Sena SMH10 and a Garmin Nuvi ---- NO LOVE

[Greenham]

As the world of technology seemingly increase capabilities and speeds you at some point get to where I am.

After years of being fleeced by Garmin for map updates, I gave up on Garmin in favor or a Smart phone and Google Maps and Waze. Once I got the FJR I wanted to be able to plan and download routes to a stand alone GPS.... Back to Garmin and a newer Nuvi with Basecamp..Update firmware and maps and it.works great... Although I see a company (Garmin) lacking in it's ability to stay competitive IMHO.

***************************************************

Enter the next addition to the technology arsenal. A Sena SMH10... Updated the firmware, RTFM, Paired effortlessly with my brand new Samsung Note 5... All is good. BUT NO !!!!!

Let me pair with the Garmin... Into Pairing mode (CHECK) Scan for devices (CHECK) Nuvi says pair with Sena SMH10 (CHECK)

FAIL------ SMH10 is NOT COMPATIBLE WITH GARMIN NUVI!!!!! I'm gonna guess Garmin does some kind of proprietary bluetooth protocol

Are you F-ing kidding me..

So technology is great as long as you don't want to co-mingle the players.

 

[LKLD]

I think a Zumo would have served you better, but understand they can be cost preventative. Someone will be along to help, I'm sure. Best of luck!

 

[SilverHound]

So from what I understand, the bluetooth in the Nuvi models only supports phone to GPS pairing (to be able to use the GPS as a hands-free speaker phone) but doesn't support GPS to headset pairing because the Nuvi units don't/won't output audio to headsets as they were made for cars and Garmin doesn't think that is necessary for cars. Pairing with headsets is one of the unique features (which you pay extra for) of a motorcycle specific GPS.

There doesn't seem to be any solution to this dilemma. Discussed on the Sena Forum: https://support.sena.com/entries/21311388-Be-able-to-modify-the-pairing-code-by-software-

 

[n7myr]

I agree with Silverhound about the Nuvi

I have the setup you have Sena / phone

and Garmin 590

it all works perfect and I am very happy with it. but the 590 is not a Nuvi

it is Garmin tho

 

[HotRodZilla]

What Silverhound said. You bought the wrong GPS for your application. Why would a car GPS need a headset? My Zumo has worked very well with my phone, Sena, and those as a pair.

Can you return the Nuvi?

 

[Bustanut joker]

Man does it suck being 'Old School' and having to rely on paper maps...You ain't saving a godamn minute when you spend an hour pissing with that shit.

I bet 95% of those under 35 would pull over and cry for help without electronics.
A compass and a paper map will never **** you up.

 

[HotRodZilla]

^^^Like.

Apparently 1st grade Barry is in da house!

 

[Bustanut joker]

Shut it fuknose.. Evertbody knows Mexicans have a "built in compass" that point without fail to the north..

I know it seems pretty easy, But....

It takes 18 years to teach 'em Left is West and Right is East. Juan next door is 40 and still ain't got it.

 

[n2osx]

As the world of technology seemingly increase capabilities and speeds you at some point get to where I am.
After years of being fleeced by Garmin for map updates, I gave up on Garmin in favor or a Smart phone and Google Maps and Waze. Once I got the FJR I wanted to be able to plan and download routes to a stand alone GPS.... Back to Garmin and a newer Nuvi with Basecamp..Update firmware and maps and it.works great... Although I see a company (Garmin) lacking in it's ability to stay competitive IMHO.

***************************************************

Enter the next addition to the technology arsenal. A Sena SMH10... Updated the firmware, RTFM, Paired effortlessly with my brand new Samsung Note 5... All is good. BUT NO !!!!!

Let me pair with the Garmin... Into Pairing mode (CHECK) Scan for devices (CHECK) Nuvi says pair with Sena SMH10 (CHECK)

FAIL------ SMH10 is NOT COMPATIBLE WITH GARMIN NUVI!!!!! I'm gonna guess Garmin does some kind of proprietary bluetooth protocol

Are you F-ing kidding me..

So technology is great as long as you don't want to co-mingle the players.

Fck tards! If you are really loving the NUVI you can get the Sena SM10 to plug the NUVI into. Then you can sync your phone to the NUVI and plug the NUVI into the SM10, then the SM10 will Bluetooth to your Sena SMH10. Amateurs! Don't listen to Bust or Zilla, they still eat crayons...

Carl

 

[jblanken64]

May be a case of apples and oranges, but I pair my SMH5-FM with my Nuvi 765 and my phone. I used the alternate pairing mode to pair the Nuvi as the media device and the phone normally. Took a couple of tries to get the sequencing right, but it worked as spelled out in the docs. You may also want to be sure that your Sena unit has the latest firmware installed.

Joey.

 

[MrZappo]

This is NOT because Garmin has decided that cat gps units don't need headsets.

This is a software thing and they already have code developed to work with headsets. Which would be compatible with any of their units which are all built on the same platform.

This is about a company intentionally castrating the Nuvi units to force riders to "choose" a unit that generates 400% more bottom line profit for Garmin.

In other words, they add a few simple software "features" to the zumos, slap a waterproof case over it (by far the biggest difference), and quadruple the price.

Nothing more than that.

You aren't suffering because of real incompatibilities, you are suffering because of intentionally engineered shortcomings based on a market study.

 

[SilverHound]

May be a case of apples and oranges, but I pair my SMH5-FM with my Nuvi 765 and my phone. I used the alternate pairing mode to pair the Nuvi as the media device and the phone normally. Took a couple of tries to get the sequencing right, but it worked as spelled out in the docs. You may also want to be sure that your Sena unit has the latest firmware installed.
Joey.

