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Show HN: Control your Bose headphones from your Mac's menubar

450 points by dannyaziz97 5y ago

dannyaziz97 5y ago
I really love my Bose headphones and in the past year I've used them almost exclusively on my Mac. Started running into problems where because I didn't have visibility on the battery level they would die on me during focused work or meetings I know there's some way to get the voice assistant to tell me the battery level but that's not as useful as being able to glance in the top-right hand corner and having to move from my keyboard to press some buttons I can't see on my head is a bit silly? So thanks to this repo (https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect) and the ability to dump Bluetooth logs from Android to Wireshark I was able to figure out how the official Bose app communicates to the headphones not just to get information but also to send commands such as Connecting/Disconnecting paired devices, changing the noise canceling level and media control It wasn't all easy, there's not great support for Bluetooth in the JS world and I wanted it to be cross-platform one day so Swift was off the table but it turns out to use the SPP protocol on Macos you have to go through the IOBluetooth APIs - Thanks to Pyobjc I was able to call the native Objective-C api's from Python and thanks to Pybluez I was able to use an interface that was a complete replica of Python's built-in sockets Would to head some feedback
some1else 5y ago
Great app! If you want to keep distributing it, you'll have to find a less "Bose-sounding" name. I am not a lawyer, but as far as I can tell: a) they can't prevent you from implementing a reverse-engineered protocol, b) they can take legal action against you for trademark infringement / damages.
- rzzzt 5y ago
  Re: a), the best thing is to document the protocol, then let someone else (who has not seen the insides of the original application) implement it based on the documentation.
  - codetrotter 5y ago
    Agree. The name for this is clean room design. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design
    - geofft 5y ago
      In the US at least, clean room reverse engineering is not required (see the "case law" section of the article, which documents two cases where clean-room separation was not maintained and the reverse engineers still prevailed) nor does it necessarily protect you (all the examples in the article predate the DMCA, which puts significant restrictions on reverse-engineering itself, and as the article points out, the clean-room approach is it relevant for patents).
  - stavros 5y ago
    It doesn't sound like the OP has seen the insides of the original application either, sounds like it was just the protocol that was reverse engineered, from the packets.
- abcd_f 5y ago
  If they would want to make OP’s life difficult, they will find a way. Even through the protocol reversing angle. Most likely there’s a clause in their EULA that prohibits reversing anything related once you start using a product. The only way around it is to show that you never accepted the EULA in the first place. That in itself is difficult, especially since the OP is being open about already using their products. Not to be a skeptical old fart, but this won’t end well. Especially since it’s a $ software.
  - drcross 5y ago
    >Even through the protocol reversing angle. This is reverse engineering in the same way that I redraw a map of my drainage pipes when there's a leak in my house. My plumber is not going to sue me and neither will Bose.
    - eps 5y ago
      They won't sue. They will just threaten to do that and the OP will need to decide if he can afford to "engage" with them even if he may technically be in clear. To argue that reversing a protocol is not an issue you'd need to be in front of a judge and it's expensive to get there.
faeyanpiraat 5y ago
Is this legal?
- oh_sigh 5y ago
  The program, yes. The name, probably not.
  - luastoned 5y ago
    The fact that it's sold, most likely not.
    - saurik 5y ago
      That makes no difference: while I am not a layer and you absolutely should contact your lawyer before doing something like this to get your ducks in a row (and generally you would thereby be a fool to use what I say as "legal advice"), the relevant fair use here comes from legal precedent and even explicit exemptions required to ensure "software interoperability", not some concept surrounding "non-commercial use" (which I think is highly unlikely to protect you in almost any situation).
  - saurik 5y ago
    Which is always where these projects get screwed: the lawyers are able to get easy cease and desists and make credible threats for leverage merely due to trademark law; and yet somehow people make this same mistake over and over again :/.
  - bellyfullofbac 5y ago
    Yeah, the Bose legal department is probably laughing right now at the easy slam dunk... To elaborate, the lawyers will probably say the fact that it's made to work with their headphones, and the name which can be confused with theirs, means it's a misuse of their trademark, and it's confusing enough that people might think it's an official Bose app, and who knows what sort of nastiness might be hiding in there. Should've called it "esob app" or something. Or wait for the cease and desist and rename it to "Butt-Head Headphone Company app" (reference: [1]) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#Libel_dispute_with_Carl_Sagan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#Libel_di...
petard 5y ago
How did you figure out the Bluetooth protocol and commands? I have a Cannondale app for my bike, which is reading the Bluetooth wheel sensor to display speed and mileage. I'd like to build my own app for it but clueless on how to figure out the pairing and transmitted data.
- halfdan 5y ago
  You might enjoy this guy who figured out the Bluetooth protocol for good under desk bike: https://codaris.github.io/UnderDeskBike/ https://codaris.github.io/UnderDeskBike/
- dannyaziz97 5y ago
  Hopefully this helps? https://medium.com/propeller-health-tech-blog/bluetooth-le-packet-capture-on-android-a2109439b2a1 https://medium.com/propeller-health-tech-blog/bluetooth-le-p...
- mcky 5y ago
  The ANT+ protocol is pretty standard in cycling tech, it might be worth seeing if you can reverse engineer anything using that, as it'll likely have more standard data than trying to reverse engineer BLE payloads
- tyingq 5y ago
  He mentioned Denton Liu in a tweet, who made this: https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect
- kingosticks 5y ago
  I found these articles helpful/educational: * https://urish.medium.com/reverse-engineering-a-bluetooth-lightbulb-56580fcb7546 https://urish.medium.com/reverse-engineering-a-bluetooth-lig... * http://travisgoodspeed.blogspot.com/2011/12/introduction-to-bluetooth-rfcomm.html http://travisgoodspeed.blogspot.com/2011/12/introduction-to-... * https://github.com/dlenski/ttblue/blob/master/tt_bluetooth.md#reverse-engineered-ble-protocol https://github.com/dlenski/ttblue/blob/master/tt_bluetooth.m...
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
