5

30K mesh is terrible

Chris Grant

15 de abril de 2018 15:49

Ninguna

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I purchased a pair of 30k to upgrade from the cheapo Uclear. Mainly for sound quality and connectivity. Used the mesh intercom yesterday and we could hardly understand each other about half of the time. We were anywhere from 20 feet to 100 yards apart in both rural and city areas and the results were always bad. It sounded like an older digital phone loosing connection, very choppy. We finally pulled over after over an hour into the ride and tried using bluetooth to see if that helped. It worked great but totally defeated the purpose in buying the 30k. On top of that, the cheapo uclear speakers actually sound better. At the price point of this device, I'd expect to have good speakers and for the mesh to work better than the bluetooth, or at least work as good. Oh, and the 30k app usually has to be uninstalled and reinstalled on my Iphone to get it to connect to the app, even when the device is connected to the phone. Very disappointed. 

What can I do about this issue? Am I missing something in the the setup?

 

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30 comentarios

• 3
  
  Raul Villarral 15 de abril de 2018 19:27

  The worst product ever, I had the same experience.

  The mesh intercom sounds like a very bad VOIP call, you cant understand half of what's being said.

  I contacted Revzilla to try an return the pair and was told I needed to talk to Sena.

  Sena all they did is tell me I need to do firmware upgrade (which I had already done) then I needed to do a factory reset (also already done)

  This was back in November, weather didn't help till last month when we got back to riding. Did all the steps again and still the same unusable communication. we had to go back to Bluetooth pairing to finish our ride.

  Battery is terrible, last hour of our 6 hour trip we all got the low battery warning which then shuts off 15 seconds later. This warning should be at least 10 minutes before dying to allow to advice the other riders.

  Terrible product, more than $500 down the drain

   

   

• 1
  
  Jdkevorkian 15 de abril de 2018 23:09

  I am having the same issue. There is so much interference and static on the line using the mesh there is no way to understand what my partner is saying. The bluetooth works pretty well even when using both mesh and bluetooth but you are correct.. it defeats the whole purpose of having the mesh. Also my husband's unit cut out after less than 6hrs of use but mine kept going with out an issue. I was able to maintain bluetooth connection for at least 45min after his unit shut off due to low battery. I just don't understand. Wish Sena would just acknowledge that there is a problem!!

• 1
  
  David Kuhn 25 de abril de 2018 12:30

  We also have the same issue... rode over the weekend using mesh for the first time. The two of us with 30k's connected mesh and the third rider bluetooth. Bluetooth worked fine but we could hardly understand the mesh user. Audio would lag badly (a second between him talking and hearing it in our headsets when we were standing together setting up) and then would chop and fuzz. It was not usable... distance didn't make a difference, didn't work standing right next to each other.

  On the plus side... we all bought our SENA SMH10's early on and they also had a lot of issues - which Sena worked to resolve. They really stood by that product (with updates over many years) so I expect the same on the 30k. 

• 1
  
  Steve Hanfel 25 de abril de 2018 18:16

  Wow that sounds horrible. I can’t fathom buying this, finding out it’s MAIN FEATURE (Mesh Intercom) doesn’t work,...and being cool with it.

  Not trying to sound brash, but it shouldn’t need multiple years of updates to get it to work as advertised. That’s not “standing by a product”, that’s making a poor product to begin with.

  (there’s other options out there!)

• 0
  
  Hank Johnson 25 de abril de 2018 19:27

  For those of you who have the 30K. How is the voice command?

   

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  DiCarlos Crayton 26 de abril de 2018 19:33

  Damn. I just purchased a Brand New 30k for $182. I have a Uclear(s) that work flawlessly, but some guys I ride with have the Sena' s so I thought I'd buy one for easy pairing, so I went with the latest and what I thought was the greatest.

   

• 0
  
  Hank Johnson 26 de abril de 2018 22:01

  lol. 

   

• 0
  
  Josiah J Bratt 3 de mayo de 2018 05:12

  Experience the same issue... Has Sena posted a fix or an official response yet??

• 1
  
  GotItFromEbay 31 de mayo de 2018 03:34

  I made an account here purely to add that I too have experienced nothing but extremely poor performance with the mesh mode on my set of 30ks. Got the 30k dual pack for myself and my wife and went for a ride this weekend. The mesh mode worked well for ~5 min, then we couldn't understand a single thing either of us was saying.... and we were riding on the same motorcycle!!! Currently looking into refunding my purchase since the whole reason I bought the 30k was so me and the wife could talk and listen to music while we ride.

• 0
  
  Christopher Moore 31 de mayo de 2018 04:07

  I am APPALLLLLEEEEEDDDDDDDDD by the issues with the 30K.  This may cause me to jump ship!!!!!  Very Very Very Disappointed!!!!

