Split: Sena Use

[Fred W]

My Starcom1 Advance is still working flawlessly. I can hear my wife, when she is on-board, the GPS for directions and music, my Radar Detector (important) and I have used it with some Motorola GMRS radios in the past to talk with my son bike to bike using a PTT button on the handlebar. The only bad thing about that system is the cable running from my tank bag to my helmet.

I've been using it for so long the cable is not that much of a hassle, but I do have a Sena SMH10 headset mounted in both of my dual sport helmets because... branches. I tried mounting the two SMH10 headsets in our FJR riding modulars, but those older units have one particularly annoying feature that has since been fixed ion the 20's: When you are in intercom mode with anyone, you can't hear the GPs, the music, or most importantly, you can't hear the radar detector.

So the Sena SMH10 is relegated to solo use, along with an SH10 bluetooth hub, which allows me to hear the GPS, music (in stereo) and the radar detector at the same time (and without the bluetooth profile switching delays). I just don't bother with bike to bike. It isn't that important. YMMV

FWIW I've never had a problem updating firmware. But I'm still running WinDoze 7 Pro.

 

[SunRider]

Interesting that so many have had issues. I'm currently using a 20S and have a 5FM on my wife's helmet. Both have worked and upgraded flawlessly.

Hmmm, never been able to get my 5fm paired to my friends 20S.Was an upgraded 5fm software required to accomplish this pairing?

 

[jblanken64]

Interesting that so many have had issues. I'm currently using a 20S and have a 5FM on my wife's helmet. Both have worked and upgraded flawlessly.

Hmmm, never been able to get my 5fm paired to my friends 20S.Was an upgraded 5fm software required to accomplish this pairing?

I can't say for sure. I always keep SW up to date, so it may have been a factor

 

[FrankD]

Wait till the first Sena equipped YFO group tries pairing up for their Friday morning ride. We'll be sitting around in front of the motel with our helmets on saying "can you hear me now" over and over while lights are flashing, beeps are beeping and the frustration level rising. We'll be lucky if someone's helmet and Sena don't get bounced off the pavement in a fit of pique. That said, when they work, they work great and the experience of the group all able to talk and share is magnificent.

Hahaha... I watched this ritual @ YFO 2016. I decided to roll on before they finished (or gave up).

I have a pair of SMH-10's that we use for two-up and bike to bike. I was being advised to upgrade to the SMH-20's, but after watching the pairing fiasco, I decide to pass. It's a PITA to get any SENA's set up right the first time (I resorted to YouTube videos to get everything working - the manual sucks), but they are pretty awesome once they're working. Phone, text to voice, voice to text, phone GPS, music, podcasts... it all works . I've added an SM-10 to get my older ZUMO to interrupt with turn-by-turn directions and I'm super happy with the set-up.

Stick with it - you'll love it once it's sorted out.

 

[Powerman]

Wait till the first Sena equipped YFO group tries pairing up for their Friday morning ride. We'll be sitting around in front of the motel with our helmets on saying "can you hear me now" over and over while lights are flashing, beeps are beeping and the frustration level rising. We'll be lucky if someone's helmet and Sena don't get bounced off the pavement in a fit of pique. That said, when they work, they work great and the experience of the group all able to talk and share is magnificent.

This is exactly why I have resisted this tech, I'm sitting on my bike baking in the sun. Just bought one.

Kind of like GPS follies. One EOM it rained and they had a GPS class.

Next day at a T intersection with three GPS's.

Mine says turn left, mine says turn right, mine says go straight into the cow pasture.

Should have just flipped a quarter like the old days.

 

[Laser Dude]

I think a big part of the problem with group rides is that Sena says you can't do it, while everyone else thinks you can. They think if 6 people show up with Sena's, then everyone just holds down the pairing feature and within 2 minutes, everyone's talking and heading out.

However, Sena specifically shows the number of people you can synch with. For the 10R, which is the cheaper one, it says 3 people. That means you and 2 others. The 20S, might do 8 (I'm recalling from memory, so I could be wrong). So if the group has guys with 20S's, 10R's, 10U's, etc, then the guy with the 20S is going to have no issues. The guy with the 10R is going to connect to 2 other people and then not be able to pair with others. The guy with the 10U will pair with 3 other people.

That's where the headache comes in, not understanding the equipment you have an it's limitations. That's not Sena's fault. It says in the manual how many people you can pair with.

I've said it before, and I'm still waiting for someone to correct me, but Sena tells me that I cannot daisy chain more people than allowed on my unit.

The example people use is if you have 6 riders and everyone can only connect to 2 other people, then A->B, A->C, then C->D, D->E, E->F, which then no one unit is synched to more than 2 people, but everyone can talk. That's the theory that people say you can do. I have emailed Sena's tech support, I have called their tech support, and I have spoken to their reps at a Motorcycle trade show. All of them tell me that you can't do that. Can you? I have no idea because I don't know enough people with them to try it all.

