Samsung Gear 360 mod unlocks it for non-Samsung devices

As you might have guessed from the device’s name, the Samsung Gear 360 is a Samsung product, which means it is specifically designed to play nice with Samsung smartphones. The 360-degree camera comes with a companion Manager app that only works with the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, Note 5, S7, and S7 edge. That is, until now.

A few weeks ago, Bin4ry, a developer on the XDA Forums, introduced a mod that cracks the lock built into the Gear 360 Manager app. This simple tool allows you to use the app on other Android devices. The mod includes several workarounds that forces the app to support non-Galaxy devices, and it also comes with a fix that prevents video from downscaling from 4k video to 2K on non S7-devices.

All you need to get rolling with this app is a Gear 360 and a copy of the modified app. You’ll need to be running Android 5.0 or later, and you’ll also need a copy of the Samsung Accessory Service app from the Play Store. As an example of what this mod is capable of, Bin4ry says he has gotten the Gear 360 to share its immersive perspective with a Sony Xperia Z5.

Because this is an unofficial mod, user discretion is advised. Furthermore, Bin4ry cautions that there are several known issues that are yet to be resolved. Stitching together videos may take well in excess of ten seconds, live view may stall on a “loading” message, live view’s overlay icons are low-res, and the Samsung Accessory Service crashes from time to time. If you’re willing to give this mod a spin, you might even find more bugs in your way.

Still, despite its flaws, this is a great mod that opens the doors up to those who are interested in the Gear 360 but who don’t have an officially supported device. We imagine it will only get better in time as the community tweaks and patches the bugs.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts regarding this Gear 360 mod? A boon to non-Samsung-ites or too much of a hassle to be worth it? Let us know your take in the comments below!