SENA 30K MUSIC PROBLEM !!! SENA PLEASE SOLVE THIS !!!

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Guys, please do not hate me for what I'm about to say but I am pretty sure I found the solution to all my questions since 2016 when I bought my first Sena unit. The solution is called Cardo Packtalk. In 2016 and 2017 I've used the Sena 20s (together with some of my friends - 8 in total) and in 2018 I've also purchased the 30k. Every single time we went for a ride we had to deal with all the problems that somehow manage to fit inside that small plastic device. All out trips were full of frustration and all the time we were discussing on how to do this or that in order to get rid of the popcorn noise, to prevent them from disconnecting, inform everyone what is the battery level, ride in the same order and keeping track of who is connected to whom and many more. After almost 3 years I said "what the hell" and I gave Cardo a chance, risked about 450 euros and bought a double pack. By coincidence some of my friends also joined and we finally bought 3 double packs. Installed them and hit the road for a test. Usually we meet up at a gas station where we fill them up, check the tyre pressure, coffee, etc. We were 5. I created a new DMC group and I swear to you that in 5 minutes we completely forgot that we were speaking to each other using this new gadget. ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS! 1. The connection is super fast and simple and once you created the group ALL the units remember each other unless you remove yourself from that group or reset the settings. 2. The Noise reduction/cancelling software is a million times better that Sena’s. Apart from the fact that you’ll hear the wind noise for about a second, meanwhile it will calculate the amount of hiss, and then Pooof!, it will disappear, I have to say that the microphones will remain OFF unless you start to speak. So when someone speaks you will hear that guy LOUD AND CLEAR (maybe sometimes with a little wind noise or exhaust noise if it’s not stock) and as soon as he finishes … SILENCE! Music comes up and you simply enjoy the ride) 3. You forget about the pairing immediately. In fact the connection on DMC is so fast that you’ll start hearing the other riders before “Hello, Cardo is on, Mobile phone connected etc” voice will finish with the info. It doesn’t matter who leaves the group and when. Nobody is affected in ANY WAY. Even if the Creator of that group leaves, the group stays connected. DMC really does the job. Nobody got disconnected not even once. 4. We travelled for about 10-11 hours with 3 hour stops in total. Battery was more than enough and they were still ON when we arrived home. 5. We had the chance to test them in the rain. No problem at all. No stress that we have to cover them with condoms or plastics. 6. We paired them with the 20s and immediately problems appeared. 20s looses the phone call option as the way to connect it to Cardo is like phone pairing. (Cardo as Master and 20s as Slave). If you do it vice versa, Cardo will work without problems both on intercom and Phone Mode. I could go on until tomorrow with the numbers !!! :) I’m not telling you this because I’ve paid for the Cardo but because it's been a long time since we got on the bikes and really enjoyed the ride by using these intercoms which I admit are a must nowadays. I have to admit that there is a lot more to explore and maybe in time we will also discover some issues. But for know I am really pleased with my decision as Cardo really does an amazing job compared to Sena. It costs the same as the 30k but PackTalk is really a premium product. Sena IS NOT! We already sold all 30k units (4 in total) and also started to sell the 20s ones. No regrets on that.

[@gumboot13]

This has been fixed in the current update. Not that I can actually update mine but my friends who have them have and it now works a treat.

[@michealgarcia3220]

U mean 2.0 update??

[@sirqui2751]

Works as designed. The 30k is a sena 10s with mesh. You only have 1 bluetooth channel on the 30k. So pairing to your phone and another sena with bluetooth is not possible at the same time. You can either use mesh for com and bt for phone on the 30k or use a 20s which has 2 bt units inside. So the 20s can use bt to connect your phone as well as its seconds unit for the com at the same time.

[@stevewest131]

If you want just one person to listen to the music you need the bt intercom to be on but inactive when you start the music (ie radio silence). If you want to music share you need the bt intercom to be on and active when you start the music (ie speaking). You then need to open mesh for intercom use. Fwiw I trialed the sena and the cardo bold and the cardo is very difficult to operate the bt side of things. They are both good headsets and neither of them are perfect but you do have to spend time learning how to use them. Both sena and cardo know that in time all bike intercom users will eventually go over to mesh type systems as they are much better and easier to use....like going from vhs to dvd I suppose, nothing stops tech advancing.

[@royalmotors]

Great video... I just picked up a 30K this week. It's my first intercom in 35 years of riding. The intercom sound quality with my girl on the back is perfect up to about 50 mph but we can't listen to music and then talk - unless we're in mesh mode. Now when listening to music and we get about 50 mph the wind noise is mistaken for my voice and the sound lowers! Very frustrating... Makes it a $550 intercom that only works below 50mph.