dijit 5y ago
For those on Linux; I had great success with the “based-connect” program, which enables me to configure “known devices” (which one is primary and so on) and, crucially, configure noise cancelling. https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect
12ian34 5y ago
> Windows 10 and Linux support coming soon Great to hear! I have had a lot of issues with getting high quality bi-directional audio (e.g. for video calls) to work with my QC35s on both Windows and Linux on both my Thinkpad and desktop since it defaults back to the HFP profile instead of A2DP. I don't fully understand the problem and I don't get why it seems to work fine on Macbooks. I'd (unfortunately) be happy to pay the price you've quoted for this app if it solves that problem well.
- rkangel 5y ago
  I use QC35s with Windows and Linux and have always found them excellent despite having what appears to be the same behaviour as you. This is what I have: Once paired, two audio output devices are created - "Bose QuietComfort 35 Stereo" (A2DP) and "Bose QuietComfort 35 Hands-Free AG Audio" (HFP). The A2DP one is the default output source for the PC, so I get this behaviour: * When I'm not in a call of any form, normal system audio (Youtube, Spotify etc.) comes through A2DP with good quality * When I start a call, the headphones switch to HFP (you can tell due to increase in hiss) and audio quality drops. During this time you can't hear what the PC is playing over the A2DP output (unless I switch the default Windows output). I'd be curious to know if you get different behaviour on Macbooks because the above "one profile at a time" always seemed to me to be a fixed limitation of the hardware and Bluetooth.
  - 12ian34 5y ago
    Interesting that the HFP is usable for you. When I've tried to get it working on Linux using blueman, pavucontrol and pulseaudio-bluetooth, switching to HFP is so terrible that I default back to the trusty 3.5mm TRRS jack for calls. I haven't personally tried it on a MacBook but I do know that colleagues seem to use their bluetooth headphones just fine with no clear quality drop.
    - rkangel 5y ago
      Yes - I get the same (good) performance as Windows on multiple Linux machines. I'm running Fedora which may help, but I had to do no fiddling - just worked 'out of the box'.
tobiasbischoff 5y ago
Yeeh. Can you make it for iOS as well? I would love an alternate app that does not send all my data about what im hearing to bose..
- Oddskar 5y ago
  "All my data"? What data are you referring to specifically?
haddr 5y ago
On a side note: some while ago MacOS was showing battery status for bluetooth connected headphones. Now it doesn't. Is there any way to turn it on again? On the other hand: iPhones are still showing battery level.
- rzzzt 5y ago
  It displayed battery level for the Magic Mouse as well at one point.
  - breakfastduck 5y ago
    It still does
tr1ll10nb1ll 5y ago
This sounds so great! I wish I could do this for my Sony Headphones app. I use my Sony WF-1000XM3s almost exclusively with my Mac and it's a shame that each time I need to pair with my iPhone to change the settings. I could possibly use an external software and set the settings to default from the Sony Headphones app but then I won't be able to control Clear Bass, so well yes, there needs to be a Mac app for Sony too.
- seumars 5y ago
  Totally agree. Just to be able to see the battery level on macOS would be a great improvement.
  - tr1ll10nb1ll 5y ago
    Guess I need to start looking at macOS development properly and learn reverse engineering. Price worth paying for that additional flexibility haha since I'm pretty sure I'll be upgrading to another pair of Sony wireless buds or the WH series if I have to.
  - driverdan 5y ago
    All you have to do is tap the power button on the XM3 headphones and it will tell you the battery level.
- dawnerd 5y ago
  Battery levels show up natively on iOS so I’m not sure why they don’t on macOS as well. Starting to think the macOS Bluetooth stack is just incomplete.
- driverdan 5y ago
  What settings are you changing? I have the same headphones and never change anything. I use the Wavelet app on my phone to properly balance its frequencies.
  - tr1ll10nb1ll 5y ago
    I'm using the Sony Headphones app for mainly changing the Clear Bass to my liking and for checking the battery status of the case and the buds. Just to be clear, I'm referring to WF and not WH.
mmmmmbop 5y ago
Super cool project! Sharing two related pieces of feedback: 1. I'd be willing to buy the app, but I'm missing info on support guarantees. I.e. is there some commitment to support potential changes to the Bose communication protocol for some time period? Personally, I'd be hesitant to pay $9 for an app that might just break with the next Bose update. 2. I wanted to reach out to you to ask about 1, but I didn't find a way to contact you. I don't have Twitter, and there seems to be no e-mail address or anything on the website. (Also related to 2: Not wanting to sound like a buzzkill, but I think at least in the UK you are legally obliged to have some contact information on your website. [0]) [0] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2013/regulation/6/made https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2013/regulation/6/m...
- neurostimulant 5y ago
  He does provide his email address on the purchase email.
  - ev1 5y ago
    This is insufficient; requirement is Before an order is placed You must provide: your business name, contact details and address
api 5y ago
All these things that require and support only a mobile app to set up are tremendously irritating. I use my headphones with my Mac and would like to be able to configure and update them there. Can we get over this "mobile is replacing everything" meme? It's obviously not happening. I never thought it would happen, but a bunch of people started predicting it via faulty reasoning by loose analogy with the mainframe to PC transition.
- tinnyx 5y ago
  While the part with configuration is true, it is at least possible to update some of the headphones using https://btu.bose.com/#section=install https://btu.bose.com/#section=install
- passtheglass 5y ago
  You don't need a mobile app to set these headphones up at all. Everything is available on the device with phyiscal buttons (part of the reason it's such a good pair of headphones), the tech existed before people became conditioned on having apps for everythng.
  - lxgr 5y ago
    As far as I know, you can't manage the list of paired devices from just the headphones, as well as managing the noise cancellation level on the original QC35.
Mandatum 5y ago
Charging for a Bose product with a Boze name.. You’re going to get sued. If it was free or open source you could argue you’re not profiting from it, but the way it’s presented.. You’re selling software with the likeness of a brand for the products sold by the brand. Hope you’ve got a lawyer. You’re probably lucky that they’re a research driven organisation given the founder donated majority shares for it to MIT with a mission lock clause which means it’s never going to be acquired by a tech giant or private equity. This is good because it means they don’t have for profit lawyers on staff to fuck over people like you. Nevertheless you’re still screwed.
