45

20S does not lock onto its base

Christophe Larrosa

23 luglio 2014 20:03

Nessuno

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Has anyone had this issue? I find it quite incredible.

I got a dual set of 20S upgrading from a set of SMH10R. I was very happy with the SMH10 but the release mechanism was poorly designed and forced users to pull on the unit, exerting a leveraged force on the base which caused cracks to appear in the connection area. The base on my helmet finally broke and the other one, on my girlfriend's helmet is badly cracked too.

I was happy to see that the locking and release mechanism had been redesigned on the 20S but absolutely appalled to realise that none of the 2 units will lock into place onto any of the 2 bases! I slide them down as far as I can on the base, but they simply won't click into place! I can't believe I'm the only one to have this issue! What am I missing?

Reading all the articles on this forum, I'm beginning to think that I made a huge mistake in shelling out close to 500 euros to upgrade to the 20S, which seems to be plagued by problems. I think I will be better off sending them back and getting a set of spare mounting clamps for my trusted SMH10R.

The other thing that is annoying is the way they attach the cable to the speakers locally adds an extra 5mm to the diameter of the speaker which prevents the speakers to enter flat in the recessed area of my helmet and velcro onto the pad. I had to use the thick pads provided for helmets with "deep recesses" for the speaker to be able to velcro the speakers into place. I'm pretty sure that this will cause the speakers to press onto my ears and quickly make it unbearable...

I'm really disappointed...

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175 commenti

• 0
  
  DjPaul 21 ottobre 2015 15:51

  Fellow riders, We need your help!

  Please go to this thread  

   

  http://support.sena.com/entries/54448250

   

  And show your support in this issue, by posting your comment / experience, Bad and good stories are welcome.

  Then go to the SENA help desk

  http://support.sena.com/requests/new

  and formally request a ticket be issued about this.

  If we rally together, we may be able to do something about this BEEPS issue before it kills some one you love.

   

  This is the 3rd most talked about issue of the 20s 

   

  PLEASE SUPPORT SHAWN PRIEBE

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  Brad Jeffries 26 ottobre 2015 02:19

  I have now had a second mount malfunction on very lightly used units. The tip of the latch looks like it breaks off. After the first one broke I am careful when I attach unit to mount and I attach both my wife's and mine. The second time it broke while attached. Frustrating as I bought them from a shop 300km from home and Sena insists on taking to dealer. Dealer good but Sena was a pain in the ads with myself and dealer.this is a common problem and a class action should be launched or a recall.

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  Johnkan1990 21 novembre 2015 19:04

  got my 20s last week, and the plastic part that clicks onto the base has already broken. they upgraded the mount to aluminium, but the whole 20s is still plastic. i dont know what i can do now.

  i bought a dual kit but was thinking of giving one to my friend. cant believe i sent 600 CAD on this unreliable thing.  

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  Ken Kimari 21 novembre 2015 19:11

  Samurai - Same thing happened to me awhile back but Sena was good and replaced it right away.  You have to be careful on latching and unlatching it, press the button first, press the unit into the mount and then release the button.  Same thing to remove, press the unit down to relieve the pressure on the latch, press the button then remove.  I just leave it on my helmet now and charge from there so I don't wear out the latching mechanism.  So far so good.

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  DjPaul 13 gennaio 2016 15:12

  So, why do we cling to the 20s? 

   

  It’s not waterproof dust proof etc

  It doesn’t have anywhere near the range it promised

  The Volume is mostly unsatisfactory

  It won’t connect GPS and phones properly

  Group connect is a challenge best debut with while not riding

  The unit doesn’t stay on the base, Yup, if it doesn’t fall off, it won’t even lock onto it’s base

  FM radio doesn’t work as promised 

  It shuts off at random

  It’s got killer beeps, Killer, not in a good way.

  Volume levels are inconsistent from Radio to music to phone to intercom to prompts 

   

  Runner ups on issues less complained about 

   

  Music sharing doesn’t work

  Cold temp shut off (likely a Canadian issue)

  Won’t connect to computer

  Customer support is lacking 

  Battery drains when the unit’s turned off

  Pairing the 20s to SMH 10 is tricky

   

  And there’s seemingly endless pages of issues… 

   

  Why Are we staying with this product? 

   

   

  Take your pick of any 3 items from above you’d like to have work flaulessly 

   

  Here’s how to activate them 

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Go buy a competitors product 

  Think this is joke answer? 

