Sena 30K Bluetooth Intercom - epic fail
The entire Bluetooth intercom function of the Sena 30K is fraught with problems.
You can't have intercom and any other audio input from GPS, music, phone etc. The multitasking function does not work.
If you try to listen to music with Bluetooth intercom on and then toggle the button to turn the intercom off, then the intercom function won't come back on. You have to power off both headsets and start over.
There is no way I can find to block out wind noise other than turning the intercom on and off, and when you try to use it in that manner, it usually fails to turn back on.
The only way to use an intercom with this unit is through the Mesh system. The bluetooth intercom function on this unit is basically unusable.
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Oh, I also forgot to mention. Be prepared for constant voice prompts in your helmet saying "Intercom failed to connect, try again later" over and over and over and over and over while you ride.
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I have the same problems with Bluetooth communication. Sena suggested a fault reset (push a paper clip in the hole in the back.) After doing that I could communicate on/off for 2 or 3 times and then couldn't reconnect.
Sena has been very unhelpful. They give the standard answers - Update the firmware (already done before contacting them,) Do a Fault Reset, etc, etc, none of which fixes the problems.
Audio multitasking only works in Mesh Mode and the audio level is lowered to where you can't hear the music. Seems the microphone is always on in Mesh Mode.
The Sena 30K Android app, ver. 1.0 is buggy and crashes. It's unusable and hasn't been updated in 5 months.
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Everyone with the new 2018 Goldwing is starting to look elsewhere for bluetooth headsets (J&M) due to all the problems that are being reported about the 30K.
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Update on the update....No joy. Tried update on 2 different Macs. Update goes well, but there is no function at all to this 30K. Red light when I first plug in...lasts about 1 minute, then turns blue (fully charged). Plug in to helmet or don't plug in to helmet...it won't power on.
Screw it. I'm going riding!
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I just discovered all of these shortfalls today and am now trying to get my money back. I've bought nearly a dozen Sena products, and this, by far, is the worst. I was hoping that this would have been a 20S with the added functionality of Mesh Networking. I understood that I would not get Mesh functionality with older units, but I was OK with that. I was unprepared to go backwards with regards to the 20S. All of my group riders - have older 20S and older products. This products is worthless and UNUSABLE when connected to to any of those products via their earlier com technologies. It's just awful.
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OK, haters....I'm new at this game. I really thought the unit was bricked and found from an experienced user that I wasn't turning it on properly.
Prior to that, I thought I was updating and found out that I missed a "download" box on one of the screens. If the update doesn't take about 5 minutes to do, you didn't actually update. Software isn't very intuitive and allows you to believe the update is done when it isn't. I kept hitting the "next" box. At the end, it said it was complete, but it only took seconds...I don't think it had really been updated.
Now that I have these two major things solved, I'm going in to learn how the thing works. Feedback from other posters has been good once the software update has been truly done, so I'm not giving up.
The computer app has a ton of options to change the way the thing behaves. I'd make sure you have the options set to your preferences before returning it.
I've never had a 20K but I see some real promise to this thing. The sound is pretty good (through low-end Sony earbuds, so far) and a whatsapp message from my wife that showed up on the screen on my ride home yesterday. Kinda cool. It won't let me text back, thank god, but it's nice to know if someone is texting something important or urgent.
I have a new job. I'm able to travel more with it but I need to reply to emails, texts and phone calls promptly. This should really help. I've never used intercom while riding, just music. We'll see on that, but I think this has potential to be a nice bit of kit. I expect Sena will continue to make updates as well.
I don't work for them...just happy that my original issues are now solved and I'm moving on to the functional part.
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Tom, if you are not using the intercom, you'll be OK. If you use the intercom, you'll run into the issues exposed here. Don't count on Sena to fix problems quickly. They can take years to fix issues. I had a pair of 20S units. It took a couple of years and a warranty replacement to get them working properly.
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Tom - from a person who has bought many Sena products, buy a 20S or 20S Evo - but don't buy the 30K. I made a big mistake. I'm just glad that I still have my 20S.
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Too late! I'll work with it. Intercom is not high on my list. My wife doesn't ride with me. Most of the guys I ride with don't have bluetooth stuff. I think this will get sorted by the time I need it. Hope so.
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Just got off the line with Sena Support to put in a ticket (207726). The rep said that they know about this problem - and it could be years for them to fix the problem. YEARS !! This in my book - is a SHOW STOPPER. Why they sell this unit is beyond me. The lack of Audio Multitasking on the 30K makes the Sena 30K UNUSABLE. He even suggested the way to get it to work was to disconnect from others that are using Bluetooth networking !! Can you believe that?