  I am connecting my 30K to my wife's SMH10 via Bluetooth. I have my iPhone 10 connected to both my bike and my 30K. When I am by myself all works well. When she is with me and we are in BT intercom mode and I try to play music on my Indian Chieftain, it plays for a few minutes and cuts out. I can start playing again and it will cut out.

  Today I took both our helmets into the house and paired them all the same except I used a bluetooth speaker. To my surprise it still behaved the same way. However I was actually able to pay attention to my phone and it showed that when it cuts out that it playing on the 30K. I switch it back to the Bluetooth speaker and in a minute or so it falls back to the 30K. Music doesn't pause, its still playing. if I kill the intercom I can hear the music in my headset.

  I am at a complete loss. I upgraded to the 30K to be able to use Mesh with my buddies. However I am more than disappointed at the fact I can not use this setup the same way as I use to with my wife. Is there a fix for this? If not when. I checked with Amazon today to see about returning them and I am outside my return window. So I am a bit stuck and very much unhappy!!!!!!!

  I would appreciate a phone call or something to resolve this immediately SENA.
  
  I have also filed a support request.  We will see what they have to say!

• 0
  
  Cristian Nicolau 31 de mayo de 2018 14:09

  I've used the 20s in a group of 8 riders (all of us with 20s) for more than 2 years. What we didn't like:

  - from 3 riders up, loud crackling/popcorn-like noise that made everyone nervous;

  - Daisy Chain connection was not very easy to repair in case one/multiple links (riders) left the group or remained without power. Repairing the network while riding was almost impossible as we could see only each other's backs and even if successful it was very confusing with the new "friend order";

  So we were all smiling when the 30k showed up and started to encourage each other that the MESH is what we've been waiting for and that the 30k will be the God of motorcycle intercoms. After a while, 4 of us decided to give it a try with the 30k and ordered them. (from US delivered to Romania)

  Now:

  - the only way to listen to music and communicate with other riders is ONLY on MESH. A 30k paired with another 30k or a 20s via Bluetooth will automatically share the music to the others and there's no possibility to communicate unless music is stopped. If the other 30k or 20s tries to stop the music he is receiving it will stop the music also for the 30k who initiated it. Also, the 30k has the same command both for Music ON/OFF and Music Sharing ON/OFF (jog dial 1 sec = 2 x beep) and probably this is the reason why music will be shared to the others with or without intention. Basically we can say goodbye to listening to music and talking at the same time unless everyone in the group has a 30k and uses MESH.

  - the "popcorn" has disappeared. There are some interference noises but very low and while talking almost unnoticeable. However, the volume, in general, is a lot lower than on the 20s. Most of the times, after the tests I've done so far, I had the feeling that the range distance has dropped - but not very sure about it.

  - I have to admit that the MESH makes pairing a lot easier especially in public mode but the signal quality was bad in a lot of situations - many short audio interruptions while speaking resulting in a "ph-se diff-ult to u-er-stand". Maybe this is because of other external interferences we encounter while crossing different geographical areas.

  All in all, after the first month of testing, the main idea is that either everyone gets the 30k or keeps using the 20s. Combining them, at least for now is a bad idea. 

  What gets me extremely disappointed is that SENA doesn't communicate with us, doesn't explain if there's anything to explain in order to solve these issues or to say: Thanks guys for helping us to make this gadget(s) better, we've noted all your observations and will fix them as soon as possible". I don't even know how I can contact them and let them know about the problems I've discovered. I can accept that problems may appear but I cannot understand why SENA does not react to our messages.

  Again, I hope someone from SENA reads our complaints and takes some action as I am closer and closer to selling everything and going for Cardo. At least they are opened for discussions and react to the demands of their users.

  Editado por Cristian Nicolau 31 de mayo de 2018 14:18
• 0
  
  Christopher Moore 31 de mayo de 2018 15:33

  I can not agree more!

• 2
  
  Merle Olson 9 de agosto de 2018 18:56

  I rode for a week at Sturgis with a rider and we had nothing but issues both in the intercom mode and mess.  The system kept shutting off and we had to reboot and then it lasted about 15 minutes and shut down again and again.  Very disappointed.  I went to the Sena booth at Rapid City Harley and the guy there said they have had nothing but complaints on the 30k.  He said Sena sent a marketing rep and not a technical rep to the biggest rally around.  I guess all they care about is sales.  Total piece of garbage.  

