Troubleshooting

1. Verify the cord between the intercom and radio is plugged in ALL THE WAY. Check the coax connection is tight on the back of the radio and antenna. 
   • On the S2, the cord is also directional  This means it must be installed according to the labels on each end; “Radio” end plugs into the radio port. “Intercom” end into intercom (the port marked “Radio”)
2. Verify the Radio is in Simplex mode.
   • This is done by plugging in the hand mic to the front of the radio, opening the radio’s menu and scrolling through until you hit 47. Ensuring the radio’s off-set is configured to 000.000 (See more here).
3. Make sure the coax is not coiled or run next to power wires that may cause interference.
4. Test your radio or coax and antenna connection by disconnecting the coax from the from the back of the radio and do a short 5 second (no longer it could damage the radio) transmission to another radio that is about 10 to 20 feet from your radio.  
   1. if the transmission clears up you are likely receiving RF energy into the coax or antenna. Reconnect the coax to the radio and loosen the antenna mount and coax and try alternate locations around the vehicle until it is clear. 
   2. If the transmission is still not clear with the coax disconnected from the radio you may have a bad transmitter. Please contact us for further diagnostics or repair.  
5. Antenna placement is sometimes an issue.  Try to move the antenna to a different location and try transmitting again.  This video shows a very detailed (at minute 2:14 shows the popping) demonstration of RF interference click here.   
6. If you purchased between October 2019 and July 2020 you may have received an intercom that has the incorrect setting on the intercom that needs to be adjusted.  Please reach out to us at info@utvcom.com or if you feel you want to take on the adjustment yourself you can watch this video to help you correct the issue.   

(For the S2 only) On the intercom, turn the “Radio On/Off” switch to the “On” position.  

For both the S4S and S2, look at the radio when the PTT is being pressed, you should see the radio light up and a “P” should appear in bottom of the screen and it should have a progress number that goes up when speaking into the mic (the “P” means it is transmitting) the number that goes up and down when talking into the mic means by how much power. If the number is low or not going up, check your VOX level, click the VOX button make sure it is lite up and press the “-” button until you can hear yourself speak in the headsets. See this video if you need VOX training.  

1. Click the Menu (press the right radio knob) scroll to menu 21 “PTT-LT” and make sure the delay time for the PTT ID is set to “0“
2. Make sure the PTT cable is not near power wires or coax as it can cause interference and inadvertently complete the circuit. You may need to put the PTT wire in loom to provide extra RF shielding protection.
3. If the PTT is coiled, uncoil the PTT wire and test again.   

This could happen if the antenna is located too close to the radio.  Try relocating the antenna and try again.  Also make sure you have a good ground to the radio. 

• Make sure your mic is pressed up against your lips.  This is the single biggest factor in performance.
• Other vehicles are more impacted by this due to 2-way radio transmissions are slightly less clear than transmissions over the wire

Many things will reduce your range including:

• Obstacles (no line of sight)
• Poor connection (loose connectors, broken coax, broken connector)
• Coiling the coax cable like an extension cord on install
• Surrounding the antenna with metal (like running it through a spare tire carrier)
• Trying to transmit inside a building or garage.
• Make sure the mic is touching your lips and not out away from your mouth.
• Another thing to check is look at the radio screen when transmitting and talking into the headset or mic, if the screen when talking is going above 100 then you are typically good while talking, if it is below 70 while talking there may be a problem with the transmitter, mic or the gain needs to be turned by going to menu 56 and increasing the gain (max is 60).

1. check all the connections
2. check your vehicles battery voltage should be above 12 volts and below 14.5 volts
3. check all your grounds, make sure everything is grounded properly
4. Check all the fuses, the intercom has a white fuse and the radio is a black fuse (there are extra fuses in the glove compartment bag that was provided).
5. https://utvcom.com/troubleshooting-faq/