  Truth is, any of the 3 you picked, actually do work on just about any other motorcycle bluetooth intercom system. 

• 0
  
  Jpsriches 13 gennaio 2016 22:50

  Totally agree with DjPaul. I've given up on the 20s and Sena. Will look elsewhere for a new system.
• 0
  
  ktrides2 31 gennaio 2016 21:36

  Purchased yesterday, immediately had this problem and found this thread.  My set does have the metal latch.  I may go back to Cardo.  

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  Peter Novak 3 aprile 2016 17:10

  I bought double set of 20S, one wont lock while rest of problems (intercom does not work, etc) will be fixed by repairing everything exactly as shown on SENA video (configuration 2, where you pair both units to GPS and each SENA with its phone, so phone is only used for calling). A bit disappointed as it is one of priciest units on the market. Contacted distributer, lets see how support works.

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  Nayak Shubhakar 1 giugno 2016 11:15

  Glad to be a part of the family of the Unconnected 20s! Lol! I am from & in India - I think I should kiss the product goodbye. Also kiss the hope that SENA folks will get back to me, goodbye! 

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  Nayak Shubhakar 2 giugno 2016 06:08

  I have the DUAL -- so I checked the other unit and I could get the "Click" for the unit to firmly seat. But Thats not the solution -- What do I do with "Unconnecting" unit! My Request is still unassigned!

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  Ken Gillett 2 giugno 2016 09:20

  I cannot disagree that the basic design is not good and Sena have not done enough to rectify the problem nor to look after their customers, but I am still using the very first unit I bought as soon as the 20S was available. Still working, no failures. I can only suggest that if you want to avoid problems, push down on the module, just like when installing it onto the mount, as you push the release button. Pushing down like that relieves the strain in the latch and allows it to release easily. If you just push the button, the mechanism is not strong enough to overcome the frictional force of the actual latch and the result will almost certainly be a broken mechanism.

  I'm not really defending Sena as they should have got this completely sorted by now, to the satisfaction of all their customers, but I do think that many of those are not helping themselves and are simply trying to force the release by pressing harder on the button. Do as I suggest and push down on the module at the same time and I think you will find it does work better and is less likely to break.

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  Philip Williams 2 giugno 2016 14:00

  Ken has the correct answer for this. If you put the unit on your helmet before you put the helmet on and use just a little caution with that process, that helps a lot. But if you push down on it to relieve the preasure on the clip and THEN push the button to release it, that will help prevent the breakage everyone in this topic is reporting. I bought my units about a year ago and so far they have not broken and on examination the clips do not appear to be showing any wear. I agree that this design is not the best, but no matter what they do to change it, someone will find a way to break it. Heck I know people can find ways to break a steel ball.
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  Terry Bickerton 20 dicembre 2016 11:19

  Well I wish I had read this before i purchased the 20s to replace my Cardio unit. My Cardio has been on & off my helmet everyday for the past 5 yrs.

  So new helmet ,and upgraded to a Sena 20s , fitting up the first unit to my new helmet and guess what it wont clip into holder . Its brand new out of the box and wont work.

  How does this pass any kind of quality control process to get to end users.

  I have also never seen so many threads on a topic that is not being addressed

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  Nayak Shubhakar 20 dicembre 2016 11:27

  @Terry - You must've (unfortunately) gotten one of the older units that had the plastic clipping on mechanism that invariably fails to hold the unit down. I got mine replaced (under warranty) . The support folks are very good / very responsive and very effective! Try them! 

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  Terry Bickerton 20 dicembre 2016 12:07

  Hi the unit is new and the holder is alloy but the small latch that holds the unit on is plastic and fits into a slot in the head unit which is also plastic.

  I think its more complicated than it needs to be as my Cardo unit is all plastic but faultless inits operation with a simple clip.

   

  But more than happy to work with Sena and find a solution as I think the features of the unit a great , just really disappointed that it doesn't work as it should and it appears im not the only one.

  All products can have faults its how quickly the manufacturers responded and supports determine if yout tell everyone how good they were or how bad

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  Mathew, Bruce 20 dicembre 2016 13:48

  I actually don't bother trying to remove it from my helmet any more.  Once I got mine replaced, I put it on the helmet and haven't risked breaking it again.  I've actually had very good response from support, but I just consider that I now have an un-removable unit and call it even.  I actually really like the 20S and keep it updated with every release.

