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PairFree 0.2.0

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@Omega-Destroyer Omega-Destroyer released this 18 Oct 15:15
· 7 commits to main since this release
v0.2.0
34e8a15

PairFree grows from a SoundPEATS app into one app for earbuds and headphones of many brands. Android 12 or newer.

Tried on real earbuds: the SOUNDPEATS H3 and Air5 Pro+, and the Soundcore Space A40. Every other model is new in this release. Each brand's support is built from that brand's own app and from open-source projects, but nobody has tried those models with PairFree yet. The model tables show what PairFree offers on each model. If you have one of them, a report from your earbuds helps a lot: see Help add your model.

New in 0.2.0

New brands:

  • Soundcore (Anker), 39 models, based on OpenSCQ30
  • Samsung Galaxy Buds, 16 models from the first Galaxy Buds to the Buds4 family, based on GalaxyBudsClient
  • Sony, 24 headphones and earbuds
  • Bose, 22 headphones and earbuds
  • JBL, 83 headphones and earbuds
  • AirPods and Apple-chip Beats, 30 models, based on LibrePods. These need Android 17, or a Pixel on Android 16 QPR3, or a OnePlus, OPPO or realme phone on Android 16: before Android 17, Android does not let apps open the Bluetooth channel AirPods use.

Also new:

  • An optional status notification for any brand: the battery and buttons for noise control in the notification shade while your earbuds are connected.
  • Record from the official app now works with every brand's app (Device tab), to help add and check models.
  • A drawing of each model, for every brand.
  • Batteries that earbuds report in steps show as bars.
  • Fixes for rare cases where unexpected data from the earbuds could stall the connection.

Updating from 0.1.4

0.2.0 installs over 0.1.4 (the same signing key), but it starts with default settings: the settings moved to a new file when SoundPeter became PairFree. If you saved EQ profiles, export them in 0.1.4 first (Sound tab, Export file), then import them after updating.

Privacy

No account and no cloud. PairFree has no internet permission. What Android's app info lists:

  • Nearby devices (Bluetooth): to talk to your earbuds.
  • Notifications and a link to your earbuds: both optional, and only for the status notification.
  • Bluetooth scanning, marked as never used for location: asked only for JBL models whose Bluetooth LE side does not answer at its usual address. The scan stops when the earbuds are found.

Install

  1. Download PairFree-0.2.0.apk below and open it. Android asks to allow installing apps from your browser or file manager the first time.
  2. Close your earbuds' official app. Only one app can control the earbuds at a time.
  3. Open PairFree, allow Nearby devices, and pick your earbuds.

PairFree has been accepted into F-Droid and appears there once F-Droid's build server publishes it. The build is reproducible: F-Droid builds the same source, checks that the result matches this APK, and then ships this APK with this signature.

Known issues

  • Untested models: on brands and models nobody has tried yet, a setting may not work or may be missing. Please report what you see.
  • Air5 Pro+ LDAC: on a Samsung Galaxy S24 FE the phone refuses LDAC from the Air5 Pro+ and falls back to AAC, while the H3 runs LDAC on the same phone. It looks like an Air5 Pro+ firmware bug and has been reported to SoundPEATS. Leave LDAC off on the Air5 Pro+ to keep aptX.
  • Tested on one phone (Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, Android 16).

Checksums

  • PairFree-0.2.0.apk SHA-256: 145747674f18864373570408abd09fb9c565f8ff08acdc3268929d186219f3d2
  • Signing certificate SHA-256: 338c33bcdcb8c0eb2a04bd57ec63c08afcc9b2a893580211caa8bb50f54f5eb8 (the same key as every earlier release)
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