- bsder 5y ago
  He missed a step by not calling it "Bozo". The "consumer confusion" headlines and legal filings would be works of art.
  - dcolkitt 5y ago
    Exactly. Like when Nathan Fielder opened a coffee shop named “Dumb Starbucks”, called it a conceptual art project, and operated for [:strikethrough: months] days, making hundreds of thousands without ever getting sued.
    - manarth 5y ago
      > "and operated for months" 3ish days: opened Friday evening, closed down on Monday. And gave away the coffee (OK, I'm sure there was a fair amount made from the TV show).
- densekernel 5y ago
  Hopefully this isn't the only possible outcome... Someone at Bose may also be interested in this kind of development.
  - p49k 5y ago
    The best outcome is just to change the name right now and be careful not to violate trademarks and avoid any chance of conflict. They won’t be sued if they hurry to rename it to something generic, change the domain name, change the wording to say “compatible with headphones made by Bose”, include prominent text that says “Bose is a trademark of Bose Corporation and this product is not endorsed or supported by them in any way”, stop using their trademarks incorrectly (some instances are improperly lowercase), etc. They can even redirect the old domain to the new one for a while. A company like Bose is not going to punish a mistake that was corrected in good faith in a timely manner.
Humphrey 5y ago
I like the idea... But... My QC35ii's already: - tell me the battery level when turn them on, and the batteries last for so long that they rarely get low enough for me to care what the level is. - Have a button that cycles through which 2 devices are simultaneously connected. I can't imagine a system menu being anymore convenient than a dedicated button on my ear. I wouldn't consider buying it unless it changed the deeper settings such as self voice level (I change this often while zooming). That's the only setting that doesn't have a quick shortcut physical button on the device.
- callahad 5y ago
  > Have a button that cycles through which 2 devices are simultaneously connected. I'm feeling very dumb asking this, but... which button is that?
  - jonathanlydall 5y ago
    I wanted to know myself, so I just checked the guide on the iOS app which actually tells you this. The slider on right ear piece which is also used to turn the headset on/off. A short held slide to the right apparently switches connected devices, while a long held slide opens it for pairing.
    - 7ewis 5y ago
      Oh wow, owned mine for years... never knew that. Often been annoyed when despite nothing playing on one device, it wouldn't switch. Great tip, thanks!
    - synecdoche 5y ago
      > Have a button that cycles through which 2 devices are simultaneously connected. I understand this as being able to cycle through all combinations of two stored devices. I'm only able to select the next previously paired device, not a combination of two devices. Have I misunderstood the GP? I can't find any mention in the help about selection of two devices, only iteration of previously paired devices.
mikkelam 5y ago
Is it a web app? UI doesn't look native to me
- gnrlst 5y ago
  Based on this tweet by OP, it's Electron + React: https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424?s=20 https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424?s...
vaughan 5y ago
Awesome stuff! Wish someone would do this for Logitech Harmony remote controls. 1. The software was terrible but hardware was awesome. 2. The entire line is discontinued.
kinard 5y ago
Well done, but as others have said, change the name asap.
StreamBright 5y ago
Buy other sound equipment
- NeckBeardPrince 5y ago
  Why?
  - 1_player 5y ago
    Some people get upset when others buy or like BOSE. You're not supposed to! Pay no attention to the hivemind or the audiophile cult. I've had plenty headphones in my life and BOSE are among the best I've had at their price point. YMMV.
    - StreamBright 5y ago
      Which headphone do you have?
      - sand500 5y ago
        I see posts saying Sony as having better sound and similar of not better active noice cancelling for about an the same price. Haven't tried Sony first hand but my Bose qc35 are extremely comfortable.
        h4waii 5y ago
        The Sony WH1000XM4 ear cups aren't as "deep" as the QC35s, my ears can touch the foam and it takes a bit to get used to that coming from the Bose.
  - StreamBright 5y ago
    I dont know, most of the equipment I have bought was not worth the price. There are other vendors with better quality for the same price. There was only one system from Bose I really liked though, the car audio in the older Infiniti cars.
NeckBeardPrince 5y ago
Battery level is way off from what my Bose headphones say. Shows my iPhone twice, trying to connect to them say failed to connect. Eh, at least it was only $9.
neurostimulant 5y ago
I tried the app on my mojave macbook and it's throwing an error when trying to connect to the headphone (I sent the details to your email). Hopefully it's something that easy to fix as there are many people like me who still stuck on mojave for the time being due to 32-bit apps support.
henvic 5y ago
I'd advice you stop charging and just place Amazon ads on your page. Besides being safer as people said, it'd easily generate more money for you. Ads are not "worse", and it's going to be safer for you, and you could've made a lot more money from it because people would go to your website and many would download it, even if they feel they don't need it... Also, many people are interested in noise canceling headphones, and this would likely be how you'd make money out of Amazon's affiliate program :) I myself have a Bose QC35 headphone, but use it on wired mode (to my Blue Yeti X mic), so I'd be one of the people who downloads it... but I wouldn't pay for it. However, if you had an ad there maybe I'd click on it if it showed the newer and greater 700 headphone with a nice price. https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ * I speak this from experience, as I made about ~500 USD with this post here https://henvic.dev/posts/homelab/ https://henvic.dev/posts/homelab/ even though I added ads on it just when it was not hot anymore (had a few dozen thousands views, but mostly on the first days when I still didn't have ads).
- inetknght 5y ago
  No, do not place Amazon ads on your page. Do not place any ads on your page.
  - henvic 5y ago
    I'm gladly going to remove all my ads on my page if you promise to give me money through GitHub Sponsors or something lol Money matters. Not everyone is rich to not care about that. In my case, what I make is still below what makes a difference in my life, but if I can multiply by 10 times it's going to make a lot of difference. * I promise my ads aren't that intrusive. lol
    - elliekelly 5y ago
