Sena 30K can't multi-task
I just got a Sena 30K dual set, and I'm more than a little disappointed. When the bluetooth intercom is enabled, you can not listen to music or use any other connected device. The VOX intercom function does not automatically cut in over the music. When you turn the intercom on, everything else just shuts off, and if you want to go back to listening to music or using another device you have to turn the bluetooth intercom off altogether. I've been through every single setting in the system and it simply does not work.
The whole reason I purchased these was to have rider to passenger intercom and music and GPS commands in my headset. It seems like they put way too much focus on this Mesh network, and didn't get the basic stuff right.
I'm curious to know if Sena is aware of this problem and if they have a fix, because I'm ready to put them back in the box and ship them back for a refund.
I also think that trying to connect bike-to-bike via bluetooth is going to turn out to be an exercise in total frustration. What Sena really needs for bike-to-bike communication is a FRS or GMRS radio that can pair with the Sena headset, and then use FRS for bike-to-bike.
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I put in a ticket for the issue that communication stops when I turn off my bike, which is connected as Phone 1. True to form, the first response from Sena was "do a fault reset." This is infuriating. they do not listen. They just go down the response tree. They do not actually try to fix real problems. the issue has to go to an engineer to check the code, find the bug, and fix.
Sena Marketing
Your company's performance is sub-par. This is why we can't recommend this product. I gave it 1 star at Revzilla.
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Sena, if you're listening I may have a solution for you.
The Mesh intercom could be used instead of the BT intercom for rider to passenger intercom IF it were easier to toggle on and off. If the large CENTER button could somehow turn the Mesh intercom on and off like it does for the BT intercom this would allow you to turn the intercom off and avoid the wind noise and vox issues. Also when the mesh intercom is on, the music volume is lowered significantly, so I need a way to turn the intercom off when I'm not using it and let either rider or passenger re-activate it by pushing the center button, like the way the BT intercom works. This way you could just turn the intercom on when you needed it, and the rest of the time it would be off.
If that could be done, then I wouldn't need to use the BT intercom.
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Fred,
Try these settings:
Audio Boost: enable
Smart Volume Control: Disable
Audio Overlay Volume Management: Disable
Also, if you disable voice Command you might reduce battery drain.
The volume in Mesh Mode should be higher with the settings above, but it won't be as high as in Bluetooth mode.
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Thanks Tim, I'll try that. If we could get the Mesh intercom to work, that might be the best solution.
I miss the days when you just had a simple PTT button and when someone wanted to talk, they pushed the button. This way the mic's weren't always hot, and transmitting wind/road noise.
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I connected my headsets to the Sena program today and discovered Sena has released a new firmware version (1.0.3) for the 30K so I loaded it into both my 30K units in hope it would fix the BT intercom problems. Sadly, the BT intercom is still "interruption based" and mutes all other audio when it is on. I don't know what problems this update corrected, but it did not resolve the BT intercom issue of not being able to have intercom and music.
I spent about 2 hours today playing with all the different settings and both the Mesh and BT intercoms. The problem I have with the Mesh intercom is that there is no way to manually toggle it on and off, it is always on the VOX, so if it picks up any wind noise it will be heard by all the other connected units.
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I have VOX Intercom disabled. I don't know it that applies to Bluetooth Intercom only or not, but I suspect it does.
You can toggle mesh mode on and off by pressing the mesh button ( on top under the mesh antenna.)
Also, you might try lowering the sensitivity settings from the default level 3 to level 2. Assuming this is moving in the right direction, it will be less likely for wind noise to get picked up.
(Intercom) VOX Sensitivity and Intercom-Audio Overlay Sensitivity.
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I also have VOX intercom turned off, but it doesn't seem to affect the Mesh intercom mode. When the Mesh intercom is turned on, it always uses the VOX. I also tried my VOX sensitivy set to the lowest (1). Didn't help.
Have you ever been in a conference call where someone forgot to mute their mike? Imagine 5 or 6 riders all connected through Mesh and using VOX. Someones mic would ALWAYS be tripping the circuit.
This is why I want to use the BT intercom. At least I can turn it on and off when I want to use it easily. Hitting the center button on either headset shuts off the intercom on both helmets, so you can turn it on only when you need it.
