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
galaxy_buds_manager_screencap

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.

Source: r/galaxybuds