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Recent experience with 20S

Ken

April 20, 2015 17:08

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Just returned from a 1,500 mile trip with a fellow 20S user.  We've both had our 20Ss for 10 months and have ridden with them a lot. 

Had to turn  my Zumo riding instruction audio totally off.  The Sena was simply unusable with it on.  Every beep, rain warning, red  light camera warning, button push, etc on the Zumo disables the 20S intercom otherwise.  But even with the Zumo driving instructions OFF, it still interrupted Intercom often with beeps and warnings.  Push a button on the Zumo and you lose Intercom.    OH, and my riding partner had to do the same with his Zumo.  Either of our Zumos would interrupt Intercom every time either of us pushed a button.   Extremely annoying operation.  

Sena should spend some time fixing this.  Riding instructions should not stop intercom!  (even when the Zumo is paired as first phone).  If they think that a phone call should take priority over Intercom, then they should have a manual feature to turn the intercom OFF when desired.  The automatic Intercom disabling is annoying and can be hazardous. 

"Say a Command" from the Sena lady became very bothersome yesterday riding in 20 to 30 mph winds.  I tried to turn off Voice Prompts while riding but was apparently unsuccessful.  So I shrugged my shoulders for 4 hours, my riding jacket stabilizing my helmet enough that the Sena lady kept quiet.  

 

I'm very disappointed that specific complaints about the 20S are not addressed by firmware updates.   Sena could have the absolutely best Bluetooth helmet units HANDS DOWN if they'd just fix the few major annoyances that we're all complaining about.  

My primary complaints are:

1.  Zumo interruption of intercom when the Zumo is paired as A2DP 

2.  Units powering themselves OFF for no apparent reason.  It just gets quiet until we discover that the unit is OFF.

3.  Intercom connections lost after Zumo speaks.  Have to reach up and push the jog button to reconnect to paired Senas. I should add that this doesn't happen as much as it did with previous firmware; but it still happens.  The only way we know is by wondering why everyone is so quiet and trying to use the intercom.  That's when we discover that the Sena has either turned itself OFF or has disconnected itself from its intercom friends.  

Please, Sena, let us know which other minor bugs and annoyances you are addressing with your firmware updates.  

 

 

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4 comments

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  Paul April 21, 2015 16:55

  Also found the units powering themselves off riding with one other user yesterday. Also intercom was constantly dropping out and had to manually reconnect it. Very disappointing.

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  Keith May 13, 2015 19:18

  Hi Ken,

  Was it your jacket pushing the ambient mode button that caused the unwanted "Say a Command" prompts? The reason I ask is, assuming you were running firmware version 1.3 by mid April, the "Hello Sena" command stops responding after 60 seconds in stand-by mode with that version. So, it should only be the ambient button or double tap on the unit to get the "Say a Command" prompt. If you were running version 1.2 when the mic was still always on, well....we may get this unwanted prompt again when Sena fixes the 60 second mic cut off.

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  Squadcarman June 02, 2015 14:10

  I also have a 20 s Dual. I love the audio quality, way better than my Cardo Scala G4. But mine also disconnect. I need to power them off and back on to reconnect the intercom. Sometimes the units just power off. You try to talk and have nothing but silence. and then my wife will have to power hers down so we can re pair. Frustrating. I may have to revert back to my Cardo system.

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  Keith June 02, 2015 16:48

  Hi Squadcarman. What serial numbers are your 20S' and what firmware version are you running? The early units apparently had problems. Including the fragile clamp units.

  If you are not running at least firmware version 1.3, I would suggest updating to at least that version if not 1.4, which is the latest. I did a 4 day ride that averaged 8 hours a day and didn't experience any power off or loss of pairing running version 1.3. I did have an intercom call drop a couple of times. But, a simple push on the jog dial reconnected the call again. A few caveats to that:

  1.My 20S was paired with an SMH5 unit (Not another 20S)

  2. We purposely dropped intercom calls and stayed in stand-by mode when not talking to conserve the battery

  3. The only other device my 20S was paired to was my non-smart phone.

  One of the listed fixes put into version 1.3 was "Improved the intercom connection reliability": http://www.sena.com/software/20s-firmware-v1-4/

  If you have the problems with version 1.3 or 1.4, I would contact Sena (AFTER you try the obligatory factory reset and fault reset) and arrange to RMA the units while they are still under warranty. They'll likely replace your units with current serial number units, which will include the updated clamp unit with the aluminum latch.