      They might not be visually intrusive but they are indeed very intrusive. If you went to the mall would you find it intrusive if Macy’s put a little beacon on your shoulder every time you walked in the door so they could follow you around and track your movement for the next few days? The beacon is small and unassuming and tasteful - you’ll hardly even notice it! Who cares? A stalker is a stalker no matter how nicely it blends with the aesthetic.
berdon 5y ago
Can confirm. I made the first unofficial Dropbox client for Android years ago called "Droidbox". Different name, different logo, explicit labeling of "unofficial" and they still wanted to sue the pants off me.
- Haul4ss 5y ago
  Did you tell them you could build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem?
  - nindalf 5y ago
    For those who don't get it, this is a reference to the greatest HN comment of all time - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863.
    - tumblewit 5y ago
      I definitely laughed after reading this thread. Would advise others to read it.
    - Haul4ss 5y ago
      I was afraid my reference was too old, and people would just downvote not understanding what the heck I was on about.
      - ryandrake 5y ago
        This one never gets too old. Even with the no-jokes policy here, I can't resist upvoting "you could build such a system yourself quite trivially" posts.
    - fossuser 5y ago
      For “greatest comment” I was thinking of cmdrtaco’s comment about the iPod, but I guess that was slashdot. https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ipod https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-i... HN is famous for knee-jerk dismissals of tech and companies that then go on to become wildly successful: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19270689 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19270689 Mostly HN comments about this kind of thing should be ignored. It’s easy to be critical and negative about anything new, it’s a lot harder to be right.
jrnkntl 5y ago
I have trouble with the value proposition. If I understand correctly only the noise-cancelling toggle is a proprietary Bluetooth feature of the Bose? Since f.e. Toothfairy[1] also handles the connection of -all- BT devices for your mac (not only Bose headphones), shows battery info and is $ 5.99. [1] https://c-command.com/toothfairy/ https://c-command.com/toothfairy/
- ibrarmalik 5y ago
  This is interesting. The biggest problem I have with my Bose is that they are listening to another device (e.g. my phone) instead of my macbook, even if they are Bluetooth connected. What I would do with the authors app is disconnect my phone from the headphones. I'm not sure I can do this with Toothfairy.
  - jrnkntl 5y ago
    Not sure if this is on other Bose headphones, but my QC35's can cycle through known devices with the power button [edit] removed assumption about functionality presence on all Bose headphones
- jsgo 5y ago
  By chance do you know of a Windows alternative (likely w/o the battery level indicator and the like, but specifically the redirecting the headphones/airpods/whatever to the device or to another such as a paired phone part)?
devshane 5y ago
This can be done with blueutil (available in brew). `blueutil --paired` to list devices and their addresses, then `blueutil --connect <address>` and `blueutil --disconnect <address>` to switch.
- Aissen 5y ago
  I doubt you can run blueutil directly on the headset. This app controls the headset's pairings, from the Mac.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
fnord77 5y ago
I was all excited about this and then I saw that it is a paid app with no access to the source.
- granshaw 5y ago
  Would you still pay for it if the source were available? (Fellow indie hacker here)
  - throwaway57Df 5y ago
    Not OP, but I would and I have (Blink term emulator for iOS) I bought it because i couldnt be bothered to set up XCode, figure out the build, and sideload it. Im not a pro-developer so that always takes me time. Also the price was reasonable. In fact, that the source is open encouraged the purchase for many reasons. I think one of the problems of Stallman and the GPL (I love Stallman, anI think he was the most prescient visionary of the field of computing as it pertains to society) is that there is little recourse for a GPL project to get punked by a freeloading company (who will often not even acknowledge their use of GPL nevermind open source their code). I think Stallman and the GPL are still right, but there are issues that need to be better addressed (i don't know how)
  - freewizard 5y ago
    I might not need OP's app but generally for apps I do need, I'm happy to pay some premium for open source for the added trust and risk of being ripping off.
  - fnord77 5y ago
    yes. there's a problem with the QC35 I want to fix. It will beep everytime it loses or gains a BT connection. when I'm watching a movie and my phone is in the other room, the headphones constantly connect and disconnect from the phone, making an incessant beeping.
- chewmieser 5y ago
  I don't think you're quite the target audience for this then. It's $9... And most apps don't give you access to source. This seems very reasonable.
mark_l_watson 5y ago
Sorry, a little off topic: iOS and iPasOS apps generally run fine with macOS on M1 Macs. Neat project, I hope the author doesn’t have legal hassles.
vageli 5y ago
Is there a link to a deep dive into the reverse engineering of the app?
ronyfadel 5y ago
It's neat that it shows the Bose devices' battery level. AFAIK the Apple APIs don't display that on macOS because it doesn't fully implement the Bluetooth spec (it does on iOS). One of my apps gathers battery info for all almost Apple devices (and some non-Apple), but I had trouble getting battery info for Bose, Logitech, Sennheiser (etc..) bluetooth devices without very low-level hacks that I wouldn't ship in an app destined for casual users.
remix2000 5y ago
I wonder if it supports Bose on-ear wireless… Is there a compatibility table somewhere?
JeanSebTr 5y ago
Just bought it! I'd recommend adding SPF, DKIM and DMARC record to your domain so that emails don't ends up in spam (that probably the reason they currently do).
- JeanSebTr 5y ago
  Also, please test your download page on different browsers.
ashton314 5y ago
Fantastic! The Bose app for iOS is a dumpster fire. I fired up Charles Proxy to poke around and found out it was using the Facebook SDK. I just want to control my headphones—I’d prefer it if I didn’t have to send telemetry to FB to do that! (App since deleted and I’ve accepted having fewer controls.)
jarek83 5y ago
Could you give some hints how this was done? There is an app for Boss's WAZA-AIR for Android and iOS that I'd really like to have on my Mac. The app itself is much more complex so the question here is if it matters? Or you just took a blackbox and made it run on Macs?
- ronyfadel 5y ago
  Check this: https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect/ https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect/
shp0ngle 5y ago
As other people wrote already - you should rename the app, or you will get sued for trademark infringement, soon.
drewg123 5y ago
