Scambio

Many Bluetooth headphones and smart glasses can only be connected to one device at a time. Use them with your phone and your computer, and you end up in the Bluetooth menu every time you sit down. Scambio does the switching for you:

• Press play on your computer and Scambio takes the device from your phone in a couple of seconds. Your video pauses during the switch and resumes in your ears.
• Walk away and, after two minutes of silence or when you lock the screen, your phone gets it back.
• Switch whenever you like with one shortcut (Super+G). Turn on phone priority and the computer keeps its hands off.

It lives in the system tray, has a small settings window, uses no network and collects nothing.

Works with Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses, and is meant for Bluetooth headphones without multipoint too. Tested so far on Oakley Meta HSTN glasses with an iPhone, on Kubuntu with KDE Plasma; see what we know about other models at scambio.app/#compat. If your headphones already support multipoint, you probably don't need Scambio.

Install

Pair your headphones or glasses with the computer first (in your desktop's Bluetooth settings), then install Scambio.

Ubuntu and Debian

For Ubuntu 24.04 or later, Debian 13 or later, and distributions based on them (Linux Mint 22, Pop!_OS 24.04, …).

1. Download scambio_1.0.1_all.deb (also on the GitHub release page).
2. Open it with a double click and install it.

The package also adds the Scambio APT repository, so updates arrive with your regular system updates. From a terminal, the same thing is:

wget https://scambio.app/download/scambio.deb -O scambio.deb
sudo apt install ./scambio.deb

To check a .deb downloaded by hand, compare it with the signed checksums of the release: the signing key fingerprint is 24A3 0DBE D897 3273 A486 CC73 86C8 855E 1251 E7E2.

gpg --keyserver keys.openpgp.org --recv-keys 24A30DBED8973273A486CC7386C8855E1251E7E2
gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc SHA256SUMS && sha256sum --check --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS

Other distributions (Flatpak)

If your distribution has Flatpak (Fedora, openSUSE, Arch, …):

flatpak install https://scambio.app/flatpak/scambio.flatpakref

or open scambio.flatpakref with your software center.

From source

See docs/development.md.

First start

Open Scambio from your applications menu and pick your headphones or glasses in Device. That's it: from now on Scambio starts when you log in.

• GNOME doesn't show tray icons by default. Install the AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support extension to get the icon, or use the settings window and the shortcut.
• The shortcut can be changed in your desktop's keyboard settings (on KDE Plasma: System Settings → Shortcuts → Scambio).
• The Flatpak asks your desktop for permission to start at login. If you said no, Scambio runs only while you have it open.

Using Scambio

Scambio works on its own; most days you never touch it.

You want to…	Do this
Listen on the computer	Just press play. Scambio takes the device from the phone, pauses the video for the couple of seconds the switch takes, then resumes it in your ears.
Give it back to the phone	Nothing: after 2 minutes of silence (change it in Settings), when you lock the screen or before suspend, the phone gets it back.
Switch by hand	Press Super+G, or use Move to PC / Hand back to the phone in the tray menu or the settings window. Handing it back with the shortcut also turns on Phone priority; taking it again turns it off.
Keep the computer's hands off	Turn on Phone priority (tray menu or settings). The computer won't take the device until you turn it off or press the shortcut.
Use other headphones	Settings → Device: pick any paired Bluetooth headphones. Hand the current device back to the phone first.
Check what's happening	scambio status in a terminal (Flatpak: flatpak run app.scambio.Scambio status).

Advanced timings and ignored apps live in ~/.config/scambio/config.toml (Flatpak: ~/.var/app/app.scambio.Scambio/config/scambio/config.toml); Settings → Configuration file opens it. After editing, quit Scambio from the tray and open it again from the menu.

From 1.0.1, the default device profile is auto: names containing the word “Meta”, “Ray-Ban”/“RayBan” or “Oakley” select the glasses profile, which waits 2 seconds before resuming your computer's audio after connecting. Other names use the generic profile. scambio status shows DeviceProfile and DeviceProfileSource.

Upgrading from 1.0.0 with Meta glasses: an existing profile = "generic" is kept. Under [device], change it to profile = "auto" or remove the line to enable automatic recognition. Explicit generic or meta_glasses profiles always win, as does an explicit policy.resume_delay_ms timing. Renaming the device in Bluetooth settings also updates automatic recognition; a timing change applies to the next resume.

Uninstall

• .deb: sudo apt remove scambio (this also removes the Scambio APT source).
• Flatpak: flatpak uninstall app.scambio.Scambio.

Your settings stay in your home folder; delete the folders above if you want them gone.

FAQ

Does it drop my phone calls? Not in our tests with WhatsApp calls on an iPhone: if the computer takes the device mid-call, the call stays on your phone's speaker or earpiece; press the shortcut to send the device back to the phone. Regular phone calls and Android aren't tested yet.

Does it need root or a background service with special rights? No. It runs as your user and talks to BlueZ, PipeWire and your desktop over D-Bus. It never pairs, unpairs or trusts devices.

Where is the tray menu? Click the glasses icon in the system tray: it shows where the device is and lets you switch, toggle phone priority, open the settings or quit.

Is there a Mac version? It's coming as a paid app. Join the waitlist at How Scambio is made. One person at Fermich srl directs the project, makes the product decisions and tests it every day with real glasses and a real phone. The specifications, code reviews, design and many of the hardware measurements are written with Anthropic's Claude; the code, tests and packaging are written by OpenAI's Codex from those specifications. Every product decision, specification, review and hardware measurement is documented in docs/ (in Italian), and the rules the agents follow are in AGENTS.md. made.** Designed, reviewed and tested by a human on real hardware; written with AI coding agents. Every product decision, specification, security review and hardware measurement is documented in docs/ (in Italian), and the rules the agents follow are in AGENTS.md.

License

Copyright © 2026 Fermich srl. Scambio is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 3 or (at your option) any later version.

"Scambio" and its logo are not covered by the license; see NOTICE.md. Scambio is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Meta Platforms, EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban or Oakley.

Contact: [email protected]