1. Turn down the radio volume.  At full volume, it is like listening to your car stereo at full blast – it gets distorted
2. Make sure the radio is on channel mode by pressing the “V/M” button if on Band A (top band on the display) it should say a “CH-###” if it doesn’t then you are likely on frequency mode.”Radio”)
3. Verify the Radio is in Simplex mode. This is done by plugging in the hand mic to the front of the radio, opening the radio’s menu and scrolling through until you hit 47. Ensuring the radio’s off-set is configured to 000.000 (See more here).
4. Check the antenna is secure and the coax connection to the radio and antenna is tight.
5. Make sure the antenna is not encased in metal like a spare tire or rack.
6. Isolate the power going to TheCOM by powering it with an external battery completely free of the vehicle, if this clear up the transmission you have dirty power getting into the system, you will need to add a better noise filter, directly wire TheCOM to a battery or find an alternative power source. 
7. Make sure the coax is not coiled or run next to power wires that may cause interference.
8. Test your radio or coax and antenna connection by disconnecting the coax from the from the back of the radio and do a short 5 second (no longer it could damage the radio) transmission to another radio that is about 10 to 20 feet from your radio.  
   1. if the transmission clears up you are likely receiving RF energy into the coax or antenna. Reconnect the coax to the radio and loosen the antenna mount and coax and try alternate locations around the vehicle until it is clear. 
   2. If the transmission is still not clear with the coax disconnected from the radio you may have a bad transmitter. Please contact us for further diagnostics or repair.  
9. Antenna placement is sometimes an issue.  Try to move the antenna to a different location and try transmitting again.  This video shows a demonstration of RF interference click here.   

• Turn up the intercom volume controls associated with your headset
• If so equipped, turn up the volume controls on the ear cup of your headset
• Verify both headset jacks are plugged in tightly
• Verify your headset mic is pressed up against your lips​
• If a mic mute is attached make sure you hold the button down the entire time you talk.

The intercom’s VOX setting needs adjustment

• S2 Intercom
  1. Turn the VOX completely off by flipping the 1st DPI switch on the back of the intercom to the down position w/ a small flat head screw driver
  2. If you want the VOX on, flip the 1st DPI switch on the back of the intercom to the up position w/ a small flat head screw driver
  3. Use the knob on the back of the intercom to adjust the mic sensitivity. Too little sensitivity and it will not open at all or you’ll be yelling to engage it or losing the 1st part of your conversations as the mic “wakes up”.
• S4S Intercom
  1. Make sure your battery is not dead or low on power. Anything much below 12.8 volts will make the VOX not open up properly or difficult to open. 
  2. click here: S4S intercom training VOX
  3. Make sure the voltage on your battery is above 12.8 volts. Weak batteries will cut the words off from the drop in power when in use. 

• Verify your headset cords are plugged in tightly
• If so equipped, verify your Bluetooth is on and it is paired to the Bluetooth controller
• Turn up the music volume using your phone volume controls
• Make sure your phone is paired

Audio volume coming into the intercom is controlled by the source device.  We have noticed that the iPhone is significantly quitter than the Android devices. Below will give you a couple of options to try to increase the Bluetooth volume from the source device (i.e. phone). If you have the S4S V3 you can press and hold the “skip ahead” (see the music note with the + sign) to turn up the Bluetooth volume (see this video if you have the S4S V3).  

iPhone (Apple users):

Please make sure the media volume is all the way up on your phone. To adjust all the way up make sure music is playing and press the “Volume up” button on the side of your phone.

To adjust the volume for music and videos:

Go to – Settings > Music > Volume Limit

Drag the slider to the maximum volume level.

 Adjust the equalizer:

Go to – Settings > Music > EQ option > Late Night

This works best if you’re already playing some audio when you venture into Settings and make the EQ selection. Music in particular seems to get the biggest boost, though it can vary depending on the kind of music.

 For Android:

Please make sure the media volume is all the way up on your phone. To adjust all the way up make sure music is playing and press the “Volume up” button on the side of your phone. If you still need more volume follow the below.

Step 1: Enable Developer Options

Go to – System > About Phone >  tap on the phone Build Number multiple times.

Once done, this will give you access to Developer Options on your device.

Step 2: Disable Absolute Volume

Go to – System > Developer Options > scroll down under “Networking” heading scroll down and toggle on Disable absolute volume .

From here disable absolute volume make sure it lights up blue or slides to the right and is not grayed out.

Your Bluetooth volume should be noticeably higher.

Note: The above method is meant to work on Android Nougat and above.The steps described above will differ slightly if you are using a smartphone from a manufacturer who applies their own custom skin.