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Hey Patrick, unfortunately after 3 years of using the 20s I've discovered that the 30k is not even close to what me and my friends thought it would be. All in all we have decided to stop hoping SENA would solve any of the problems or invent "hot water" and go for Cardo's palktalk. Meanwhile we are going to use the 20s units we have initially bought as we consider them better than the 30k (excluding the MESH ... or not). Both 30k Dual Packs we bought are now for sale. I am very disappointed with SENA products, I do not want to convince anyone to get rid of it but I think it's fair-play to speak my mind and share my opinion on this. Even if I'm on the other side of the Earth I think Sena should read my message: "~500 dollars is a lot of money and bikers all over the world make a lot of effort to get this amount". Anyway, if you want to read more stuff I wrote on this matter, "enjoy" : advrider.com/index.php?threads/sena-30k-vs-cardo-packtalk-come-on-cardo-and-sena-let-us-know.1237279/page-5#post-35205298

[@royalmotors]

Cristian Nicolau thank you for your reply!

[@andysangels1970]

Patrick Connolly you can lower the sensitivity.. download the 30K app and you can change the settings without having to go on your computer

[@MeatRocket72]

I had an old pair of Sena SMH-10s that I got rid of when the 30K came out. I really wish I hadn't. 3 years later & I STILL can't get the pair of 30Ks to share music correctly. They've recently announced the 50 series. No way in hell!

[@jaimeeburgoss5521]

I have the same problem. And another, I usually use my sena 30K connected with my iphone using waze, but when an intercom begin the iphone is disconnected.

[@cristiannicolau8584]

What I've recently realized is that the 20s has 2 different commands for Music ON/OFF (jog dial hold 1 sec = 2 x beep) and Music Sharing ON/OFF (Jog dial 3 sec = 3 x beep) while the 30K has the same command for both (jog dial 1 sec = 2 x beep). I guess that's the reason why no mater if the 30k is pared with another 30k or 20s on Bluetooth the music will be shared automatically. So the only way to listen to music and communicate with another rider is on MESH? WTF?

[@HugDeeznueces]

it really irritates me that companies do not test their shit extensively before releasing it to the public. Sena, get your shit together.

[@sv443]

I've tried a while to share music while talking with a 30K and a cheaper model... 5 FM-smonething... didn't get them to work. extremely annoying

[@roxanne4304]

I want to purchase a bluetooth communication system for my boyfriend, and possibly in the future for myself. If all the people have the same systems, would you still recommend the 20s over the 30k? For which one is the audio/music quality better? And the microphone in terms of recording? I'm a little overwhelmed with the options so any input would be much appreciated!

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Hello Roxanne, I’m not a Sena expert but I surely am a disappointed user for both 20s and 30k. Before anything, you should ask yourself what you need this gadget for. If it will be you and a 2nd person the 20s is more than enough. Used in 2 (Pilot-Passenger or Pilot-Pilot) it works well: audio is pretty good (very good I would say), two Bluetooth channels that do their jobs as described by Sena, longer battery life, no glossy surface that you can scratch when looking for the buttons with your sweaty and dusty gloves (like all of us :), phone connection works very well, radio works only inside the cities and close proximity, voice command depends on English accent, in case of serious rain - always keep a condom in your pocket. It’s good to keep the Sena dry - I’m serious!!!. However, I cannot say the same for the 30k which has only one advantage to the 20s - the MESH - but this is useful only for large groups and drains the battery faster.. If you will use SENA in lager groups (3+) than the situation will drastically change and the more units will join the group the worse it will get: microphones will remain active (and music volume will permanently remain low - rarely will the music come back to a normal volume when not speaking), apart from the other voices you will also hear the other exhausts, unfiltered wind noise, interferences - a lot of them (the famous popcorn/crackling sound) etc. So, if you stay “in two” go for the 20s and forget about the 30k. If more than two I personally think none of them deserve the money Sena asks. As a conclusion, me and my friends decided to sell all 30k units and ordered the Cardo Packtalk instead. We will keep all our old 20s units for the moment but I have the feeling that Cardo will be our final decision. We are still waiting for them to be delivered. Before you pay for a Sena take my advice and also consider the PackTalk. I’ve recently discovered some head to head tests, 30k vs PackTalk (link below) I hope my message will help you take a decision. If you need more info feel free to ask. kzbin.info/door/7JILhg1uRbCgfD60kJtY2Q

[@TranHung0604]