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Version 1.0.3 seems to have fixed the Bluetooth Intercom ON/OFF, ON/OFF, ON/OFF - FAIL problem. I updated both units. I'm able to toggle the Bluetooth Intercom many, many times without failure.
The other problem I'm having, turning off my bike, which is paired as Phone 1, still disconnects mesh communication. To restore mesh communication I have to turn Bluetooth comm on/off or phone 2 has to say something. Turning off Phone 2 or, on the other unit, turning off Freewire does not interrupt communication.
I got a polite reply to my ticket requiring audio multitasking in Bluetooth mode. I urge everyone to put in a support ticket to get this feature on their radar.
In the meantime, I bought a close-out 20S so we have the option of going back to 20S communication.
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So, anyone here anything about this. We tried the mesh today with 4 people.. works ok (not great lots of breaking up) I was able to hear my music and friends in mesh mode. Battery sucked for some though!
Our bigger problem is now, Volume! the Settings DO NOT WORK!
the top line is Mesh/BT Intercom. Well that does change the volume of everything, including the music. So why is there Phone and Music option. I cant lower or raise either one!
I am so mad at this system right now, we are stil in our 30 days, I think we might go to the Pac talk. I hear they got their act together! I kinda liked my 20S, but I find that it worked better then 30K but without it having mesh caused us a lot of grief.
Come on guys !!! at least some kind of update PLEASE?!
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Yikes..I bought 30K and still own 20s ( thank goodness) I expected all the 20s features and then some...very disappointed so far..I cannot connect to 20s and listen to music at same time...its either one or the other...not happy.
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Sena Marketing
I would like to know from Sena - when and if Audio Multitasking will with Bluetooth Intercom mode similar to the way it did with the Sena 20S. We all know it works with Mesh Networking. This is really crazy that people are hoping it'll be fixed in a firmware update. Will it or will it not be a deliverable with the current 30K - Yes or No ? And if so, an approximate timeframe. As I stated before, buying the 30K cost me $50 to return the unit to Revzilla - and I had to fight for that - and only because I run a group on Kawasaki Concours with 3300 members. It's really not fair. Enough of this hoping stuff. Please be specific.
And lastly, can you tell me why the 30K is limited to connecting to only 3 other legacy Sena intercom via Bluetooth. Product Marketing really screwed the pooch with this one. I have to think that this has to be the biggest boondoggle that Sena has brought to market - and you really are creating a reputation of delivering crappy V1 products that are vaporware.0 -
Well this 30K issue has cost them literally 100 units. Our riding club has moved over to the Cardo PackTalk, we just ordered 100 of them from our local dealer. This has cost Sena not only mindshare, but a direct loss of revenue as a result. What a flat out lack of foresight in releasing this product with Audio Multitasking in Mesh mode only.
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I also ran into this issue after buying the 30K. I was stupid enough not to do my research and assume that the 30K would be a 20S PLUS mesh communication. I mean it's not a unfair assumption to make that Sena would be capable enough to understand that it would be wise to leave in the features of their previous top model and just add functionality on top of that. Instead they took 1 step forward, then 3 backwards and called it a day.
I contacted support as well and they were "helpfully" able to tell me that there is currently no information available on whether they're even working on a fix or not. This is a product BREAKING issue and makes it totally useless. 300 dollars Sena!!! And what makes it worse is that they are AWARE of the problem but flat out refuse to communicate openly to their paying customers. When you've got an issue this bad, communication is key. I don't understand why they can't just confirm that a fix is DEFINITELY coming or not. And if not, a simple, "Hey we can't fix this, too bad, so sad, get your money back" would already suffice. It would at least lets me know if it's worth waiting or if I should start looking at the competition already.
I feel like an even bigger idiot after recommending the 20S/10s to all my friends before the 30K came out... Oh how I wish I had gone for the 20S evo or even better, recommended Cardo to everyone.
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Their support desk and web site are beyond unsatisfactory. All they could offer was an RMA, after sending my snippets of their manuals , but now have to wait AGAIN to find out if they are talking about one unit or both, as my MAJOR issue with both units is that they power down by themselves when i go into mesh mode, besides all the other connectivity issues.
i have owned the 10s, 20s, and decided to try out the 30ks . One of the worst decisions i have made, thanks to the so called support systems they have in place. Cant upload plain text files or photographs to their web site, so much background noise when you call them on their end, the tech rep complaining to me he couldn't understand me. Very frustrating
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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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On a note of firmware. They sell or are going to sell that WiFi unit that will let you update firmware, but it's been months since the 1.03 firmware so as you said, I don't see a fix going to happen, or ANY other fixes happening.