Looks like it does not handle firmware updates, which is a plus. I uninstalled the app when they started rolling a firmware update to my QC35 that was widely reported to reduce the effectiveness of the noise cancellation.
- h4waii 5y ago
  FYI, you can officially roll back firmware to a specific version from Bose, and there are 'hacks' [0] (simple MiTM) to allow downgrading to any version. 0. https://github.com/bosefirmware https://github.com/bosefirmware
jonwest 5y ago
Does anyone know of other Bluetooth adapters that do something similar to the Bose Connect app? Where you can specify which devices are connected to it like that? Ideally I’d be able to use an adapter to pair to a set of speakers I use on my desk, and be able to specify which devices are connected to those speakers. I don’t care whether it’s a desktop or mobile app
gdsdfe 5y ago
cool, can you add an audio equalizer ? :)
nickserv 5y ago
> Will this void my warranty or destroy my beloved headphones? > > No! > Boze.app communicates with your headphones in the exact same way that the official Bose Connect app does. I'm not sure how you can know that the protocol is exactly the same without access to Bose's technical documentation, and extensive testing on all supported models. Furthermore, it would be Bose that decides what constitutes a violation of their warranty, not you. This seems borderline unethical to me.
novok 5y ago
While your at it, might as well add a 'disconnect on sleep, reconnect on wake' option too. My bose headphones would stay connected to my laptop often even after I closed it and it got annoying to switch them to my phone.
post_break 5y ago
Has anyone replaced the battery in their QC35's? Mine are getting older, and the battery is still going fine, but I haven't found a reliable source for batteries. Maybe it has changed in 6 months.
waynecochran 5y ago
I thought this sort of this was expressly verboten by the various Apple dev agreements? You may not and You agree not to, or to enable others to, copy (except as expressly permitted under this Agreement), decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, attempt to derive the source code of, modify, decrypt, or create derivative works of the Apple Software, Apple-issued certificates or any services provided by the Apple Software or otherwise provided hereunder, or any part thereof (except as and only to the extent any foregoing restriction is prohibited by applicable law or to the extent as may be permitted by licensing terms governing use of open-sourced components or sample code included with the Apple Software).
- jeffreyrogers 5y ago
  It's not Apple software though, right? It's Bose's software.
  - waynecochran 5y ago
    I am not sure how ownership is defined for apps in the app store. I know they have access to better lawyers though.
    - machello13 5y ago
      This app isn't in the store.
      - waynecochran 5y ago
        But the app that was reversed engineered was right?
grishka 5y ago
Expected a github repo link but instead it's closed source and it costs $9 and it apparently doesn't even allow you to set the noise cancellation level. So it's $9 for an app that has two buttons that send bluetooth packets and it also reads the battery level in some clearly standard way because Android and iOS both show that natively. There's probably less than a screen worth of code. edit: looking at the tweet[1] it's an electron app... An electron mac app for $9. Let that sink in. [1] https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424 https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424
- urda 5y ago
  Honestly it feels really scummy to have reversed engineer (which itself is not an issue) the protocol, use a name way-too-similar too "Bose", closed source, and of course charging 9 bucks for a page of Javascript.
  - grishka 5y ago
    I have no issues with reverse engineering, especially in the name of interoperability (which is btw an exception from copyright laws in many countries), but the rest... yikes.
    - urda 5y ago
      yeah I should be clear that the issue isn't reverse engineering, it's everything else around it.
- iscrewyou 5y ago
  On the plus side(sarcastically), an app that doesn’t have a subscription model!
- xtat 5y ago
  came here to say this- dont understand why this is so upvoted
- neb_b 5y ago
  Who cares how it's built if it solves a problem for people?
angrais 5y ago
@dannyaziz97 can you explain why you're promoting this on twitter and in the title as you reverse engineering the iOS app when you've used a pre-existing library that does all the work? It's quite dishonest to not lead with building on the work of others to promote your product.
- Ninn 5y ago
  It seems someone has taken on the spirit of "Move fast, break feelings"
- dang 5y ago
  I have no idea if that's a real issue or not, but have changed the title from "Show HN: I reverse engineered the Bose iOS app and rebuilt it for Mac" to what the page itself says, which is more informative anyhow.
_throwawayaway 5y ago
Great delivery with no app stores involved. I can totally see this app grow to support more devices.
lardissone 5y ago
Not sure if it works, but there's an open source version of this one for Sony headphones. Edit: forgot the link to repo: https://github.com/Plutoberth/SonyHeadphonesClient https://github.com/Plutoberth/SonyHeadphonesClient
jonwest 5y ago
On a similar note, I love my QC35s for the simple fact that this kind of an interface is available for them in general—I haven’t been able to find other Bluetooth devices that have a controlling app like this, though maybe I’m looking in the wrong places. Does anyone know of any Bluetooth adapters that have a connection app like Bose Connect that would allow me to add Bluetooth to an existing receiver via RCA? That would be awesome!
dirtyoldmick 5y ago
Doesn't work on my MBP and QC 35.
ymolodtsov 5y ago
I definitely don't get people here protecting Bose's proprietary sources. It's a consumer-unfriendly with bad customer support that just keeps it products dying. I'd wish I looked at their user forums before buying QC35.
mraza007 5y ago
Do we have something similar for Sony Headphones WH-1000
smsm42 5y ago
I am feeling weird about this one because I'd totally pay for this app, but not $9. On one hand, I understand that the author spent a lot of work on it, and $9 is not that big a price, but somehow my intuition vehemently protests it. If it costed under $5 I'd probably not even think about it. Maybe my intuition is messed up by years of free stuff.
DavideNL 5y ago
Was going to buy... but unfortunately it's credit card only :'(
tomster2300 5y ago
A heads up that this may be a scam. I purchased the add-on yesterday and never received an email with a download link. I emailed Danny twice, per his website's instructions in case the email was not received, and he's not responding. Sure it's only been 24 hours and I'll wait a little longer before doing a charge back, but just a warning for the wise. @dannyaziz97 if you see this, please either deliver on your product or refund me my purchase. Thanks!
bnj 5y ago
The battery depleting as you scroll down the page is a nice touch.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