• 0
  
  DiCarlos Crayton 9 de agosto de 2018 21:10

  Merle, I went to the NBR and we had the exact same issues. It was 8 of us and we couldnt stay connected in bluetooth or mesh mode with the 30k. I came home and bought a Packtalk Bold today. 3 others said they re going to do the same. I'm going to sell my 30K to a Sena fool, who is only interested in the name. We used (all 8 of us) our Uclear Amp Plus's on the way back and had no issues. So for me its Cardo and Uclear

• 0
  
  Kem Akal 25 de agosto de 2018 12:23

  When I got my 30K Mesh seemed to work for the first few rides, then I started to get the connections dropping in and out with other mesh users. Did all the firmware updated... no good. 30K seems to be a total fail by SENA :-(

• 0
  
  David Kuhn 25 de agosto de 2018 13:04

  Just checked to see if maybe there was a firmware update to start bailing out the failboat that is the 30k... but nothing. I'm well past being upset with Sena and now I'm actively warning users away from it on the forums and on any youtube reviews where the reviewer obviously didn't actually USE the 30k for any length of time. Anyone doing their due diligence before dropping 300 bucks on a headset will at least have some idea that many of us think this product is a dud. "Why oh why didn't I take the BLUE pill... uhh... buy a Cardo!"

• 0
  
  hnic514 26 de agosto de 2018 21:59

  I.m currently in the process of selling both my 30k along with my 20s, anyone i ride with or meet will all be pointed towards cardo! Im tired of dealing with this headache and will make sure i steer people away from Sena, simple and plain!

• 0
  
  Cristian Nicolau 27 de agosto de 2018 07:41

  Guys, please do not hate me for what I'm about to say but I am pretty sure I found the solution to all my questions since 2016 when I bought my first Sena unit.

  The solution is called Cardo Packtalk.

  In 2016 and 2017 I've used the Sena 20s (together with some of my friends - 8 in total) and in 2018 I've also purchased the 30k. Every single time we went for a ride we had to deal with all the problems that somehow manage to fit inside that small plastic device. All out trips were full of frustration and all the time we were discussing on how to do this or that in order to get rid of the popcorn noise, to prevent them from disconnecting, inform everyone what is the battery level, ride in the same order and and keeping track of who is connected to who and many more. After almost 3 years I said "what the hell" and I gave Cardo a chance, risked about 450 euros and bought a double pack. By coincidence some of my friends also joined and we finally bought 3 double packs. Installed them and hit the road for a test. Usually we meet up at a gas station where we fill them up, check the tyre pressure, coffee, etc. We were 5. I created a new DMC group and I swear to you that in 5 minutes we completely forgot that we were speaking to each other using this new gadget. ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS!

  1. The connection is super fast and simple and once you created the group ALL the units remember each other unless you remove yourself from that group or reset the settings.

  2. The Noise reduction/cancelling software is a million times better that Sena’s. Apart from the fact that you’ll hear the wind noise for about a second, meanwhile it will calculate the amount of hiss, and then Pooof!, it will disappear, I have to say that the microphones will remain OFF unless you start to speak. So when someone speaks you will hear that guy LOUD AND CLEAR (maybe sometimes with a little wind noise or exhaust noise if it’s not stock) and as soon as he finishes … SILENCE! Music comes up and you simply enjoy the ride)

  3. You forget about the pairing immediately. In fact the connection on DMC is so fast that you’ll start hearing the other riders before “Hello, Cardo is on, Mobile phone connected etc” voice will finish with the info. It doesn’t matter who leaves the group and when. Nobody is affected in ANY WAY. Even if the Creator of that group leaves, the group stays connected. DMC really does the job. Nobody got disconnected - not even once.

  4. We travelled for about 10-11 hours with 3 hour stops in total. Battery was more than enough and they were still ON when we arrived home.

  5. We had the chance to test them in the rain. No problem at all. No stress that we have to cover them with condoms or plastics.

  6. We paired them with the 20s and immediately problems appeared. 20s looses the phone call option as the way to connect it to Cardo is like phone pairing. (Cardo as Master and 20s as Slave). If you do it vice versa, Cardo will work without problems both on intercom and Phone Mode.

  I could go on until tomorrow with the numbers !!! :) I’m not telling you this because I’ve paid for the Cardo but because it's been a long time since we got on the bikes and really enjoyed the ride by using these intercoms which I admit are a must nowadays. I have to admit that there is a lot more to explore and maybe in time we will also discover some issues with Cardo. But for now I am really pleased with my decision as Cardo really does an amazing job compared to Sena. It costs the same as the 30k but PackTalk is really a premium product. Sena IS NOT! We already sold all 30k units (4 in total) and also all 20s units. (8 in total). No regrets on that.

• 0
  
  Steve Dettmers 29 de agosto de 2018 15:11

  I bought a Sena 30k dual pack for Christmas 2017.  We've been using them this riding season, 2018.  I can't begin to express how crappy these are.  Before I get into my rant, YES, I upgraded the firmware to v1.0.3 and did a factory reset as suggested by Sena.  We also keep both units fully charged so the battery isn't an issue with any of the scenarios I'm explaining below.  I ride 9 - 10 months a year depending on winter weather.  We've been using the Sena 30k for 5 months now and it is getting progressively worse!
  
