Review on Sena Motorcycle Bluetooth Communication System by Rick Booth

I've been using Sena before the USB SMH10. I have spent thousands of hours using their devices. I currently have 2 10S units, 2 20S EVO units (with Sena HD speakers), 2 Cavalry half helmets and 2 SR10 bluetooth adapters. All my Sena devices have the latest firmware. Both 50S devices were taken right out of the box, updated to firmware version 1.0.6 and fully charged. Error reset and factory reset was performed after the firmware update. Test conditions.* Devices were installed in HJC i90 helmets.* BT paired with iPhone 8* BT paired with 1 10S* BT paired with 1 20S* BT paired with 1 Cavalry BT helmet* BT paired with Sena SR10 .* Installation. It's as simple as other Sena communication devices.* Appendix. Much better than the SMH10 or 10S.* Jog Dial. Choose the Jog Dial over the three-button design.* High-definition speakers. The sound quality has been greatly improved.* FM radio. Works well, same as the 20S EVO.* Mic mute is a nice feature.* No pairing required for Open MESH.* Owner's manual. Well written. What I didn't like.* Foldable MESH antenna. Difficult to turn over in rain gloves or cold gloves. The antenna must be built into the harness and routed inside the helmet for a permanent configuration.* MESH button. Its location makes it very difficult or almost impossible to use in rainy or cold weather conditions. Switching from an Open MESH connection to a Private Group MESH or BT connection is very difficult due to the location of this button. In my opinion it would be better to enable the environment key to accomplish this task. * Hello SENA still works. Same success as my 20S EVO. 50/50.* Hello SIRI. Works 99% of the time when I speak directly into the iPhone 8's microphone. Fails 99% of the time when I talk over 50 seconds. This is a BIG MISTAKE. I even tried reconfiguring SIRI with the 50S mic. Not fun.* Audio multitasking was a success thanks to the SR10, which I hooked up to a RADAR detector and a 2-way ham radio. Another BIG FAIL for me. Works great with my 10S or 20S EVO. When that worked and the connection dropped, music streaming from my iPhone 8 stuttered. Had to restart 50S to fix this issue. * Numerous open-MESH connection error messages when leaving 2-way group MESH back to 2-way open-MESH. An error message indicates that the BT Intercom is already connected. MESH closure. I assure you that the 50S devices were not connected to the intercom via BT. The only way to resolve this issue is to reset the 50S.* When you connect to Group MESH by pressing and holding the MESH button for 3 seconds, you should hear the Group MESH connect prompt, 3 seconds elapsed , not after it has been joined to Group MESH . If you accidentally hold this button for more than 3 seconds, another function will take over control.* BT communication links are downgraded from 9 to 4 in 20S EVO.* Clicks are still present when BT is connected to 50S, as in 20S EVO. sometimes this happens.* Intercom audio overlay turned on randomly, even in very quiet environments, regardless of what sensitivity setting was used. This happened on both BT and MESH connections. My 20S EVO does that much better. My conclusion: 50S devices are not ready for those of us who plan to use most of the declared features. If that's your plan, they probably won't live up to your expectations right now. If you plan on just one communication device and listen to music, they work well. The deciding factor for me returning the units was the inability to properly integrate with my Sena SR10 along with the fold down antenna and MESH. Button. My 20S EVO integrates seamlessly with my SR10 and the ability to connect to 8 others via BT is more than I need. My 20S EVO live! UPDATE JULY 2021. Sena was listening. Firmware version 1.0.8 solved some issues I found. While not exactly perfect, the 50S is now much better at acoustic multitasking.