Galaxy Buds Manager (Unofficial) is a versatile tool designed to enhance the functionality of Samsung Galaxy Buds devices on various platforms including Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android. This software goes beyond the capabilities of the official app by offering advanced features such as detailed battery statistics, diagnostics, and factory self-tests, enabling users to fully utilize their earbuds' potential.
Key Features:
Battery Statistics: Detailed insights into battery performance and usage patterns.
Diagnostics & Tests: Perform factory self-tests to assess device health and functionality.
Customizable Touch Actions: Adjust long-press functions to suit personal preferences.
Firmware Updates: Flash or downgrade firmware on supported models, such as Galaxy Buds+ and Buds Pro.
Multi-Platform Support: Operate seamlessly across Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android.
Audience & Benefits:
Ideal for tech-savvy users and audiophiles seeking enhanced control over their Galaxy Buds. This tool caters to those who desire advanced customization and diagnostic capabilities, offering a comprehensive solution for managing earbuds beyond the standard features provided by Samsung.
Installation:
The Windows version can be easily installed using winget with the command winget install timschneeb.GalaxyBudsClient, ensuring a straightforward setup process.
Configure and control any Samsung Galaxy Buds device and integrate them into your desktop.
Aside from standard features known from the official Android app, this project helps you to release the full potential of your earbuds and implements new functionality such as:
Get binaries for Windows in the release section. Please read the release notes before installation.
Download the desktop version here:
Download the Android mobile version here (paid):
Flatpak
Universal binary packages for all Linux distributions. The Flatpak version does not support autostart unless it is set up manually. You can use galaxybudsclient /StartMinimized to launch the app silently during startup.
> Note: Flatpaks are sandboxed. This application can only access ~/.var/app/me.timschneeberger.GalaxyBudsClient/ by default.
AUR package
An AUR package for Arch Linux maintained by @joscdk is also available:
yay -S galaxybudsclient-bin
winget
The Windows package is also available to install with Windows Package Manager (winget)
winget install timschneeb.GalaxyBudsClient
How it works
In order to use Bluetooth wireless technology, a device must be able to interpret specific Bluetooth profiles that enable Bluetooth devices to communicate efficiently with each other.
The Galaxy Buds define two Bluetooth profiles: A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) for audio streaming/controlling and SPP (Serial Port Profile) for transmitting binary streams. Manufacturers often use this profile (which relies on the RFCOMM protocol) to exchange configuration data, perform firmware updates, or send other commands to the Bluetooth device.
Even though the A2DP profile is standardized and documented, the format of the binary data exchanged by this RFCOMM protocol is usually proprietary.
To reverse-engineer this data format, I started by analyzing the structure of the binary stream sent by the earbuds. Later on, I also disassembled the official Galaxy Buds apps for Android to gain more insight into these devices' inner workings. You can find some (incomplete) notes I took down below. Check the source code to get more detailed information on the structure of the protocol.
While taking a closer look at the Galaxy Buds Plus, I also noticed some unusual features, such as a firmware debug mode, an unused pairing mode, and a Bluetooth key dumper. I documented these findings here:
Currently, I'm looking into modifying and reverse-engineering the firmware for the Buds+. At time of writing I have created two tools to fetch and analyze official firmware binaries. Check them out here:
Feature requests, bug reports, and pull requests of any kind are always welcome.
If you want to report bugs or propose your ideas for this project, you are welcome to open a new issue with a suitable template. Visit our wiki for a detailed explanation.
If you are planning to help us translate this app, refer to the instructions on our wiki. No programming knowledge is required, you can test your custom translations without installing any development tools before submitting a pull request.
You can find auto-generated progress reports for existing translations here.
If you want to contribute your own code, you can simply submit a plain pull request explaining you changes. For larger and complex contributions it would be nice if you could open an issue (or message me via Telegram @thepbone) before starting to work on it.
Cloudflare - Secures the backend APIs of GalaxyBudsClient and provided a Pro license
Assets
Earbud asset used in the Android icon created by Archival from Flaticon
License
This project is licensed under GPLv3. It is not affiliated with Samsung nor supervised by them in any way.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR
THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