Make sure you have a Bluetooth version of TheCOM. S4S V3 will say “TheCOM S4S” once powered on and older devices may just have a tone that is similar to “do doo da da dooooo” on start up. Listen for that tone to make sure the Bluetooth module is installed and working.

The #1 reason for no Bluetooth connection is that it is already connected to another device.  Here’s how to verify that:

• • Turn the intercom off.
  • Drive your SXS somewhere away from buildings/electronics
  • If you have the S4S V3, you can listen to hear if it is connecting unexpectedly.  Put your headset on, then turn the intercom on.  Listen for the word “Connected”.  If you hear that, when your phone’s Bluetooth is off, it means it’s connecting to another device
  • Turn your device’s Bluetooth on
  • Look for the intercom Bluetooth signal on your phone
    • Sometimes the Bluetooth signal appears as LE. Look for LE when you are searching for a device to connect to.

If that doesn’t work, reset the Bluetooth

• • • • turn the intercom off
      • wait 10 seconds, turn it back on
      • wait 10 seconds, turn it back off
      • Repeat this 5 times
      • Turn it back on and look for the Bluetooth signal on your phone
        • Sometimes the Bluetooth signal appears as LE. Look for LE when you are searching for a device to connect to.

Please let us know if that doesn’t work.

How to control the COM through Ride Command.  It is slightly difficult to control TheCOM through Ride Command. We are not certain why it is so difficult to pair the two devices but below is the steps. 

iPhone (Apple users):

1. Pair your COM on your phone
2. if you haven’t already, pair your Ride Command with your phone
3. select the audio music icon (music note)on your Ride command
4. make sure your source shows Bluetooth and your phone. If not select connect phone
5. on your phone validate in your Bluetooth setting that it shows you are connected to both TheCOM and Polaris Ride Command
6. On your Apple phone open up your music app
7. at the bottom you will see current song tee’d up to either play or playing. Click on it to open up the expanded view screen
8. at the bottom of the screen select the airplay icon. Once selected You will see option for iPhone or “TheCom ####” (# means your unique 4 digit bluetooth code).  Select “TheCOM ####” and you can now control the songs through the audio screen on your Ride Command and listen through your Com. 

If you want to listen back through you speakers just switch back to iPhone on your AirPlay settings.  

We would like to thank Trent one of our amazing customers for helping us discover this. Thanks Trent and welcome to the COM Family.

 For Android:

This may only be an option on some phones. Thanks to our Customer “destructureOO” on youtube for providing this information. Here is his video link if you want to watch how he did it: 

1. Connect your phone to Ride Command and to TheCOM separately
2.  Once they are connected to both you should be able to pull down on your screen from the top and there should be ” Media output” button near the top Tap on it
3. Then you can select which one you want to send the media to or both. 
4. Then both Ride command or TheCOM can control the music pause/play and skip. 

We have a very nice write-up on this very subject.  Please see this link to see why we programed the way we did, why we have 4 different rows or displays, and what they all mean. Click here. 

Check the 3.5 mm connections for moisture. If moisture gets down in the female port or on the male connector of the 3.5 mm connection this can cause static or a popping sound in the headset.  Dry the connectors out with a rag and/or air and try again.  If you live in a humid environment seal the connector with some dielectric grease or electrical tape. 

Try powering TheCOM with an external battery by connecting the power leads to a jump starter or other 12 volt battery (that is charged and is putting out at least 12.5 volts and no more than 14.5 volts) and starting the SXS up and see if the alternator whine or static goes away. 

If  so you may need to connect directly to the battery or this issue can usually be solved with a noise filter like ours (noise filter link). If you have a kit or COMsole it already comes with a built in noise filter. No noise filter is 100% and some models need additional filters. We have found the Kenwood PG-3B does work well as an additional filter. 

We have also noticed that some external devices can bring noises into the system like XM or Sirius XM devices that have an audio cable running to the “Audio In” of the intercom.  Try disconnecting any devices and see if this clear up the static.  If so the input wire may need to be re run or you can try a 3.5 mm audio filter like at this link Simply plug the audio filter into the back of the Audio In on the intercom then plug the external audio device into the noise filter.