’t change what you need to do next. We discussed this extensively in the Voice Telling me “Recalculating” thread. There was some good discussion there.
Hi There,
Picked up TomTom XL (with TTS printed on the box) and followed you TTS instructions. Once I have chosen female computer voice the Speech Preferences screen appears but the blocks for Read Aloud Street Names, Foreign Names and Road Numbers are all greyed-in and not available for selection leaving only Traffic and POI warnings selectable. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?
Thanks & regards, Graham