Revive360 – for Gear 360
Your Samsung Gear 360 works again: with any Android phone, free, and with no Samsung account.
Website: simoneluconi.github.io/Revive360 · Privacy policy
Samsung has stopped supporting the Gear 360 camera, and its apps no longer work on today's
phones, which leaves a good 360° camera unusable. Revive360 brings it back to life: a free
phone app plus a small add-on for the camera, and the camera does everything it used to.
In short
| |
|---|
| The problem | Samsung's Gear 360 apps are gone. Without them you cannot see the camera's photos on your phone or use it from the phone. |
| What this does | Use the camera from your phone again: shoot, see live, change the settings, copy photos and videos, and get ready-made 360° photos. |
| Who it is for | Anyone with a Gear 360 (2016 or 2017) and an Android phone of any brand. |
| What it costs | Nothing. Free and open source, with no account, no cloud and no ads. |
| Status | Works today. Tested end to end, from setup to everyday use, on the Gear 360 (2016) and the Gear 360 (2017). |
What you can do
- Shoot from your phone: photos, videos, time-lapses and looping videos.
- See what the camera sees, live, before you shoot.
- Change the camera's settings: lens, size, self-timer, exposure, white balance and more.
- Get your photos and videos onto the phone, or delete them from the camera, one or many at a time.
- Get real 360° photos, ready for Google Photos and other apps.
- Shoot RAW, which Samsung's own app never offered: the camera also keeps the sensor data of
both lenses, and the app turns it into a DNG for Lightroom and other raw editors, one photo or
many at once. 360° photos; in low light they have no noise reduction. 12-bit on the Gear 360
(2016), about 60 MB per photo; 10-bit on the 2017, about 34 MB.
- Make normal photos from a 360° one: look around, straighten it, choose the frame you want,
or make a "little planet".
Why it is easy to use
- Any Android phone (Android 10 or later): it does not have to be a Samsung.
- Pairs by itself: the phone finds the camera over Bluetooth and sets up the connection.
There is nothing to type.
- Private: the phone talks straight to the camera. Nothing goes to the internet.
- Saves the battery: the camera's Wi-Fi is on only while the app needs it.
- Can be undone: one command puts Samsung's original software back on the camera.
Which cameras
| Camera | Works? |
|---|
| Gear 360 (2016, SM-C200) with firmware C200GLU0AQK1 | Yes |
| Gear 360 (2016) with an older firmware | Yes, after updating it to C200GLU0AQK1 first |
| Gear 360 (2017, SM-R210) with firmware R210GLU0ARB2 | Yes |
| Gear 360 (2017) with an older firmware | Yes, after updating it to R210GLU0ARB2 first |
Only the last firmware Samsung released for each camera is supported. If your camera has an
older one, update it to the last one first: the install guide
says how.
How to get started
Setting it up takes about half an hour, once. You need the camera, its microSD card, an Android
phone and a computer.
- Get the app from Google Play, or download the APK from the
latest GitHub release.
- Set up the camera: the same commands for the 2016 and the 2017 (the script recognises the
camera), each one telling you what to do next on the camera:
./install.sh build # prepare everything on the computer
./install.sh flash # update the camera
./install.sh activate # switch the update on
./install.sh sd # get the camera ready (2016 only), then pair it in the app
The step-by-step guide: docs/INSTALL.md.
Changing the camera's software is at your own risk. Samsung's original software can always be
put back in the same way: the guide explains how.
For developers
How it works, how to build it and how to add other cameras: docs/DEVELOPMENT.md.
How the RAW capture was found and what the files contain: docs/firmware/14_raw_capture.md
(the 2017: docs/firmware/15_r210_port.md);
scripts to make the DNGs on a computer instead: tools/raw/.
Contributions are welcome.
License
Free software under the GNU GPL v3. Revive360 is an independent project, not
made, affiliated with or endorsed by Samsung. Samsung and Gear 360 are trademarks of Samsung
Electronics; they are used here only to say which camera the app works with. It
contains no Samsung software: you download Samsung's original firmware yourself.
The app and the website use the Manrope font, under the
SIL Open Font License 1.1.