I have the same problem with 2 30k before. I think your problem is connect bluetooth intercom. Lets try with my idea. First you both turn on the 30k. The first 30k, you tap 1 time the mesh intercom button,it is on top of the sena, then you tapthat button twiceuntil you hear searching for mesh.Do the same with the second 30k.Then open music and check. THE IMPORTANT HERE THAT BLUETOOTH INTERCOM AND MESH INTERCOM ARE DIFFERENT. The mesh intercom will more further than the bluetooth. Please try it

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Fortunately I have solved all my problems by getting rid of 20s and 30k units (my friends also) and bought Cardo's Packtalk. No complaining anymore. Everything works as described. Cardo also has some issues but FAAAAAAAAR less then Sena - all are minor and acceptable. Sena sucks big time considering its price. Thanks for the tip anyway and hopefully, who still owns the 30k and try your advice. Ride safe!

[@TranHung0604]

Its that cardo is easy to use? So sad that in our country its just have sena from third privetaly import. I have never use cardo before and not hear about it. Sometime i can not hear my friend voice when we are ride at 130km/h. Are you have it before?

[@cristiannicolau8584]

After using Sena 20s for 2,5 years and 30k for a couple of months I kind of tried/tested all possible scenarios. Every single time there were problems and issues that remained unsolved. Static/popcorn noise, in a group bigger than 2 people the intercoms remained active and music stayed in the background, a lot of times it got disconnected, not rainproof, range was a lot shorter than what Sena declared to be and so on. We can discuss about Sena’s problems until tomorrow. Cardo on the other hand is in fact the inventor of MESH connectivity and instead of building a lot of intercom models (like Sena does) it kept only a few and did their best to make them better. Their premium model, Cardo PackTalk, which in fact is the direct competitor for Sena 30k, is: - RAINPROOF - I have tested that myself a few times. - COMPLETELY QUIET if nobody is saying anything. Its noise reduction software is almost perfect. I say almost because sometimes, if the helmet is very noisy you can also hear the wind noise while a person speaks but it not so disturbing and as soon as he stops speaking his microphone goes immediately off and music comes back to the normal volume. - NO STATIC NOISE/Popcorn and crackling. NOTHING. This is extremely good because it gives you comfort while riding and this means you are A LOT MORE AWARE of what’s happening around you when in traffic. - SPEAKERS sound a little bit better. They are quite a bit thicker so bass response is somehow better. At least to my ears it is. - VOLUME is self-adjusting according to your speed. I know Sena said it can do it but in reality it can not. Cardo really does this. - SMALLER size than Sena and not so heavy. The disadvantages would be: - Speakers are a little thicker so I had to re-adjust the holes that I previously made for the Sena ones. My helmet (HJC IS-17) didn’t have any speaker holes when new. - the Locking in Place system used by Cardo is not as good as Sena’s but IT IS GOOD ENOUGH. Just be careful with the plastic click - not a metallic button as 20s or 30k. - Buttons are not so easy to find/press - BUT THIS IS ONLY during the first 2 days. After that you get used and it becomes very easy. - Doesn’t have the Ambient Mode (like Sena’s microphone for the outside when you speak with someone having your helmet on) but to me and my friends that is not a very important issue. - Doesn’t have a separate Audio Out plug (as Sena) but since the speakers connect via a 3,5mm stereo jack you can use an audio splitter like me. Personally I use the speakers only when I ride in the city (max. 80 km/h) but when outside the city/at higher speeds me and my buddies always use in-ear headsets. This helps isolate the wind noise and keep the intercom volume down resulting in a better sound quality. Regarding the sound quality, when riding from 130km/h and up I personally think it’s not a problem of speakers anymore. No matter what helmet you have (not even Schuberth C3) wind noise will be high and this will seriously affect your ears/hearing and of course the sound quality. To improve this you need to start using: helmet chin guard, helmet neck guard, hide under the wind shield or install a bigger one, install a wind deflector etc. Or maybe all of them. This will significantly reduce the wind turbulence noise. To be more clear, I think it is more important to reduce the wind noise level than bringing up the intercom volume. Finally, the ease of use: Like Sena, it is a device with a very complex menu and just 4 buttons (3 buttons and a wheel which also acts as a button). When using it for the first time, especially after experiencing Sena for sometime, it may seem difficult but believe me IT IS NOT. You will get used to it very quickly. In fact this device works so well that you will rarely touch it after you accelerate. Once you set it up correctly you won’t need to do many things … just give voice command or do simple clicks. To conclude … all my 9 buddies I ride with have given up Sena, after almost 3 years of frustrations, and bought the PackTalk Bold model. We are all 10 000% satisfied with our decision and have absolutely no regrets. Now we really enjoy using this device which I personally consider A MUST to every rider. It’s safer using it, it’s fun and it’s worth the price. Just to give you more info, please check out the videos linked below with Cardo/Sena comparison. I used them to convince my friends we have to get rid of the Sena units and buy Cardo. You can order on Internet. We bought them from Germany even if we live in Romania. It’s easy. kzbin.info/door/7JILhg1uRbCgfD60kJtY2Q Watch all of them and you’ll get the idea. Take your time and decide for yourself. Of course, there are Sena fans like there are for Cardo. If anyone has any other questions I would be glad to answer.