In my experience, which is limited, the 10R (the flat one that sticks on the side of the helmet) isn't going to do more than the user and 2 other people, making a group of 3. If someone knows how to make more work, I'd love them to post it.

 

[Niehart]

Laser Dude, I have very limited knowledge, only the 20S and 10u. Forgot everything I knew about my first set.

20S can be setup for 4 or 8. We have done it both ways. No problems, maybe a little more noise with 8.

10u is just 4 counting the unit itself.

Just learned from some Aussie dude today about shaking the 20S's three time pairs them up almost instantly.

 

[puppychow]

I have the 10u and it paired up with Bugs unit Okay. Also Feejers but that took couple of tries.

I use it mostly to listen to music all day long and pipe the radar and GPS into it also.

Have not tried group intercom.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Niehart posted: Laser Dude, I have very limited knowledge, only the 20S and 10u. Forgot everything I knew about my first set.
20S can be setup for 4 or 8. We have done it both ways. No problems, maybe a little more noise with 8.

10u is just 4 counting the unit itself.

Just learned from some Aussie dude today about shaking the 20S's three time pairs them up almost instantly.

Yeah, the "shake to pair" feature is pretty cool, but it only works with 20s models. It works very well, though.

Most times I think the 4-user limit is plenty. I don't want to be in an 8-way conversation, even when motoring down the Interstate all day.

 

[Iris]

When I get this upset ..... (as I just did, yesterday while the electronics were not working properly on my bike),

I have to tell myself it's a luxury problem.

I came from a place where I once had some real problems. Talking life threatening problems.

So when I get pissed off, I have to remind myself....it's just a luxury problem.

Seems to calm me down for a little while anyway.

When the Sena works, it's the coolest thing ever. When it doesn't work, it's sooooo frustrating.

 

[HotRodZilla]

So, I'm running a first gen Sena SMH10. The one before the USB port. I can connect to 3 other units. In Montrose, I was connected to Bob, and he and Craig had the group chat feature turned on. I could only press to tall to Bob, but he could bring Craig into the group conversation so the three of us could talk. FWIW, I was NOT paired with Craig.

That was new! Also, my wife has the USB SMH10, and I have never updated it. Lol.

 

[dmoore68]

Very interesting on the converstations here. I have heard many stories from my riding buddies both ways. Yes the instructions are terrible but youtube is amazing at helping with sync and pairing. We bought our units last June before riding down to Orlando, at first I was getting a little frustrated because I didn't read the instructions( after a while got a headache), my son pulled up youtube and within 15 minutes I was paired, synced to my wife's helmet and was music sharing/waze gps connected and intercom connected with my wife. We have SMH-10's and have upgraded them both and from that inital pairing they have work great. No more shouting at stop signs and nice to have pandora playing thru the helmets as you hum down the highway. I have been on solo rides and have connected to two other buddies and the intercom works fine for us....I do have to unpair after the ride to get my wife's helmet back on line because if you don't, the next time we rode 2up with my buddies, she couldn't talk/music share because of the limited connecitons. It "remembers" who you are/were connected to and automatically pairs and connects when you are close....didn't know that!

Note: I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 phone that upgraded from 6.0 to 7.0 Nuget and beware...If you upgrade to the new software your bluetooth/pairing will not work. It will connect and drop the connection. I called Sena....nothing....started researching bluetooth issues with the New S7 software upgrade and Sprint is aware of the problems arrrgggg. They have not fixed it yet.....software is so bad that there is documentation on it not connecting with car bluetooth, headphones etc. SO IF YOU HAVE A S7 6.0 SOFTWARE AND ITS YOUR ONLY DEVICE TO CONNECT TO SMH-10 DON'T UPGRADE YOU PHONE SOFTWARE. YOU WILL LOSE YOUR BLUETOOTH CONNECTIVITY. I found one of my old work phones S5 I believe, got a strait talk card activated it and tried the connections after the unit upgrade....works great. So now I have to take two phones with me, or use my wife's S7 at 6.0 softeware to connect to the SMH-10's when we are 2up riding.

 

[FJRay]

Read through this thread and my Sena units are a POS IMHO. Music sharing works if and when it feels like it, Intercom if and when it is in the mood and I'm not brave enough to try using the phone. After this last trip I updated the firm ware and did a factory reset. Now the intercom seems to work sitting here at my desk but music sharing doesn't work no matter what I try. Spent three hours on the phone with tech support but they were no help. they keep telling me that the problem is my 660 gps but the sena 10 units worked great and these 20's worked sort of until the update and reset. rumor has it that they are going to email me a fix but I have my doubts. It's tempting to tape them to my bullet stop and see if a .45acp reset works any better. rant over but if anybody has ideas let me know.

 

[rogdeb]

UPDATE .... on our problem anyway.

SENA customer support came through for us and did OK by us. We were shipped a new unit that arrived just a day too late, with many apologies for not getting one to us in time for our trip.

BUT -- we took the old non-working one with us ---- which magically came to life and performed as it should for the whole trip ???

