The review by these gentlemen is spot on. I ride with my best friend and we purchased these for average rides of about 150 miles a ride. The same exact issues have arisen. The voice recognition has to be said 2 or 3 times and slowly before it hears you. The connectivity for the intercom is the most serious. Sometimes the clarity is as if I am in the same room with no wind and other times, it simply cuts out I have had to stop even trying to use it. This makes for creating a saftey issue, one we had hoped to avoid by this perchase. This unit is very expensive for what you get and I can only give this mixed reviews at best. It would be worth it had the features actually work as well as advertised. Keep up the great videos!
Thanks.for your comment. We wanted to love the product but pretty disappointed. I've done another vid with some setting tweaks that seems to help. Check it out if you haven't already.
Being 2 months ago, I’m guessing that they haven’t been updated much to address the issues you’re talking about? Im asking cause I bought a pair for me and the wife to ride ATV’s. Hoping I didn’t buy a pair of turds. Lol!
You might be OK. I found the system struggled more at around 110kmh. Range is actually more like 400m to 600m. When it works it works great. Good luck. Take it back if you're not happy with it.
Really appreciate your honest assessment, you 2 should be on TV, very good presentation ! I have never used an intercom system before, but my Son is looking to start motorcycling soon and we wanted to go touring together. This unit seemed ideal as I did not want to constantly have to fumble for buttons, I wanted the voice activation. These units are expensive here in the UK, it looks like I'll have to continue my research. All the best for 2021 !
Thanks for your comment. I have to say that the cheap BT interphone/Fodsport intercom is much better value for money, much better range. Not quite as loud but good enough to be able to communicate. My mate Swears by Sena but I have only.used one for a few hours once...
Good and accurate review! I should have watched your video before I bought mine. I have the same problems except for the range but only because I have not tried it. I find that if I scream HAY or cough before I say hay Cardo it wakes it up and will hear me. But 9 out of 10 times it will respond to my command with "Not available"! It also disconnects from my phone after 30 minutes of listening to music. Then I have to power off the unit and turn it back on so that it will reconnect with my phone and I can turn my music back on. The only feature that works properly is the radio. $300 CDN for a radio is too expensive!!
Hi The Driver. I hear ya. I've reached out to Cardo but heard nothing (kinda like when you're out of range while riding). Mick and I did manage to get some better results by changing a few settings. Hoping to get a video out on it this week...
I agree. my wife and I have constant interference and loss of signal with this intercom unit even after turning off other Bluetooth devices. Siri will not work for me and the wind noise from the mic is too much for such a high dollar system. I too have tried all types of adjustments to no avail.
I have to agree. A lot of money for something that doesn't even come close to delivering what it promises... I even reached out to Cardo and sent links to the video but they never replied... 😔
Good discussion. We use the Cardo freecom 4+ and packtalk bold in tree work and they work quite well for us in USA. Moved from SENA unit as we’ve had battery and connection issues constantly. Also try the UK setting, it may pick up your accent a bit better. Side note: Apple (Siri) has millions of users so quite a large sampling to get voice recognition working for a large amount of languages and accents. Good video! Thanks.
Just bought one of these and couldn't get the voice recognition to work well even after following the "best settings" advice on the previous video. At best it worked 1/5..... But then found it that if i pronounce it Cardoo, not Cardo, (ooh, not oh) it works almost every time for me, and I'm a Glaswegian 😃 Worth a try if you're having difficulty.
Sorry to put you off mate. We both wanted to love it but, as we state in the review, voice commamds are hit and miss, range isn't nearly what is stated. Great for music and voice navigation. Suggest you try before you buy...
We've got the older Freecom4, pleased I've haven't upgraded. I'm not bothered about voice control anyway. We get 600m ish max range, line of sight in clear farmland, I've gt no idea how they claim 1.2km marketing lies...
I have both in my household, Bold seem to be better, however it comes with its own set of the issues (like several times it just hanged of me, wouildn't stop playing music, would ignore all the buttons, including power-off combination, and volume roller)
As per your discussion in regards to range. I had the same issue and am let down by the lack of range we got as it is primarily why I bought this was to communicate with another rider. Range Only around 300 mtrs. Even worse around bends/off-road tracks. We noticed we were out of range between 50 to 100 mtrs. It's bitter sweet that other people have had similar experiences with their Cardo and it wasn't just assuming my device was faulty. Thanks for your review.