450 points by dannyaziz97 5y ago

I really love my Bose headphones and in the past year I've used them almost exclusively on my Mac. Started running into problems where because I didn't have visibility on the battery level they would die on me during focused work or meetings I know there's some way to get the voice assistant to tell me the battery level but that's not as useful as being able to glance in the top-right hand corner and having to move from my keyboard to press some buttons I can't see on my head is a bit silly? So thanks to this repo (https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect) and the ability to dump Bluetooth logs from Android to Wireshark I was able to figure out how the official Bose app communicates to the headphones not just to get information but also to send commands such as Connecting/Disconnecting paired devices, changing the noise canceling level and media control It wasn't all easy, there's not great support for Bluetooth in the JS world and I wanted it to be cross-platform one day so Swift was off the table but it turns out to use the SPP protocol on Macos you have to go through the IOBluetooth APIs - Thanks to Pyobjc I was able to call the native Objective-C api's from Python and thanks to Pybluez I was able to use an interface that was a complete replica of Python's built-in sockets Would to head some feedback

some1else 5y ago

Great app! If you want to keep distributing it, you'll have to find a less "Bose-sounding" name. I am not a lawyer, but as far as I can tell: a) they can't prevent you from implementing a reverse-engineered protocol, b) they can take legal action against you for trademark infringement / damages.