Contacted SENA tech support with our story and were told to keep BOTH units (new one and previous non-working) until we were satisfied with which unit we decided to keep.

Been turning the original one on and off and using it on a daily basis for 3 weeks with no further problem. New unit returned with OK to re-visit if problem re-occurs.

I just won't do any more firmware updates. If it ain't broke ......

 

[rogdeb]

Read through this thread and my Sena units are a POS IMHO. Music sharing works if and when it feels like it, Intercom if and when it is in the mood and I'm not brave enough to try using the phone. After this last trip I updated the firm ware and did a factory reset. Now the intercom seems to work sitting here at my desk but music sharing doesn't work no matter what I try. Spent three hours on the phone with tech support but they were no help. they keep telling me that the problem is my 660 gps but the sena 10 units worked great and these 20's worked sort of until the update and reset. rumor has it that they are going to email me a fix but I have my doubts. It's tempting to tape them to my bullet stop and see if a .45acp reset works any better. rant over but if anybody has ideas let me know.

Ray,

I was PM'd a fix that worked for one guy on the SENA community.

" on doing the firmware update -- when it says to proceed after the initial download -- scotch tape the "jog" button and the "on" button down and keep them down -- it will eventually be OK" ?? -------- worked for him apparently.

I think he said he walked away from his computer and returned an hour later to find it "fixed"

Real easy fix IF it works.

That's all I got :-((

 

[HejDuke]

Don't mean to stir up a hornet's nest here but I'm looking at jumping into the madness with SENA system. I've read this whole thread and I mean no offense but I've enjoyed the humor, both intended and unintended. On to my question/observation... It seems the models discussed mostly are the SMH10 and some 20S. What about the experiences with the more recent "10S", emphasis on the "S"? This model is supposedly the big brother replacement for the older SMH10?

Looking into the SENA release cycle: SMH10 came out in 2010; 20S in 2013; 10S in 2016. One initial observable difference in the spec is that SMH utilizes Bluetooth 3.0 whereas the 10"S" implements 4.1

Any comments or recommendations (or complaints), I'd love to them.

 

[rogdeb]

Doesn't take much to stir up a hornets nest around here

, ask Old Mike

But, you may have a valid observation there Re;- the Bluetooth generations -- I just don't know enough about the technical specs of it all.

Wish I'd only invested in the SENA's long ago instead of the previous "wired" system we had.

 

[eflyguy]

I was happy enough with my SMH10 that I bought the 10R for the more compact mount - which was a factor in storing my helmet in the top-case. I rode with a girl and put the 10 on her helmet, she promptly managed to unclip it from the mount at freeway speeds. A trailing buddy saw it fall off, but when I made it back to the scene of the crime, all I could find were pieces of plastic and circuit board.

So the 10R has been it for a number of years, and I've been happy. I rarely connect to other riders - keep in mind, most of my riding is on technical roads, so I'm happy to stay in my own little world. I do have three SMH5's, which I used for dirt riding with my daughter and ex.

Since acquiring a new (and more permanent) pillion, I attached one of the 5's to her helmet, and we enjoy the conversation when desired or necessary. For the most part, she enjoys listening to her music.

My point? They've all worked reliably and I've had no problems pairing with my family or a pillion - nor with other riders over bluetooth occasionally, even with different brands of headset. I've used them for conference calls while riding, others didn't even know I wasn't at a desk. I use them to talk to my family overseas, and they say that it's actually a better sounding connection than when I use speaker mode at home. My dad has hearing trouble, and can hear me best when I call from the bike.

So I get not every product is perfect, but I've personally had no issues, and have been waiting for "a deal" on a newer model, "just because"...

 

[Laser Dude]

When I had connection issues with my remote on my 10U, they sent me a brand new complete unit, new, in the box. That one seemed to work great. Never had anything drop with it. I just upgraded to the 20S and still trying to make it all work. It seems the best method is using their app. If you are doing that, and your other riders are using it, it can remember those people and make connecting to them via the app very easy. No more "Hold the button for 5 seconds, now push the other button for 1 second" type conversations at gas stations with your buddies.

Of course it's not without it's own problems. That "tap twice" to enter the voice command works about 1 out of 10-15 times. I've watched videos on it, watched people say you need to tap the helmet, not the unit, and none of that works. In high or low sensitivity. If it worked, it would be awesome. However, at this point, it just pisses me off

 

[bigjohnsd]

Festar and I used our Sena 20s over the past week. They worked flawlessly, we shook them to pair them a week ago last Tuesday and they stayed paired the entire week we were riding. My Samsung S-7 stays paired to my Sena just fine, I can listen to Music or podcasts and do phone calls. I didn't listen to Music or podcasts while paired to Festar last week. From my point of view, the system works great for two participants, after that things go South in a hurry and frustration levels rise. Riding with another rider and being able to converse is simply fantastic, when you can successfully get four or five riders linked it is great fun but seldom worth the frustration in my experience.