Cardo Freecom 4+, Itercom's hearing is sometimes intermittent as if there is a gap, and it's difficult to hear the other person. even though this is the most important communication, and just a few meters away the sound is already a mess if we go 80 meters away, we have settings to block noise, it's even worse for the other person's hearing. In fact, with the intercom that we previously used with the Sena M10, the hearing was better, but it just lost on the battery, if only it didn't lose on the battery, I would have chosen the Sena M10. I'm disappointed with Cardo...
Really enjoyed your video. I also have a Cardo Freecom 4+ and was having the same issue. After double checking my settings and ensure voice was turned on i then changed the language from English - U.S to English - United Kingdom. I don't understand why it works on UK and not US. I would have thought english is english. But hey fixed the issue. I tested the entire list of commands and never missed a beat. Hope this helps people with this issue.
Changing the accent may help some people. Our main issue was the poor quality of sound over the intercom. I find the voice command in the Cardo freecom 4 plus to work well enough. To answer your question, we may have tried a number of different combinations of settings when we made this video. How are you finding the Cardo?
Wished I'd have watched this video before I purchased the Cardo Freecom4, I was very intrigued with the demo on the voice activation. Same problem, voice commands don't work, I tried all setting on my iPhone with no avail. One time I asked Cardo to play radio and It started calling people on my phone. Something I would expect from Cheap Chinese junk! However, I do find the wheel is helpful for the volume control and the two buttons are easy to use and it is waterproof?? Haven't been rained on yet so I don't know. I'm on the fence to decide if I send this product back. I think I'll give it a few more rides to see what happens.
My advice. Send it back if you plan on using it with other riders. If you mostly ride on your own, it's great. It is water resistant. I've ridden in the rain with it.
Is there a way to use it manually only and turn off voice commands completely? And about music quality, how is it? I'm a huge audiophile and I'm looking into cardo solely for the JBL speakers. Are they really better than other brands?
Hi Alecks. I think you'll be disappointed with the audio quality. There's just too many factors working against the system - the limitations of the physical space between your ears and the helmet while still maintaining the structural integrity of the helmet, the wind noise, the fact that there is no cup over your ear to trap the sound in and keep exterior sound out. I've considered getting moulded earplugs with speakers in them but I'm not convinced that it's worth the investment. There are a lot of trade-offs happening here. It's better than NOT having any music though... And yes, you can control the unit with the buttons and the scroll wheel which work great but the whole idea is that you shouldn't be taking your hand/s off the handlebars while you're riding....
I just got the black edition ill tell you the only way that I can get the voice commands to wotk 9-10 times is saying ok Google but Hey cardo is so frustrating the sound of the jbl speakers are better than your basic headphones only when getting the proper placement in your helmet right would I buy again I need more in seat time with it but my ears are sore ftom putting on taking off this full face helmet to get speakers placement as perfect as possible
@@burntdog8277 Thanks for the reply. I bought it already. My scorpion helmet has dedicated space for speakers so there was no real fussing around with placement. I'm an audiophile and I think the speakers are very good for their purpose. The voice command are absolute trash. I managed to make it work very few times in weeks. For voice calls, both ways work pretty well at city speeds but at highway speeds you can't hear anything and the other person either. Fortunately I try to avoid highways. The biggest thing bothering me right now is the spotify connection issues. It works half the time. My solution to fix it is, close device, close cardo app, close spotify, turn off bluetooth and then turn on device, turn on bluetooth, wait for connection, start cardo app, go in music and start spotify through the cardo app by pressing the spotify icon in the top right corner, do NOT just press play. Sometimes it stops working after a phone call or after I press pause. I then have to start all over again. I hope further updates will fix the problem but when I spoke to card about it they said I just needed to restard my device as if it was something normal to do. Other than that, I like it. Battery lasts forever if not listening to music but if listening to music full time you can still go for 8 hours at least which is very decent imo.
@@alecksluciferis4188 yeah my icon airflite stealth helmet has the ear cut out placements aswell I guess because the helmet is only 3 days old and not broken in yet that it was killing my left ear I've been trying to get it right since Saturday night and the placements now is ok not hurting my left ear but it feels like my ear is folded a bit gotta order a helmet Bennie to see if that helps but good luck with everything ride safe
The Freecom 4+ has been working awesome for me. You have to go into the Cardo App and tweak the voice command settings also for it to work properly for you. Also I'm using mine on an Android phone, so maybe that has something to do with it?