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Another issue is for us Harley riders (you know we like our loud pipes). The ambient noise from the pipes cannot be cancelled out with the VOX settings so, when in intercom mode (mesh or otherwise) you can expect your music to only play lowly in the background because the unit is constantly transmitting. And forget a half-helmet! This unit is made only for full face helmets where the mic is completely blocked from wind. I've spent a lot on after-market windsocks and windsock covers and still no joy. Sena's solution? Get a full-face helmet, quieter motorcycle, or take the unit back to your vendor it it doesn't work in your specific riding environment.
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Not being able to save your connection lists is a problem. The help desk calls for factory resets for the problems listed. Then you loose connectivity to your friends. So repair over and over with each faulty firmware patch. So sorry I bought the 30k.
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I'M RETURNING MY SENA 30K. ITS SIMPLY NOT PRACTICAL IN THE REAL WORLD WITH EXISTING SENA UNITS - IN MORE WAYS THAT MANY KNOW.
I finally went back to Revzilla and demanded that I return the 30K - even if I had opened the box. I told them exactly what found, how the magazines have not reported the deficiency of a new product going backwards in functionality in the real world, and the fact that I am documenting this on two huge motorcycle group pages on Facebook and I did get credit back for the 30K. It's better than nothing keeping this boat anchor. I also found that you can only connect to only 3 other Sena existing intercoms (non 30K units). That's right - 3. That my friends is a firmware limitation - nothing more - and that is why waste of money is going back to the factory. And yes, I am reporting my findings.0 -
I wish I never bought the 30k!.......Sena you should sack the manager who is responsible for the 30K development. Who would release a new model and drop functions. Still not water proof look out for storms!
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The woman in the Web Bike World article went from an SMH10 to the 30K. She doesn't know what was lost going from the 20S to the 30K.
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The 30k needs a lot of work and while I've been a big supporter of Sena... this product and the fact that it's been out for more than 6 months and is still fundamentally broken is quickly souring my attitude - and like many of us online... I share my negative opinions as freely and widely as my positive ones. Mesh is broken... it literally DOES NOT WORK. It's the ONLY reason anyone would buy this over a 20.
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I would agree with previous comments....absolute nightmare...I can pair but i cannot connect intercoms thereafter. I have a lot of background noise and the battery life is woeful and limited connections. As Sena's flagship model I am so disappointed.
I have used a few Sena's and they have all worked a treat. This model is a disaster, I wish I just went with the 20s EVO. I have encouraged others to buy, but would not recommend this model.
I have a call on the Helpdesk and will now be pushing to return as it is absolutely crap, and came at a premium price0 -
I have sold my set of Sena 30K at a $300 loss, and I'm using the Sena 20s now. If Sena was able to fix this problem with a firmware update, they would have done so already. They based the hardware in the 30K for the bluetooth intercom on the old Sena 10 unit. This makes the 30K worhless as a bluetooth intercom, and the problem is not fixable. The best you can hope for is to sell your 30K unit and try to get at least some of your money back.
I would encourage everyone on here to repost this information on every motorcycle forum on the internet and warn riders not to buy the Sena 30K. Sena has sacrificed the bluetooth intercom for mesh, and have thrown out the baby with the bathwater.
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I've seen more and more vaporware from Sena, and them release hardware way before it's time. Can you imagine if Apple released hardware that was so buggy and lacking what they said it would. It's really shameful. I'm witnessing a growing discontent with Sena and it's obvious way. And these people that say that Mesh is great - while totally disgregarding their entire installed base of product. If 30K would have been a 20S with the addtion of Mesh - and it didnt everything that the 20s did, I would think otherwise, but when one Sena 10 or legacy product is connected to you controls your device, that is total BS. And no - it's not doing what it was support to do and Marketing is being intentionally vague in its description and specs and for obvious reasons. And you see this with how Revzilla markets the Sena unit with specs that are better than Sena's own, but what bothers me is how Sena doesn't support their top sellers in their return policy. I hated my 30K with a passion - only because I knew what the 20S could do. I see these clueless buyers that say its' great, and all they are doing is listening to music in a stand alone mode. Talk about someone who hasn't a clue and bought something way way over what they needed. But seriously, why should a buyer be punished with a no return policy simply because they opened the box - and then found out that Sena didn't deliver on their promises.
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