[@TranHung0604]

Cristian Nicolau its very detailed and wonderful review. Last question may i ask that: our team consists of 4 people and 2 vehicles. I want my connection private with my passenger but still connect with my friend second rider. He also want the private talk with his passenger. Is it possible? Thank you for your enthusiasm.

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Yes it is possible. In fact this would be a matter of setting up your group. You can either chat with everyone or privatly with your passenger and choose when to do that either from the unit itself or from your phone. Also, if you want multiple groups you can create a large one, to include everyone and other smaller ones and toggle between them. Personally I didn't use too much the Bluetooth Mode Conectivity as all of us have Cardo units so the easiest and more stable conection is DMC(MESH). But my advice would be, before deciding to spend any of your money, watch all videos about cardo that you can find, download the manual and look for the scenarios that suits your group. Again, note that even if their functions are simillar, SENA and Cardo are still 2 completely different gadgets when it comes to "how they work". They "see" each other as master/slave only in universal intercom mode. Everything depends on what exactly you need and if you are willing to make the change. As far as I am concerned, untill today, I have never heard/met somenone to be satisfied with Sena 20s, 20sEvo or 30k except for the ones who use it individually or in two. For that there's no need to invest 450$ but buy some cheap 40$ models and they would work .... more or less. More to that, everyone I know (in flesh or over internet) that got rid of Sena and bought Cardo, never reconsidered.

[@dpatt3997]

New update didn’t fix it for me.

[@Magicinstalls]

You paired the units wrong. When pairing you hit the slave unit button. You’re supposed to hit the 30 k master unit pair button first because it is the unit paired with the phone with the music

[@hafizrambo]

Is SENA ever gonna reply? I'm having the same issues.. Frustrating..

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Absolutely not. In fact, I think that waiting for Sena to react TO ANYONE'S MESSAGE is useless. For now, I think is more important that all of us started to share as much info as possible and hopefully warn new clients that most probably they're gonna pay for a lot of ... frustration.

[@jerryfudd]

Does the 20s evo have the same issue? is it 'better' than the 20s?

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Hi Daniel. I never had the chance to test the 20s evo but in theory my conclusion, after all the reviews I watched, was that the REAL difference is the antenna. The old flip-up one was replaced with a shark fin type. Sena states that with this they have improved range and audio quality. Well I wouldn’t rush into their conclusion. If by that they have increased the range with 30m (for example) it simply wouldn’t matter on the road. Or at least not to me. The same shark fin was also installed on the 30k and throughout my tests I never noticed any (real) improvements. Anyway, to answer your question: Since 20s Evo has the same 100% functions and button/click combinations as the 20s I guess music sharing and on/off etc will work just fine. BUT: short/long clicks functions, as far as I know, are being managed by the Software. That means that if Sena decides to release updates for 20s/20sEvo which will match the 30k ones (for Bluetooth connectivity section) this problem may also appear on the 20s (evo). But maybe I’m wrong. Sometimes I am. Only my wife knows everything! 🤣

[@jerryfudd]

Thanks, I sided with the 20s evo in the end purely because of the extra considerations to its water resistance now waiting on delivery........ I'm assuming that the 30k 'issue' is still present? ...some posts elsewhere imply that its not even possible as its built upon the 10s and lacks the processing ability

[@09fj23]

New update 2.0 no more issues. Thanks Sena.

[@ad78]

its happening with my new Sena 50R. i cant believe this isssue is still existing on new models. i have the new firmware 1.03

[@cristiannicolau8584]

Wow, that's ridiculous after all this time! More to that, Whitey was mentioning below that this issue was solved about an year ago. Apparently not. :( Sena seems to be focused on releasing more and more new models based on the same technology (probably only with minor differences) instead of perfecting one model and please their customers by solving the problems. Unlike Sena, Cardo introduced the Packtalk in 2015 (with DMC mode) and kept perfecting it since then. In 2018 they released the Slim model whitch in fact is the same thing but with an external battery. I think this strategy is a lot better for us, the users.

[@tyhammel3448]

Same problem I’ve had