[Android Software Development] Quinny899:
Samsung Gear 360 Manager ported for use on (almost) all devices

LAST UPDATED: 10th April 2024, Version 1.5.00.1-4

Requirements:

- A Gear 360 2016 or 2017 (BOTH work with the same app)

- Android 5.0 or above

- A phone newer than like 2014. The Live View will not work on any phones with the equivalent or lower power than a Galaxy S5, but try it anyway

Latest Version Download:

Download

Important:

After installing, grant the app permission to access location in the background, in App Info > Permissions > Location > Allow all the time. This allows it to access the current WiFi network name while the app is not open, such as when you are actually connecting to the camera's WiFi.

If updating from an older version:

Please uninstall the old version first, since 1.5.00-1 needs a clean state for the phone gallery fix to work.

Firmware updates and Firmware source code

As of January 2021, Samsung have taken down the server that contained the firmware update config files for both models of the camera. Through the use of the Wayback Machine and some reverse engineering of the XML syntax read by the app, I was able to fully reproduce the firmware XMLs on GitHub. There is a new version (1.4.00.4-FW or above) of the app which can use these XMLs and download the binary files of the update from this forum post and install them on the camera. You need to set the firmware you want to use (or latest) in the settings (after connecting your camera) before the app will be able to download an update.

The Source Code is no longer available on Samsung's website, so has been mirrored on the same forum post. More info on what the files contain can be found on the GitHub repository linked above.

Screenshots:

Click a screenshot to enlarge it

Main Menu

Live View (camera is covered)

Gallery View

Image View

360 Image viewer

360 Video viewer (there's steam in this shot, that's not the camera quality!)

Settings

Mod Settings

Connecting to the camera's Bluetooth

If you are having issues connecting to the camera's Bluetooth during setup, uninstall Samsung Accessory Service and install this version. On some devices you can re-update to the latest version after connecting to the camera for the first time, on others you must keep that version installed.

Connecting to the camera's WiFi

A longstanding "issue" with this app is its tendency to get stuck on a "Loading" screen when Gallery or Camera is selected. This can usually be resolved as follows:

1. Disable WiFi direct in the mod settings, since it is buggy. Restart the app. Verify you have granted the app background location (see above).

2. Open the app and verify the camera is connected with Bluetooth (if the Connect button appears on the main screen, tap it)

3. Disable mobile data, any VPNs and disconnect from the camera's WiFi if it is already connected

4. Open Camera or Gallery. The loading screen will show, and the WiFi settings will open (if you have that option disabled, open them now)

5. Wait for the camera's WiFi to appear. Connect to it. Return to the app.

6. The loading screen should disappear after a few seconds. If it doesn't, repeat from step 1 (it sometimes takes two attempts)

If the camera's WiFi automatically disconnects due to lack of internet, then read on...

Fixing WiFi automatically disconnecting

On some devices the camera's WiFi network will automatically be disconnected by the phone as it doesn't have internet. This can be resolved in one of three ways:

1. If a notification appears asking you if you want to stay connected, tap it and say yes. This decision will be remembered and it will no longer disconnect.

2. If you are running Android 8.0 or above, run

adb shell settings put global captive_portal_mode 0

3. If you are running Android 7.x or below, run

adb shell settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0

Please note that options 2 and 3 will disable Captive Portal detection, if you wish to re-enable this then run the same command but with 1 in place of 0.

Known Issues:

- Live Broadcast doesn't work on 2016 camera or when using Soft AP. Cannot be fixed.

- WiFi Direct is buggy. Probably down to the app's mode being made for Samsung's modified WiFi direct, unlikely to be fixed

FAQ:

Q: What's the difference between WiFi direct/non WiFi Direct (Soft AP) mode?

A: WiFi Direct uses an experimental modification for enabling the Samsung WiFi Direct mode for all devices. It's quite buggy right now, but in theory allows you to update the camera's firmware (known to be dangerous, be careful). It also means you don't disconnect from the internet when using the app

Q: It's stuck on "Installing Samsung accessory service"

A: Install it manually

Q: I'm trying to use Live View/Gallery but the app gets stuck on loading

A: See the Connecting to the camera section above

Q: I have a 2017 camera and don't know the password for its WiFi!

A: Switch your camera to iOS mode (on the camera itself, using the menu). It will display a password, write that down. Switch back to the normal mode and continue as normal, entering the WiFi password you wrote down when prompted

Q: Does Live Broadcast work?

A: On the 2017 camera, when in WiFi direct mode apparently so. I've not tested it, and it doesn't work on any other configuration however

Q: What do the mod settings do?

A: See the "Mod Settings" section below

Q: There's a new version of the app on the Play Store, when will you update?

A: Check the last few pages of the thread. If the original APK has been posted already, the mod will be updated soon™. If it hasn't been, and you have a Samsung device compatible with the original app, please grab the APK and post it (the original APK is hard to get hold of)

Q: I found a crash!

A: Please post it in the thread, WITH A LOGCAT (don't know how to logcat? See here)

Mod Settings:

Since version 1.0.00.18, the mod has built in settings to allow a single unified APK. They can be found in the app's settings, under Mod Settings

WiFi Direct

Enable WiFi direct mode. Disabled by default as it's fairly buggy

Override Camera Recognition

Force your camera to appear to the app as a certain model. This isn't actually that useful, as it just causes crashes because of incompatible settings (default: don't override)

Always Show Live Broadcast

This is NOT aimed at allowing broadcast on 2016 cameras (they can't do it), but at countries where Live Broadcast is hidden. Enable this to always show it (disabled by default)

Automatically Open Settings

Automatically open the WiFi Settings/WiFi Direct settings when connecting to save you time (enabled by default)

Enable 4K

Enables 4K stitching and streaming from the camera, which may crash on very slow devices (enabled by default)

Porting Guide:

I don't plan to stop updating the mod any time soon, but if you want to port it yourself I have a rough guide available Here

Old Versions:

You probably shouldn't use these, they have bugs

1.5.00.1-3

1.5.00.1-2

1.5.00.1-1

1.4.00.4-FW

1.4.00.4 (without the firmware mirror, firmware updates will not work)

1.1.00.5

1.0.00.18

"Test" build 190617

1.0.00-2: WiFi Direct, Soft AP

Even older, pre-2017 camera app:

1.0.18-39

1.0.18-34: 4K, 2K

Thanks to:

- Bin4ry for the original port

Tools used:

- Apktool

- Notepad++ for smali editing

- JEB for viewing Java code in APK

Disclaimer: You are responsible for your Gear 360 when using this app. Updating the firmware, whilst possible in WiFi Direct mode, may brick your device. It's recommended you find a compatible Samsung device and use that to update