Mesh work great when its not garbaled, if everyone is on Mesh. gawd they are annoyingly ignorant in their products.
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I sold my Sena 30K at a loss and demanded Revzilla take this piece of crap back. This product was a clusterf**k trying to merge two technology, and doing a horrible job at it too boot. Just read the comments says what a mess this was. Some people at Sena should be fired for this mess.
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Hello everyone. Please keep an eye out on our Press Notices page here https://www.sena.com/experience/press-notices/ for the next update for the 30K which will a new setting on the 30K Utility App and Sena Device Manager for allowing you to talk over Bluetooth Intercom mode and listen to music at the same time plus some other improvements.
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It’s about time Sena. This blunder is easily Senas biggest to date. Why was this so hush hush, and when is this scheduled considered Sena has been notoriously late on every announcement !!
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They said this months and months ago. Do I have hope they will do it, yes, do I have hope that they will do it in a timely fasion. NO!
Summer is pretty much over and this product has been on the market for more then a year now, and it's been nothing but glitchs and fleeting promises.
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So I opened a ticket with Sena and let's just say I was not the friendliest but hey come on we are all upset here paying 300$ bux for 10 bux in plastic and chips that don't even do what several much cheaper options are capable. Anyway a bit of news they told me I haven't seen posted elsewhere.
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Actually, there is a new firmware that will activate the audio multitasking
during Bluetooth intercom and we have notified by our specialist it would be by the end of November.At your service,
Kirk
SENA Technical Support0 -
This last post, where there was a response from Sena Technical Support, suggesting there is a new firmware update that fixes audio multiplexing - and then suggests it’ll be available in November. In short, there is no firmware update. It’s encouraging that work is being done, but Sena has is notorious record for announcing ghostware.
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Actually, the next firmware update for the 30K will be available earlier than November. It will be available to download from the Sena Device Manager in the middle of October. Please stay tuned for more details.
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For all concerned, the firmware fix, does not work. I am requesting a full refund for my DUO kit based upon false advertisement as the unit is incapable of doing what I believed it to be able to upon purchase.
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It actually does work just fine. If you are truly having issues you may want to restore the firmware on the devices and or upgrade to the newest firmware. False advertisement claims run rampant today and only serve to to diminish true instances of companies doing as such. I am not affiliated with Sena in anyway and would be happy to help you get to enjoying your new devices but randomly trying to pick up an old thread that has been unequivocally resolved is not going to be your best way to contact Sena nor will it help you get things fixed.
Once you have restored / upgraded your devices two things to remember. The music app of your choice must already be running in the background for the sena to control it and to begin listening start/stop play hold the jog wheel down until you hear the second set of beeps and it should begin playing, continue to hold to switch to music sharing mode, please note that music sharing mode will saturate the connection and you will not be able to talk while you both share music.0 -
I purchased my units back in 2017.
Firstly, they are not weatherproof, any sign of moisture in the air, not even rain, and they malfunction.
Next, the claimed range of upto 2.0km in open terrain. Its 100 meters max.
I have tested this specifically in my friends field in the middle of yorkshire with the bare minimum of external influence (bikes off, clear line of sign, nothing for over a quarter of a mile in any direction.Finally the multitasking, it works, in mesh only. I can not get it to function during bluetooth intercom. I have update the firmware, reloaded it etc. Changed the settings both using the app and PC software to enable multitasking, rebooted the unit as instructed.
I have even, as described above started my audio with my phone, it just plays out the phone speaker!The only support I have received from sena on this is copy and paste extracts from the manual and trouble shooting guide which I have already run through multiple times on my own. I have spent HOURS on this to no avail.
I highly recommend anyone reading this not to buy one.0 -
@Chris Burn,
Multitasking works for me without any issue after the firmware update. I'm able to use intercom with another Sena unit and have my phones play music or do Google navigation via Bluetooth. Just so that I understand you correctly, you can't get Sena to Sena intercom to work and play Bluetooth at the same time?
