Cardo software update unlocks one-button pairing with Sena devices

The two brands dominate the Bluetooth communicator category, accounting for around 95% of the market share. Though Sena and Cardo lord over all competitors, their relationship has been far from cooperative. Syncing multiple Cardo devices is easy as pressing a single button. The same goes for linking numerous Senas. That’s far from the case between the two. Any rider that’s attempted to connect a single Sena with a single Cardo will know this headache firsthand. The complexity only compounds within multi-rider groups.

But now things are changing.

"We always say, when we think we've done our best, we go to the riders and we ask how we can do better," explained Cardo Systems Chief Marketing Office Dan Emodi. "The single most sought-after ability was seamless cross-brand connectivity."

To simplify that process, Cardo’s 3.2 firmware update enables Spirit, Freecom, and PackTalk models to directly connect with Sena’s latest-generation lineup. Using standard Bluetooth intercom (not Dynamic Mesh Communication [DMC]), the synced units communicate like devices of the same make.

Editor's note: Update, September 27, 2023. After the announcement of the Cardo and Sena Bluetooth compatibility, an overwhelming number of customers wanted the same type of compatibility for the brands' Mesh communication technology. Now, a Cardo firmware update is available for the latest Packtalk Edge, Neo, and for those that have the upgraded Mesh and BT tech unlocked on the Packtalk Custom. The update adds Cardo's "Live Connection," which allows users to use a Bluetooth connection as a "bridge" between the two Mesh networks. That makes it possible to connect the units to create one large group intercom. This Cardo video shows how it works.

Prior to Cardo’s release, cross-platform connectivity (with Sena) forced riders to jump through a series of UI hoops. Despite both companies producing several models with Mesh technology, neither proprietary iteration established an inter-brand link. What’s more, Sena stopped offering Universal Intercom Pairing with the arrival of its 30 and 50 series. 

As a workaround, users often pair one comm unit to the other as a phone. The multi-step procedure is more than just cumbersome. It also requires the user to disable all other paired devices, sacrificing the advanced features we’ve come to expect from Sena and Cardo. Even after that extensive process, pairing frequently drops due to poor connectivity range.

The software update not only stands to sidestep this headset-syncing rigmarole, but Cardo also claims it frees each connected unit to continue relaying calls, navigational directions, and playing music or FM radio. In tandem with Open Bluetooth Intercom (OBI) protocols, the 3.2 firmware equips Cardo communicators to function as the nexus between Sena, Uclear, and Midland units. 

"You can basically let the communicator listen to whom its talking to and then choose the protocol that's right," Emodi added. "We've learned the Sena implementation and we've taught our machine to recognize Sena and to talk the way Sena would understand — or would treat as a Sena."

The 3.2 firmware has its limits, though, as music sharing isn’t possible across the Cardo-Sena brand divide.   

No, this news won’t put an end to the technological tug of war waged between Sena and Cardo. However, consumers will no longer be the casualties of the Bluetooth battles.