Yeah it kinda is as you say. The nuvi 765T, 775T and 785T units will pair with a bluetooth headset according to the Sena forum. The rest of the Nuvi units do not, as far as I can tell.

 

[beemerdons]

Man does it suck being 'Old School' and having to rely on paper maps...You ain't saving a godamn minute when you spend an hour pissing with that shit.
I bet 95% of those under 35 would pull over and cry for help without electronics.

A compass and a paper map will never **** you up.

+1, Gunny; Right on Bust, Real FJR1300 Men Use Maps! JSNS, GPS es para los Putos ese!

 

[TomInPA]

Wow, so much anger MrZappo!

The Garmin Zumo 660 has been selling on Amazon, BuyDig and other places for about $350 recently. It will sync a phone and headset, and will calculate complex routes using Basecamp and is a water-resistant motorcycle GPS. Why anyone thinks a Nuvi should work on a motorcycle is beyond me. Sure, cheap is good, but in this case you get what you paid for. The Nuvi series (with the exception of the 765T) has never been able to sync with a BT headset, and doesn't have an audio-out port. No surprise.

Get the right tool for the job, be happy. https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Zumo-660LM-Motorcycle-Navigator/dp/B008M59RUO

 

[MrZappo]

Wow, so much anger MrZappo!
The Garmin Zumo 660 has been selling on Amazon, BuyDig and other places for about $350 recently. It will sync a phone and headset, and will calculate complex routes using Basecamp and is a water-resistant motorcycle GPS. Why anyone thinks a Nuvi should work on a motorcycle is beyond me. Sure, cheap is good, but in this case you get what you paid for. The Nuvi series (with the exception of the 765T) has never been able to sync with a BT headset, and doesn't have an audio-out port. No surprise.

Get the right tool for the job, be happy. https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Zumo-660LM-Motorcycle-Navigator/dp/B008M59RUO

No anger here ... In fact, if I owned Garmin, I would do the same thing ... The fact is however that they do this ... And these have come down this year at a few vendors for older models on the web to $350 or so ... They have historically been $800 or 6-8 times the cost of a NUVI when their manufacturing costs differences are negligible ...

As far as getting what you pay for, not so much ... Some of the nuvis have bluetooth. (forget the lack of a 1/8 jack for a minute) ... They enable it to work for a phone but DISABLE the ability to use turn by turn directions .... A feature that only a rider would use ...

So as I said, yes the features are very nice and they are charging a premium for them ... But it is not that they spent a ton of R&D dollars to add in this "groundbreaking stuff". Quite to the contrary, the features are there already and they remove them ...

I'm not against grabbing a market segment by the balls and squeezing, I just don't like it when the balls are mine ...

 

[Greenham]

Thanks guys.... A nice variety of answers, even the sarcastic irrelevant ones.

As MrZippo said, this isn't brand new technology, this is 10 yrs old and is software based. So like EVERYTHING GARMIN.... they try to capture a market and hold it hostage until someone new comes along. Who remembers being charged $75 for a map upgrade? Now they build that into the price of the unit... Not because new maps are needed necessarily or out of the goodness of their heart or they "care" about their customer. No. They did it because Google Maps and products like Waze started kicking their ass.

BT pairing to a headset while not a "car" thing is really just about formatting the output differently to a known stream. BUT WHY would they do that? When they can, As MrZippo pointed out, turn it on, add a few other low dollar features, market it as "MOTORCYCLE" and charge $400-$800 for it... I honestly wonder if they would sell more "car" units if such features were turned on, and when we trash them from weather or dropping we buy another... Humm who knows. really who cares. Garmin has a stranglehold on the small form factor portable GPS market. Until Google comes out with a newer better version of Maps you guys are right. I didn't buy the right tool for the job. I can live with that and use my $300 extra dollars somewhere else on the bike

Thanks again guys....

 

[Eric L]

May be a case of apples and oranges, but I pair my SMH5-FM with my Nuvi 765 and my phone. I used the alternate pairing mode to pair the Nuvi as the media device and the phone normally. Took a couple of tries to get the sequencing right, but it worked as spelled out in the docs. You may also want to be sure that your Sena unit has the latest firmware installed.
Joey.

The 765T was the exception to the rule. Garmin realized they included this BT feature and promptly removed it from any newer nuvis.

You can wire a nuvi audio out and a radar detector audio out to a sena BT transmitter and pair that to your headset. still cheaper than a Zumo. But the ZUmo 660 is damn cheap these days.

 

[rbentnail]

I still use a nuvi 78x. Audio out jack included- I'm not a headset guy. SD card slot. FM transmitter so I can listen to music from the gps & listen to turn directions without plugging into it on my FM receiver mp3 earbuds or thru the truck/car speakers. If I feel the need I simply unplug from the mp3, plug into the gps and turn on the volume for music and directions. But it's really rare I ever listen to directions- I just mp3 it and glance at the screen once in a while.

And I carry paper maps...

 

[BkerChuck]

Ran into the same issue. Sena SMH-10 and Garmin Nuvi 2575LMT. Contacted both Garmin and Sena to find they had no desire to make the 2 of them play nicely. Last year with some of my Christmas bonus and with a sale on Amazon I bought a Garmin Zumo 660LMT which would pair up for the turn by turn. I used the feature all of about twice. Every time it would break in to give me upcoming directions it would block out the intercom function leaving my wife talking into thin air. Needless to say this didn't go over too well and I've since stopped using the voice turn by turn feature. YMMV