This open source Galaxy Buds client lets you manage your Buds from your Windows PC

The Galaxy Wearable app allows users to connect Samsung wearable devices to their smartphones. One can also manage the Galaxy Buds family of wireless earbuds through the same app after installing appropriate plugins. For PC and Mac users, Samsung provides a similar companion application named Galaxy Buds Manager in order to check for software updates and install the new firmware on the Galaxy Buds/Buds+. Samsung utilizes a proprietary communication protocol between the buds and the companion app, but a developer has now managed to reverse-engineer it. The person, Tim Schneeberger, has also released an unofficial open-source Galaxy Buds client, which is far more versatile than the official app.

The initial version of the unofficial client, which is also named as Galaxy Buds Manager, is released as a Windows-only app. You need .NET Framework 4.7.2 or higher to run it, which means porting the app to Linux and macOS using Mono may be possible in the near future.

The client offers the following features:

• Display detailed sensor statistics on the dashboard, this includes:
  • Voltage and Current of the in-built ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) of both Earbuds
  • Temperature of both Earbuds
  • More precise battery percentage (instead of steps of 5)
• Perform a self-test with all onboard components
• Display various (debug) information, including:
  • Hardware Revision
  • (Touch) Firmware Version
  • Bluetooth Addresses of both Earbuds
  • Serial Numbers of both Earbuds
  • Firmware Build Info (Compile Date, Developer Name)
  • Battery Type
  • Other sensor data
• Equalizer: unlock ‘Optimize for Dolby’ feature
• Touchpad: Combine Volume Up/Down with other options

The initial version of this unofficial companion app is designed for the original Galaxy Buds. 2020’s Galaxy Buds+, however, are not supported by the client at this moment, since Tim doesn’t own a pair, and we confirmed that they are not compatible. We hope the Galaxy Buds community will help the developer by providing required logs and message dumps to expand the device compatibility list.

Unofficial Galaxy Buds Manager for Windows: Download || Source Code

The developer has also shared the structure of the custom RFComm Serial protocol used by the Buds to receive and send binary data, which should be beneficial for other tinkerers.

Galaxy buds manager для windows

ThePBone released this Mar 5, 2021

All Galaxy Buds models are supported!

SmartScreen notice: The current Windows installer seems to trigger a SmartScreen (‘unrecognized developer’) warning on some systems, most likely because I’m publishing these installers as unsigned binaries. Unfortunately, using a proper code signing certificate is not an option since I cannot afford recurring monthly payments for an open-source app with zero budget.

Please keep your firmware updated. Concerning the Buds, Buds+, and Buds Live: very old firmware versions such as R175XXU0ASLE can cause crashes and are not properly supported. However, this app is going to support all Buds Pro firmware versions available to end users from launch.

Changelog v4.1.1.1

Changelog v4.1.1

• Buds Plus/Live: Fix case battery 101% issue after R175XXU0AUB3 / R180XXU0AUB3 firmware update
• Added Buds Pro icons (@TheLastFrame)
• Added Czech translation (@Joedmin580)
• Updated German translation (@TheLastFrame)
• Updated Chinese translation (@kakkk)
• Updated Korean translation (@ericswpark)
• Various crash fixes

Note to Linux users

• x86_64-musl binaries are only compatible with libc-musl based distributions (e.g. Alpine Linux).
• You need to give the binary execute permissions before launching it: chmod +x GalaxyBudsClient
• Proprietary NVIDIA drivers may cause crashes on some Linux systems (feel free to open an issue, I need to collect information)
• If your system language is set to a language that has non-Latin characters (Korean, Japanese, Chinese), you need to start the app like this: LC_ALL=C ./GalaxyBudsClient (temporary workaround)

Note: The first launch (or after updating) always takes a few seconds longer.

Fixing connection issues

If you experience issues while connecting or using the Galaxy Buds with this app, you can do the following:

1. Unregister your earbuds in the app if not already done, like this: Options > Unregister device
2. Proceed to the device selection page
3. Disable the switch with the label ‘Use alternative Bluetooth backend’
4. Select your earbuds from the list and continue

Thank you for 670+ stars on GitHub!

ThePBone released this Mar 5, 2021

All Galaxy Buds models are supported!

SmartScreen notice: The current Windows installer seems to trigger a SmartScreen (‘unrecognized developer’) warning on some systems, most likely because I’m publishing these installers as unsigned binaries. Unfortunately, using a proper code signing certificate is not an option since I cannot afford recurring monthly payments for an open-source app with zero budget.

Please keep your firmware updated. Concerning the Buds, Buds+, and Buds Live: very old firmware versions such as R175XXU0ASLE can cause crashes and are not properly supported. However, this app is going to support all Buds Pro firmware versions available to end users from launch.