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  Terry Bickerton 20 dicembre 2016 21:31

  I like what i have seen so far , bear in mind in havent used it yet as it wont lock to the base and is brand new. I didnotice it hangs down from the helmet edge much further than my Cardo does so will need to be careful whennplacing down to avoid damage . But i like the jog dial better than the cardo system buttons which are hrd to operate with gloves on

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  Ken Kimari 20 dicembre 2016 22:03

  Hi Terry.  I had the same issue when new but it's fine now.  Best practice is to hold onto the base and place the unit in the slot. Continue to hold the base, press the release button and at the same time push the unit down firmly then let go of the release button.  Push up on the unit gently to make sure it's seated.  Reverse the process to release it from the mount.  This takes the strain off of the latch.  I think the rubber gasket on the mount when new is quite firm but it seems to loosen up a bit over time so it should become easier.  Good luck with your unit.  Make sure you update the software - Currently 1.7.1 (I'm with Bruce on leaving it on the helmet - less wear and tear.)

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  Ken Kimari 20 dicembre 2016 22:08

  one more thing.  Check the slot in the unit where the latch catches and make sure it is clean and smooth.  I have heard that sometimes during the manufacturing process that slot is not quite finished and can have a rough edge.

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  Terry Bickerton 20 dicembre 2016 23:04

  Hi thanks for the advice. The unit slides onto the base and you can feel the latch click into place but when you release it is spings back up and loses contact with series of conact points on the base. As i said the unit is brand new. Have have checked for casting faults etc but everything looks to be fine. I have looked at the latch and it does not appear to have a great deal of stroke and extend into the main unit slot very far. I wonder why Sena did not use the same base as the SMH 10 which appears to have a plastic top clip and dies not recieve the bad reviews the 20s does.
  It is not practical to leave it connected permenantly as it means carrying my helmet to charge it rather than just the unit . It also does not allow my helmet to fit into the pannier for my ST1300 or GT1600 with it in place

• 0
  
  Ken Kimari 21 dicembre 2016 02:48

  Check to see if your mount clamp to the helmet is too tight.  If the bolts are torqued too tight it can pull the bottom part of the bracket towards the helmet and bend it away slightly from the latch causing it not to engage fully.  The bolts just need to be snug, not torqued down.  A good way to check is to take the bracket off and put the unit on and see if it latches fully.  if it does then re-install the mount and adjust the torque of the bolts so the mount is secure but not bending in.  The latch should have spring tension and stick out like the photo below.  BTW - the metal latch modification seemed to have solved many complaints people had with the 20s mount.

  

  If that fails call customer service and describe the problem like you did in these posts.  I have found them very responsive and in the past they replaced one of my products real quick.   Good luck!  Ken 

• 0
  
  Ken Kimari 21 dicembre 2016 02:57

  Once you get everything working I think you will like it over the Cardo. With all the options it can be a little confusing to operate.  Most of the complaints I've seen about the 20s ended up being operator error in setup, misunderstanding what they thought the functionality was or in actual use.  Sometimes the instructions are not super descriptive as to what the some of functions actually do but if they were the manual would be even bigger than it is now!

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  Terry Bickerton 21 dicembre 2016 05:54

  Hi Ken. I did try that and it would not latch on or off the helmet , if there is now a metal latch i think this would improve it greatly.

  I believe there are two issues. 1. The foam seal is too high and does not allow the latch to fully engage in the reciever slot.
  Tow the slide rails on the mount are fractionally too tall to allow complete engagement. And the combination of both are just enough to flex the plastic lock arm and allow it to release..

  I have submitted a case with Sena so see how it goes.

  I am in Australia though

• 0
  
  Ken Kimari 21 dicembre 2016 07:31

  Any chance you can return your unit from where you bought it?  If the latch you have is not metal it is a very old unit.  The metal latches have been out now for over a year.  Mine is one of the old plastic ones but it still works so I have not replaced it.  If it fails I'll just go out and buy a new base since I think my unit is now out of warranty.

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  Terry Bickerton 21 dicembre 2016 10:35

  The latch is definitely not metal and the shop I purchased from was closing down so I brought a new helmet and Sena as they had them on special.

  I have a receipt with the date of purchase so in my view its new .If Sena dont honor the warranty , I will not buy a new base on principal given this unit has obvious design flaws , which is evident by the amount of quotes on this forum. Easy to keep a new customer , very hard to get them back