rzzzt 5y ago
Re: a), the best thing is to document the protocol, then let someone else (who has not seen the insides of the original application) implement it based on the documentation.
- codetrotter 5y ago
  Agree. The name for this is clean room design. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design
  - geofft 5y ago
    In the US at least, clean room reverse engineering is not required (see the "case law" section of the article, which documents two cases where clean-room separation was not maintained and the reverse engineers still prevailed) nor does it necessarily protect you (all the examples in the article predate the DMCA, which puts significant restrictions on reverse-engineering itself, and as the article points out, the clean-room approach is it relevant for patents).
- stavros 5y ago
  It doesn't sound like the OP has seen the insides of the original application either, sounds like it was just the protocol that was reverse engineered, from the packets.
abcd_f 5y ago
If they would want to make OP’s life difficult, they will find a way. Even through the protocol reversing angle. Most likely there’s a clause in their EULA that prohibits reversing anything related once you start using a product. The only way around it is to show that you never accepted the EULA in the first place. That in itself is difficult, especially since the OP is being open about already using their products. Not to be a skeptical old fart, but this won’t end well. Especially since it’s a $ software.
- drcross 5y ago
  >Even through the protocol reversing angle. This is reverse engineering in the same way that I redraw a map of my drainage pipes when there's a leak in my house. My plumber is not going to sue me and neither will Bose.
  - eps 5y ago
    They won't sue. They will just threaten to do that and the OP will need to decide if he can afford to "engage" with them even if he may technically be in clear. To argue that reversing a protocol is not an issue you'd need to be in front of a judge and it's expensive to get there.

faeyanpiraat 5y ago

Is this legal?

oh_sigh 5y ago
The program, yes. The name, probably not.
- luastoned 5y ago
  The fact that it's sold, most likely not.
  - saurik 5y ago
    That makes no difference: while I am not a layer and you absolutely should contact your lawyer before doing something like this to get your ducks in a row (and generally you would thereby be a fool to use what I say as "legal advice"), the relevant fair use here comes from legal precedent and even explicit exemptions required to ensure "software interoperability", not some concept surrounding "non-commercial use" (which I think is highly unlikely to protect you in almost any situation).
- saurik 5y ago
  Which is always where these projects get screwed: the lawyers are able to get easy cease and desists and make credible threats for leverage merely due to trademark law; and yet somehow people make this same mistake over and over again :/.
- bellyfullofbac 5y ago
  Yeah, the Bose legal department is probably laughing right now at the easy slam dunk... To elaborate, the lawyers will probably say the fact that it's made to work with their headphones, and the name which can be confused with theirs, means it's a misuse of their trademark, and it's confusing enough that people might think it's an official Bose app, and who knows what sort of nastiness might be hiding in there. Should've called it "esob app" or something. Or wait for the cease and desist and rename it to "Butt-Head Headphone Company app" (reference: [1]) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#Libel_dispute_with_Carl_Sagan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#Libel_di...

petard 5y ago

How did you figure out the Bluetooth protocol and commands? I have a Cannondale app for my bike, which is reading the Bluetooth wheel sensor to display speed and mileage. I'd like to build my own app for it but clueless on how to figure out the pairing and transmitted data.

halfdan 5y ago
You might enjoy this guy who figured out the Bluetooth protocol for good under desk bike: https://codaris.github.io/UnderDeskBike/ https://codaris.github.io/UnderDeskBike/
dannyaziz97 5y ago
Hopefully this helps? https://medium.com/propeller-health-tech-blog/bluetooth-le-packet-capture-on-android-a2109439b2a1 https://medium.com/propeller-health-tech-blog/bluetooth-le-p...
mcky 5y ago
The ANT+ protocol is pretty standard in cycling tech, it might be worth seeing if you can reverse engineer anything using that, as it'll likely have more standard data than trying to reverse engineer BLE payloads
tyingq 5y ago
He mentioned Denton Liu in a tweet, who made this: https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect
kingosticks 5y ago
I found these articles helpful/educational: * https://urish.medium.com/reverse-engineering-a-bluetooth-lightbulb-56580fcb7546 https://urish.medium.com/reverse-engineering-a-bluetooth-lig... * http://travisgoodspeed.blogspot.com/2011/12/introduction-to-bluetooth-rfcomm.html http://travisgoodspeed.blogspot.com/2011/12/introduction-to-... * https://github.com/dlenski/ttblue/blob/master/tt_bluetooth.md#reverse-engineered-ble-protocol https://github.com/dlenski/ttblue/blob/master/tt_bluetooth.m...

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

dijit 5y ago

For those on Linux; I had great success with the “based-connect” program, which enables me to configure “known devices” (which one is primary and so on) and, crucially, configure noise cancelling. https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect

12ian34 5y ago

> Windows 10 and Linux support coming soon Great to hear! I have had a lot of issues with getting high quality bi-directional audio (e.g. for video calls) to work with my QC35s on both Windows and Linux on both my Thinkpad and desktop since it defaults back to the HFP profile instead of A2DP. I don't fully understand the problem and I don't get why it seems to work fine on Macbooks. I'd (unfortunately) be happy to pay the price you've quoted for this app if it solves that problem well.