Changelog v4.1.1

• Buds Plus/Live: Fix case battery 101% issue after R175XXU0AUB3 / R180XXU0AUB3 firmware update
• Added Buds Pro icons (@TheLastFrame)
• Added Czech translation (@Joedmin580)
• Updated German translation (@TheLastFrame)
• Updated Chinese translation (@kakkk)
• Updated Korean translation (@ericswpark)
• Various crash fixes

Note to Linux users

• x86_64-musl binaries are only compatible with libc-musl based distributions (e.g. Alpine Linux).
• You need to give the binary execute permissions before launching it: chmod +x GalaxyBudsClient
• Proprietary NVIDIA drivers may cause crashes on some Linux systems (feel free to open an issue, I need to collect information)
• If your system language is set to a language that has non-Latin characters (Korean, Japanese, Chinese), you need to start the app like this: LC_ALL=C ./GalaxyBudsClient (temporary workaround)

Note: The first launch (or after updating) always takes a few seconds longer.

Fixing connection issues

If you experience issues while connecting or using the Galaxy Buds with this app, you can do the following:

1. Unregister your earbuds in the app if not already done, like this: Options > Unregister device
2. Proceed to the device selection page
3. Disable the switch with the label ‘Use alternative Bluetooth backend’
4. Select your earbuds from the list and continue

Thank you for 670+ stars on GitHub!

ThePBone released this Feb 14, 2021

All Galaxy Buds models are supported!

SmartScreen notice: The current Windows installer seems to trigger a SmartScreen (‘unrecognized developer’) warning on some systems, most likely because I’m publishing these installers as unsigned binaries. Unfortunately, using a proper code signing certificate is not an option since I cannot afford recurring monthly payments for an open-source app with zero budget.

Please keep your firmware updated. Concerning the Buds, Buds+, and Buds Live: very old firmware versions such as R175XXU0ASLE can cause crashes and are not properly supported. However, this app is going to support all Buds Pro firmware versions available to end users from launch.

Changelog v4.1.0

• Fix Buds Live ANC switch
• Fix Buds Pro case battery display
• Update Korean translation (@cozyplanes, @papercore-dev)
• Update Russian and Ukrainian translation (@ArthurWolfhound)
• Add Vietnamese translation (@KatJillianne)
• Add alternative Bluetooth backend to fix connection issues with some Bluetooth adapters/drivers
• Windows: Fixed accidental app shutdown when minimizing the app to the tray bar

Note to Linux users

• x86_64-musl binaries are only compatible with libc-musl based distributions (e.g. Alpine Linux).
• You need to give the binary execute permissions before launching it: chmod +x GalaxyBudsClient
• Proprietary NVIDIA drivers may cause crashes on some Linux systems (feel free to open an issue, I need to collect information)
• If your system language is set to a language that has non-Latin characters (Korean, Japanese, Chinese), you need to start the app like this: LC_ALL=C ./GalaxyBudsClient (temporary workaround)

Note: The first launch (or after updating) always takes a few seconds longer.

Fixing connection issues

If you experience issues while connecting or using the Galaxy Buds with this app, you can do the following:

1. Unregister your earbuds in the app if not already done, like this: Options > Unregister device
2. Proceed to the device selection page
3. Disable the switch with the label ‘Use alternative Bluetooth backend’
4. Select your earbuds from the list and continue

Thank you for 600+ stars on GitHub!

ThePBone released this Jan 22, 2021

All Galaxy Buds models are supported!

SmartScreen notice: The current Windows installer seems to trigger a SmartScreen (‘unrecognized developer’) warning on some systems, most likely because I’m publishing these installers as unsigned binaries. Unfortunately, using a proper code signing certificate is not an option since I cannot afford recurring monthly payments for an open-source app with zero budget.

Please keep your firmware updated. Concerning the Buds, Buds+, and Buds Live: very old firmware versions such as R175XXU0ASLE can cause crashes and are not properly supported. However, this app is going to support all Buds Pro firmware versions available to end users from launch.