Hi there. We have updated the firmware. We've tried it on android and iOS. We've tried different English settings, volume controls, noise reduction. You name it. The issue is with range and audio quality and these issues are common...
I can't get mine to do anything with voice controls for the most part if I say HEY cardo but if I say ok Google it does everything that hey cardo should do and recognize hey GOOGLE 98.9% of the time
But I already bought it...as long as it works to communicate to my passenger; I'm fine with it. If it works to communicate with other riders in group, even better. But mainly just wanted to be able to talk with my passenger over the exhaust/drivetrain noise. probably should have researched a bit vs just buying straight away when i woke up from a night's sleep
Thanks for your support Atlas R1. I'm pretty immune to keyboard warriors LOL. Might start painting my nails but I work as a chef and you're not supposed to wear nail varnish as it can contaminate the food....
Despite some negatives, I still think this is a good option for Bluetooth headsets. Follow this link to purchase your own : amzn.to/3P2FdvM
The review by these gentlemen is spot on. I ride with my best friend and we purchased these for average rides of about 150 miles a ride. The same exact issues have arisen. The voice recognition has to be said 2 or 3 times and slowly before it hears you. The connectivity for the intercom is the most serious. Sometimes the clarity is as if I am in the same room with no wind and other times, it simply cuts out I have had to stop even trying to use it. This makes for creating a saftey issue, one we had hoped to avoid by this perchase. This unit is very expensive for what you get and I can only give this mixed reviews at best. It would be worth it had the features actually work as well as advertised. Keep up the great videos!
Thanks.for your comment. We wanted to love the product but pretty disappointed. I've done another vid with some setting tweaks that seems to help. Check it out if you haven't already.
Being 2 months ago, I’m guessing that they haven’t been updated much to address the issues you’re talking about?
Im asking cause I bought a pair for me and the wife to ride ATV’s. Hoping I didn’t buy a pair of turds. Lol!
You might be OK. I found the system struggled more at around 110kmh. Range is actually more like 400m to 600m. When it works it works great. Good luck. Take it back if you're not happy with it.
@@TheDeepPlanet Thanks buddy!! We do trail riding so that’s all we really need anyway
Really appreciate your honest assessment, you 2 should be on TV, very good presentation ! I have never used an intercom system before, but my Son is looking to start motorcycling soon and we wanted to go touring together. This unit seemed ideal as I did not want to constantly have to fumble for buttons, I wanted the voice activation. These units are expensive here in the UK, it looks like I'll have to continue my research. All the best for 2021 !
Thanks for your comment. I have to say that the cheap BT interphone/Fodsport intercom is much better value for money, much better range. Not quite as loud but good enough to be able to communicate. My mate Swears by Sena but I have only.used one for a few hours once...
Good and accurate review! I should have watched your video before I bought mine. I have the same problems except for the range but only because I have not tried it. I find that if I scream HAY or cough before I say hay Cardo it wakes it up and will hear me. But 9 out of 10 times it will respond to my command with "Not available"! It also disconnects from my phone after 30 minutes of listening to music. Then I have to power off the unit and turn it back on so that it will reconnect with my phone and I can turn my music back on. The only feature that works properly is the radio. $300 CDN for a radio is too expensive!!
Hi The Driver. I hear ya. I've reached out to Cardo but heard nothing (kinda like when you're out of range while riding). Mick and I did manage to get some better results by changing a few settings. Hoping to get a video out on it this week...
I agree. my wife and I have constant interference and loss of signal with this intercom unit even after turning off other Bluetooth devices. Siri will not work for me and the wind noise from the mic is too much for such a high dollar system. I too have tried all types of adjustments to no avail.
I have to agree. A lot of money for something that doesn't even come close to delivering what it promises... I even reached out to Cardo and sent links to the video but they never replied... 😔
Good discussion. We use the Cardo freecom 4+ and packtalk bold in tree work and they work quite well for us in USA. Moved from SENA unit as we’ve had battery and connection issues constantly. Also try the UK setting, it may pick up your accent a bit better. Side note: Apple (Siri) has millions of users so quite a large sampling to get voice recognition working for a large amount of languages and accents. Good video! Thanks.
Hi. I think the issue is caused by speed. Seems to get worse at around 100Kmh. The range is nowhere near what they claim...