I'm using this in conjunction with a Google Pixel 3 XL phone.
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Thanks for the extra information. I totally agree with you on multiple points here. No they do not go 2km unless you are talking 50 riders in mesh in a perfect chain link setup or something just not going to happen. That's more of a deficiency of the technology, being in the IT security software development field I've found BT in general can't carry that kind of range due to the low amplitude of the signal and even lower energy cost which gives us battery life. As for malfunction in the rain i'm amiss here i've had mine on in fuck pouring rain for multiple hours with out any issues for either my 30k or my brothers 20s so I really feel like they did you a disservice and should replace them based upon that fact alone at the least.
As for updating and only getting mesh multi plex to work that is what I thought the case was when I first upgraded but I was able to resolve this by first reseting the device deleting all pairings then booted the device and first i linked my phone then linked to my brothers 20S then turned my music on never turned on mesh till I had done that now I can switch back and forth and even was able to test the holy grail which is I brought my brothers 20s into a mesh call and was able to relay his voice to other people in the mesh call.
At this point tbh your experience is definetely the outlier and although fully your right to not encourage others to purchase the fact remains there are only 2 options for social riders pactalk and sena and depending on where you live and who you ride with is going to determine what BT headset you use. I would say the most important thing you can do is make your purchase from a place you may return it such as amazon and ride it hard that first month and send it back if you don't like it. Complaining about a purchase made 2 years ago is probably not going to do you any good.
Also last tid bit Sena never claims their device to be water or weather proof only resistant and in my observation it does just that.
I will say i'm right with you as far as Sena support in fact the only support I ever got was actually in one of these threads regarding the multiplex issue when it was a hardcoded fact it could not be done. I wish you luck with your next BT endeavor and hope that you find the ones that are right for you.0 -
@Chris Burn
"Firstly, they are not weatherproof, any sign of moisture in the air, not even rain, and they malfunction."
Our products are water resistant for use in inclement weather such as riding in the rain. If water gets inside of the headset then it will automatically shut down in order to protect itself from damage. If it not able to powered on after it has dried out then we recommend submitting a ticket here https://www.sena.com/support/submit-ticket for replacement.
"Next, the claimed range of upto 2.0km in open terrain. Its 100 meters max.
I have tested this specifically in my friends field in the middle of yorkshire with the bare minimum of external influence (bikes off, clear line of sign, nothing for over a quarter of a mile in any direction."The Bluetooth Intercom Mode has two ways to communicate. Please see this FAQ for more details: https://community.sena.com/hc/en-us/articles/360030641832
"Finally the multitasking, it works, in mesh only. I can not get it to function during bluetooth intercom. I have update the firmware, reloaded it etc. Changed the settings both using the app and PC software to enable multitasking, rebooted the unit as instructed."
Both headsets that are connected over the intercom need to have the latest firmware version that supports the Bluetooth Intercom Audio Multitasking feature.
"I have even, as described above started my audio with my phone, it just plays out the phone speaker!"We recommend deleting the 30K from your phone and re-pair it back by placing the 30K into Mobile Phone Pairing Mode and selecting the 30K when it appears in the list of available devices in the Bluetooth menu. If you pair them back together and you are still having the audio come our of your phone and not your headset then you need to change a setting that directs all audio to your headset when it is paired rather than the speakers.
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With regard to the weather resistant statement first. What you are saying is that they dont work in the rain, rather just shut themselves down instead.
Useless! Mine does exactly that and normally works after about 24 hours to dry out. This isnt acceptable at this price point!
The range issue, I understand that they never meet the claimed range, but what I am experiencing is nothing short of awful, again, at this price point i expect a minimum of half the claimed range! not 1/20th!
Again, another statement of 'if, when, must do' the multi tasking cant multi task! its far to specific on a set of requirements, it doesn't work at all for me outside of mesh mode. I have now managed to get it to share music this evening, but then it wont work as an intercom! clearly this is NOT multitasking.I bought the units, based upon the description on your website at the time, stating all the available features, these are also listed, in full, on the box.
There is NO statement anywhere which explains that there are limitations and exceptions to these features in ANY of my paperwork. I therefore bought the units expecting all these features to be available all of the time, they are not, and most importantly, they are not available for use in the scenarios that I wish to use them.0
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