Changelog v4.0.2

• Updated Korean translation (@cozyplanes)
• Updated Chinese translation (@pseudor)
• Updated Italian translation (@mario-donnarumma)
• More crash fixes

Changelog v4.0.1

• Fix crashes due to unstable Bluetooth connection on Windows 10
• Fix layout sizing/scaling issues
• Fix Buds Pro noise controls

Changelog v4.0

• Native Linux support (supported architectures: x86_64, x86_64 (libc-musl), ARM, ARM64) (#57, #5)
• Native Windows 10 on ARM support (requires Windows 10 Build 1803 or later) (#78)
• Galaxy Buds Pro support (#82)
• Define custom keyboard hotkeys to remote-control your earbuds (#75)
• Much faster and more reliable Bluetooth backend implementation for Windows 10 (requires Windows 10 Build 1803 or later)
• Scripting/Hooking feature (automation, hooking, and byte stream interception using C# scripts)
• Updated system information page with new features:
  • Download debug data directly from your earbuds (trace- and core-dumps if available; original Buds not supported)
  • Enter built-in pairing mode (normally accessed by long-pressing both touchpads)
• Tray icon: Display connect button if your earbuds are disconnected (#67)
• Updated/redesigned user interface
• Better app update mechanism (Windows only)
• Buds Live: display icons depicting Buds Live rather than regular Buds
• Crowdsourcing: gather information about the Bluetooth protocol of the earbuds to help me support Galaxy Buds models that I don’t own
• New/redesigned developer options:
  • Bluetooth socket: Intercept/analyze incoming data and send custom SPP messages to the earbuds
  • Translator mode: convenience toolkit to help translators verifying their changes
  • User interface dev tools: Focus a window and press F12 to inspect/debug layouts
• Loads of bug fixes, stability patches: most code chunks have been fully rewritten

Note to Linux users:

• x86_64-musl binaries are only compatible with libc-musl based distributions (e.g. Alpine Linux).
• You need to give the binary execute permissions before launching it: chmod +x GalaxyBudsClient
• Proprietary NVIDIA drivers may cause crashes on some Linux systems (feel free to open an issue, I need to collect information)
• If your system language is set to a language that has non-Latin characters (Korean, Japanese, Chinese), you need to start the app like this: LC_ALL=C ./GalaxyBudsClient (temporary workaround)

Beta builds for Windows 10 on ARM are available here. (

Thank you for 400+ stars on GitHub!

ThePBone released this Jan 18, 2021

All Galaxy Buds models are supported!

SmartScreen notice: The current Windows installer seems to trigger a SmartScreen (‘unrecognized developer’) warning on some systems, most likely because I’m publishing these installers as unsigned binaries. Unfortunately, using a proper code signing certificate is not an option since I cannot afford recurring monthly payments for an open-source app with zero budget.

Please keep your firmware updated. Concerning the Buds, Buds+, and Buds Live: very old firmware versions such as R175XXU0ASLE can cause crashes and are not properly supported. However, this app is going to support all Buds Pro firmware versions available to end users from launch.

Changelog v4.0.1

• Fix crashes due to unstable Bluetooth connection on Windows 10
• Fix layout sizing/scaling issues
• Fix Buds Pro noise controls

Changelog v4.0

• Native Linux support (supported architectures: x86_64, x86_64 (libc-musl), ARM, ARM64) (#57, #5)
• Native Windows 10 on ARM support (requires Windows 10 Build 1803 or later) (#78)
• Galaxy Buds Pro support (#82)
• Define custom keyboard hotkeys to remote-control your earbuds (#75)
• Much faster and more reliable Bluetooth backend implementation for Windows 10 (requires Windows 10 Build 1803 or later)
• Scripting/Hooking feature (automation, hooking, and byte stream interception using C# scripts)
• Updated system information page with new features:
  • Download debug data directly from your earbuds (trace- and core-dumps if available; original Buds not supported)
  • Enter built-in pairing mode (normally accessed by long-pressing both touchpads)
• Tray icon: Display connect button if your earbuds are disconnected (#67)
• Updated/redesigned user interface
• Better app update mechanism (Windows only)
• Buds Live: display icons depicting Buds Live rather than regular Buds
• Crowdsourcing: gather information about the Bluetooth protocol of the earbuds to help me support Galaxy Buds models that I don’t own
• New/redesigned developer options:
  • Bluetooth socket: Intercept/analyze incoming data and send custom SPP messages to the earbuds
  • Translator mode: convenience toolkit to help translators verifying their changes
  • User interface dev tools: Focus a window and press F12 to inspect/debug layouts
• Loads of bug fixes, stability patches: most code chunks have been fully rewritten

Note to Linux users:

• x86_64-musl binaries are only compatible with libc-musl based distributions (e.g. Alpine Linux).
• You need to give the binary execute permissions before launching it: chmod +x GalaxyBudsClient
• Proprietary NVIDIA drivers may cause crashes on some Linux systems (feel free to open an issue, I need to collect information)
• If your system language is set to a language that has non-Latin characters (Korean, Japanese, Chinese), you need to start the app like this: LC_ALL=C ./GalaxyBudsClient (temporary workaround)

Beta builds for Windows 10 on ARM are available here. (