Sat navs and car accessories How to program a sat nav

How to program a sat nav to take you to your destination
Find out how to enter an address on a TomTom Start2
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Our video guide shows you how to program a TomTom Start2 using the touchscreen. Other sat navs are programmed in a similar way. Read our sat nav reviews to find a Which? Best Buy that's right for you.

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Step-by-step guide to programming a sat nav

Your sat nav will have a bracket for mounting to the car windscreen. Attach it somewhere safe and easy to view - this usually means low down. Battery life on a sat nav is rarely more than a couple of hours, so for a long journey it’s best to power the unit via the car’s cigarette lighter.

Turn the sat nav on and press "Plan route" on the screen.

Navigate to

The TomTom Start2 presents you with six icons. 'Home' allows you to quickly choose a home address if you have pre-programmed it in advance - useful if you are returning home after an unfamiliar journey. 'Recent destination' allows you to select a destination you have already entered, a previous journey you've made, for example. To enter a new address, press 'Address'.

Enter a destination

When you've pressed 'Address' you can then enter the city/town you want to go to, or the postcode if you know it. You do this using the keypad that appears on the screen. If you enter the postcode, the sat nav may ask you for a street name and house number too. If you know these it's a good idea to enter them for even more precise navigation as some postcodes can cover 20 or more households.

Planning a route

Next the sat nav will work out the best route, which usually takes about 10-15 seconds. You don't usually have to enter your current position, as the sat nav's global positioning system (GPS) will work that out for you.