Yeah these two sound like they have no teeth there speak is impaired .
Too late.... I already bought it & now this video shows up?? Thanks a lot algorithm!!
Just bought one of these and couldn't get the voice recognition to work well even after following the "best settings" advice on the previous video. At best it worked 1/5..... But then found it that if i pronounce it Cardoo, not Cardo, (ooh, not oh) it works almost every time for me, and I'm a Glaswegian 😃 Worth a try if you're having difficulty.
It's not a perfect system but it works well enough. Ride safe!!
Was about to purchase the Freecom 4+, but now not so sure. Can’t imagine the Bold being any better either. Disappointing. Thanks for the review.
Sorry to put you off mate. We both wanted to love it but, as we state in the review, voice commamds are hit and miss, range isn't nearly what is stated. Great for music and voice navigation. Suggest you try before you buy...
Same here... thx for the review i will change to MIDLAND BTX2 PRO 😎
We've got the older Freecom4, pleased I've haven't upgraded. I'm not bothered about voice control anyway. We get 600m ish max range, line of sight in clear farmland, I've gt no idea how they claim 1.2km marketing lies...
I have both in my household, Bold seem to be better, however it comes with its own set of the issues (like several times it just hanged of me, wouildn't stop playing music, would ignore all the buttons, including power-off combination, and volume roller)
As per your discussion in regards to range. I had the same issue and am let down by the lack of range we got as it is primarily why I bought this was to communicate with another rider. Range Only around 300 mtrs. Even worse around bends/off-road tracks. We noticed we were out of range between 50 to 100 mtrs. It's bitter sweet that other people have had similar experiences with their Cardo and it wasn't just assuming my device was faulty.
Thanks for your review.
Yep.. pretty disappointed to be honest. I've reached out to Cardo and sent them links to my videos but haven't heard back... 😔
Hi regarding voice recognition, i found it works perfectly if i use a fake American accent, works 100%😄
LOL. That is hilarious. I'll try that. 🤣
Cardo Freecom 4+, Itercom's hearing is sometimes intermittent as if there is a gap, and it's difficult to hear the other person. even though this is the most important communication, and just a few meters away the sound is already a mess if we go 80 meters away, we have settings to block noise, it's even worse for the other person's hearing. In fact, with the intercom that we previously used with the Sena M10, the hearing was better, but it just lost on the battery, if only it didn't lose on the battery, I would have chosen the Sena M10. I'm disappointed with Cardo...
Really enjoyed your video. I also have a Cardo Freecom 4+ and was having the same issue. After double checking my settings and ensure voice was turned on i then changed the language from English - U.S to English - United Kingdom.
I don't understand why it works on UK and not US. I would have thought english is english. But hey fixed the issue. I tested the entire list of commands and never missed a beat.
Hope this helps people with this issue.
Hi Aaron. Thanks for your comment and I will definitely try that out! More vids to come this year. 🔥
English is English but accents can make it almost sound like a different language.
@@TheDeepPlanet did you guys not try this setting before making this video?
Changing the accent may help some people. Our main issue was the poor quality of sound over the intercom. I find the voice command in the Cardo freecom 4 plus to work well enough. To answer your question, we may have tried a number of different combinations of settings when we made this video. How are you finding the Cardo?
Wished I'd have watched this video before I purchased the Cardo Freecom4, I was very intrigued with the demo on the voice activation. Same problem, voice commands don't work, I tried all setting on my iPhone with no avail. One time I asked Cardo to play radio and It started calling people on my phone. Something I would expect from Cheap Chinese junk! However, I do find the wheel is helpful for the volume control and the two buttons are easy to use and it is waterproof?? Haven't been rained on yet so I don't know. I'm on the fence to decide if I send this product back. I think I'll give it a few more rides to see what happens.
My advice. Send it back if you plan on using it with other riders. If you mostly ride on your own, it's great. It is water resistant. I've ridden in the rain with it.
Mine is great on Android. Voice recognition is spot on. Perhaps it can't handle accents in English.
We're seeing mixed results but mine has definitely improved with these settings...
Is there a way to use it manually only and turn off voice commands completely? And about music quality, how is it? I'm a huge audiophile and I'm looking into cardo solely for the JBL speakers. Are they really better than other brands?