  My wife rides on my bike with me.  The mesh doesn't work half the time.  Our voices sound weak and digitized that cut in and out.  WE'RE ON THE SAME BIKE AND THIS THING CAN'T WORK WHEN WE'RE INCHES AWAY FROM EACH OTHER!
  
  Since the mesh mode was unusable we decided to switch to Bluetooth intercom.  This was much better regarding the clarity and quality of our voices but we had another problem to deal with.  BLUETOOTH INTERCOM KEEPS DROPPING!  Our connection keeps dropping, then we have to pair the devices again and establish our connection.  WE ARE ON THE SAME BIKE!  IT'S TOTAL CRAP!
  
  Recently, the last 4 - 6 weeks, the radio has decided to switch to a non-receptive station.  I'll be riding along and all of a sudden I hear static.  I have to command the unit to a radio preset to get it back. This happens within 5 minutes of riding and will continue to happen sporadically throughout the ride.  By the way, I'm riding in the same town that the radio station is broadcast in.  WHAT THE HELL!  THE SENA 30K IS TOTAL CRAP!
  
  Now, about half the time, the voice commands won't work, WHILE I'M SITTING STILL AT A STOP!  THIS PRODUCT IS COMPLETE SHIT AND A WASTE OF MONEY!
  
  HEY SENA!  I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

  Editado por Steve Dettmers 29 de agosto de 2018 15:17
• 0
  
  Christopher Moore 5 de septiembre de 2018 20:52

  I am considering contacting an attorney and filing a law suit.  Which at this point would be a class action lawsuit!

• 0
  
  David Kuhn 6 de septiembre de 2018 02:17

  Anyone know about the "30k-01" version? Is it a hardware update fixing the issues the unit has (like how the bluetooth and mesh antenna's interfere with each other resulting in cyclic thumping on the mesh when a bluetooth rider is linked in). If it IS new hardware then I think warranty replacements are in order. We used our 30k's (again trying) on a 2000 mile ride over the last week. One of the three of us has an old 10 and the other two have 30k's. Once again we were forced to use bluetooth only because mesh won't work with bluetooth (lag, digital artifacts, and pulsing in the audio). Sound quality, even when it's working,  isn't 'good'.  Volume levels between the 30k rider and 10 rider were hugely different (I had to have volume max to hear the bt rider and then the 30k rider would be so loud he'd distort).

• 0
  
  Christopher Moore 6 de septiembre de 2018 02:58

  I have the Sena 30K-01’s. No difference!

• 0
  
  Christopher Moore 6 de septiembre de 2018 02:59

  Not to mention I tho k these are the first models. Purchased the dual set in April

• 0
  
  Dan Irwin01 12 de octubre de 2018 07:49

  I heard there is a new 30k model may come out with all our problems fixed. Thats good to see. Maybe if the new model isn't a piece of crap they should do a recall on all current units sold

• 1
  
  Christopher Moore 12 de octubre de 2018 18:54

  The 30R, but I will not buy any Sena products again unless they make my 30K Purchase right by replacing them.

• 0
  
  Steve & Janice Taylor 15 de octubre de 2018 16:24

  Anyone tried the new software upgrade yet for the 30K to se if the multitasking actually works?

• 0
  
  hnic514 16 de octubre de 2018 00:11

  Unfortunately the update did little when it comes to Bluetooth multitasking, i verified using my 30k and 20s, music was choppy on the 30k and disconnected from intercom shortly after.

• 0
  
  Ken Kimari 16 de octubre de 2018 15:21

  I think you have to update the 20s also for it to work properly.

   

• 0
  
  TenOf11 4 de octubre de 2019 03:48

  I know this is an old thread but I wanted to make sure anyone else reading this knows this issue was never resolved. Furthermore, no Sena representative ever addressed anyone in this thread.

  We just finished a ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway and I spent most of the ride (not exaggerating) disconnecting and reconnecting every 2-3 minutes (on average) when the 'popcorn' noise became unbearable. Starts as almost a static noise, progresses to popcorn, then no one can hear anyone until a disconnect and reconnect.

  This thread was opened in April 2018 and most stopped posting to it in October 2018 (6 months) October 2019, the issue still exists (1 year and 6 months). Ugh. Needless to say, I'm done with Sena and will tell others not to support a company that just doesn't care. Great they want to take my hard earned money, but don't acknowledge and address consumer issues.

   

• 0
  
  Sandor 30 de noviembre de 2019 19:42

  I bought a pair of sena 30K and after pairing them using mesh it jsut kept dropping .. basically unusable. On top of that charging broke on one of them mid season.. the dealer, motoin.de was a pain to deal with..
  At least Sena replaced the broken single unit, however mesh still does not work (firmware 2.3 was the last we tried..)