Hi Alecks. I think you'll be disappointed with the audio quality. There's just too many factors working against the system - the limitations of the physical space between your ears and the helmet while still maintaining the structural integrity of the helmet, the wind noise, the fact that there is no cup over your ear to trap the sound in and keep exterior sound out. I've considered getting moulded earplugs with speakers in them but I'm not convinced that it's worth the investment. There are a lot of trade-offs happening here. It's better than NOT having any music though... And yes, you can control the unit with the buttons and the scroll wheel which work great but the whole idea is that you shouldn't be taking your hand/s off the handlebars while you're riding....
I just got the black edition ill tell you the only way that I can get the voice commands to wotk 9-10 times is saying ok Google but Hey cardo is so frustrating the sound of the jbl speakers are better than your basic headphones only when getting the proper placement in your helmet right would I buy again I need more in seat time with it but my ears are sore ftom putting on taking off this full face helmet to get speakers placement as perfect as possible
@@burntdog8277 Thanks for the reply. I bought it already. My scorpion helmet has dedicated space for speakers so there was no real fussing around with placement. I'm an audiophile and I think the speakers are very good for their purpose. The voice command are absolute trash. I managed to make it work very few times in weeks.
For voice calls, both ways work pretty well at city speeds but at highway speeds you can't hear anything and the other person either. Fortunately I try to avoid highways.
The biggest thing bothering me right now is the spotify connection issues. It works half the time. My solution to fix it is, close device, close cardo app, close spotify, turn off bluetooth and then turn on device, turn on bluetooth, wait for connection, start cardo app, go in music and start spotify through the cardo app by pressing the spotify icon in the top right corner, do NOT just press play.
Sometimes it stops working after a phone call or after I press pause. I then have to start all over again.
I hope further updates will fix the problem but when I spoke to card about it they said I just needed to restard my device as if it was something normal to do.
Other than that, I like it. Battery lasts forever if not listening to music but if listening to music full time you can still go for 8 hours at least which is very decent imo.
@@alecksluciferis4188 yeah my icon airflite stealth helmet has the ear cut out placements aswell I guess because the helmet is only 3 days old and not broken in yet that it was killing my left ear I've been trying to get it right since Saturday night and the placements now is ok not hurting my left ear but it feels like my ear is folded a bit gotta order a helmet Bennie to see if that helps but good luck with everything ride safe
The Freecom 4+ has been working awesome for me.
You have to go into the Cardo App and tweak the voice command settings also for it to work properly for you.
Also I'm using mine on an Android phone, so maybe that has something to do with it?
Hi there. We have updated the firmware. We've tried it on android and iOS. We've tried different English settings, volume controls, noise reduction. You name it. The issue is with range and audio quality and these issues are common...
Hi. Quick question. Are you using the unit alone or paired with other riders?
I can't get mine to do anything with voice controls for the most part if I say HEY cardo but if I say ok Google it does everything that hey cardo should do and recognize hey GOOGLE 98.9% of the time
Is packtalk any better
Not sure but I think this may be a hardware/software interface issue...
Don't think I would buy ANY Cardo product in Australia . . . . . it's way cheaper to purchase from Europe. I have the Packtalk SLIM.
Good. Point. Not sure I wpuld buy any Cardo product after our experience. Crackling audio and lousy range...
But I already bought it...as long as it works to communicate to my passenger; I'm fine with it. If it works to communicate with other riders in group, even better. But mainly just wanted to be able to talk with my passenger over the exhaust/drivetrain noise. probably should have researched a bit vs just buying straight away when i woke up from a night's sleep
You may have ok results with using it with a pillion. When the unit does.work, it's great...
Bought the shitty freecum4+ 2 year ago; shame on you Cardo! Better start listen to these guys and update your f*ckin softwareteam!
It's frustrating isn't it. I've emailed Cardo directly with links to these videos but haven't heard anything back...
Who's the star wars wannabe Dundee Nerd with the painted fingernails???!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣 WTF WHAT THE FREAK!!
I had been spray painting just prior to making this vid yo!
@@TheDeepPlanet Even still, who tf cares if you DID paint your nails lol
Thanks for your support Atlas R1. I'm pretty immune to keyboard warriors LOL. Might start painting my nails but I work as a chef and you're not supposed to wear nail varnish as it can contaminate the food....
Hey cardo works for me 1-10 × but OK Google works 9.5-10× better
I'll give it a try. Thanks.
thx guys for this video !
Glad you enjoyed!