rkangel 5y ago
I use QC35s with Windows and Linux and have always found them excellent despite having what appears to be the same behaviour as you. This is what I have: Once paired, two audio output devices are created - "Bose QuietComfort 35 Stereo" (A2DP) and "Bose QuietComfort 35 Hands-Free AG Audio" (HFP). The A2DP one is the default output source for the PC, so I get this behaviour: * When I'm not in a call of any form, normal system audio (Youtube, Spotify etc.) comes through A2DP with good quality * When I start a call, the headphones switch to HFP (you can tell due to increase in hiss) and audio quality drops. During this time you can't hear what the PC is playing over the A2DP output (unless I switch the default Windows output). I'd be curious to know if you get different behaviour on Macbooks because the above "one profile at a time" always seemed to me to be a fixed limitation of the hardware and Bluetooth.
- 12ian34 5y ago
  Interesting that the HFP is usable for you. When I've tried to get it working on Linux using blueman, pavucontrol and pulseaudio-bluetooth, switching to HFP is so terrible that I default back to the trusty 3.5mm TRRS jack for calls. I haven't personally tried it on a MacBook but I do know that colleagues seem to use their bluetooth headphones just fine with no clear quality drop.
  - rkangel 5y ago
    Yes - I get the same (good) performance as Windows on multiple Linux machines. I'm running Fedora which may help, but I had to do no fiddling - just worked 'out of the box'.

tobiasbischoff 5y ago

Yeeh. Can you make it for iOS as well? I would love an alternate app that does not send all my data about what im hearing to bose..

Oddskar 5y ago
"All my data"? What data are you referring to specifically?

haddr 5y ago

On a side note: some while ago MacOS was showing battery status for bluetooth connected headphones. Now it doesn't. Is there any way to turn it on again? On the other hand: iPhones are still showing battery level.

rzzzt 5y ago
It displayed battery level for the Magic Mouse as well at one point.
- breakfastduck 5y ago
  It still does

tr1ll10nb1ll 5y ago

This sounds so great! I wish I could do this for my Sony Headphones app. I use my Sony WF-1000XM3s almost exclusively with my Mac and it's a shame that each time I need to pair with my iPhone to change the settings. I could possibly use an external software and set the settings to default from the Sony Headphones app but then I won't be able to control Clear Bass, so well yes, there needs to be a Mac app for Sony too.

seumars 5y ago
Totally agree. Just to be able to see the battery level on macOS would be a great improvement.
- tr1ll10nb1ll 5y ago
  Guess I need to start looking at macOS development properly and learn reverse engineering. Price worth paying for that additional flexibility haha since I'm pretty sure I'll be upgrading to another pair of Sony wireless buds or the WH series if I have to.
- driverdan 5y ago
  All you have to do is tap the power button on the XM3 headphones and it will tell you the battery level.
dawnerd 5y ago
Battery levels show up natively on iOS so I’m not sure why they don’t on macOS as well. Starting to think the macOS Bluetooth stack is just incomplete.
driverdan 5y ago
What settings are you changing? I have the same headphones and never change anything. I use the Wavelet app on my phone to properly balance its frequencies.
- tr1ll10nb1ll 5y ago
  I'm using the Sony Headphones app for mainly changing the Clear Bass to my liking and for checking the battery status of the case and the buds. Just to be clear, I'm referring to WF and not WH.

mmmmmbop 5y ago

Super cool project! Sharing two related pieces of feedback: 1. I'd be willing to buy the app, but I'm missing info on support guarantees. I.e. is there some commitment to support potential changes to the Bose communication protocol for some time period? Personally, I'd be hesitant to pay $9 for an app that might just break with the next Bose update. 2. I wanted to reach out to you to ask about 1, but I didn't find a way to contact you. I don't have Twitter, and there seems to be no e-mail address or anything on the website. (Also related to 2: Not wanting to sound like a buzzkill, but I think at least in the UK you are legally obliged to have some contact information on your website. [0]) [0] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2013/regulation/6/made https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2013/regulation/6/m...

neurostimulant 5y ago
He does provide his email address on the purchase email.
- ev1 5y ago
  This is insufficient; requirement is Before an order is placed You must provide: your business name, contact details and address

api 5y ago

All these things that require and support only a mobile app to set up are tremendously irritating. I use my headphones with my Mac and would like to be able to configure and update them there. Can we get over this "mobile is replacing everything" meme? It's obviously not happening. I never thought it would happen, but a bunch of people started predicting it via faulty reasoning by loose analogy with the mainframe to PC transition.

tinnyx 5y ago
While the part with configuration is true, it is at least possible to update some of the headphones using https://btu.bose.com/#section=install https://btu.bose.com/#section=install
passtheglass 5y ago
You don't need a mobile app to set these headphones up at all. Everything is available on the device with phyiscal buttons (part of the reason it's such a good pair of headphones), the tech existed before people became conditioned on having apps for everythng.
- lxgr 5y ago
  As far as I know, you can't manage the list of paired devices from just the headphones, as well as managing the noise cancellation level on the original QC35.

Mandatum 5y ago

Charging for a Bose product with a Boze name.. You’re going to get sued. If it was free or open source you could argue you’re not profiting from it, but the way it’s presented.. You’re selling software with the likeness of a brand for the products sold by the brand. Hope you’ve got a lawyer. You’re probably lucky that they’re a research driven organisation given the founder donated majority shares for it to MIT with a mission lock clause which means it’s never going to be acquired by a tech giant or private equity. This is good because it means they don’t have for profit lawyers on staff to fuck over people like you. Nevertheless you’re still screwed.

bsder 5y ago
He missed a step by not calling it "Bozo". The "consumer confusion" headlines and legal filings would be works of art.
- dcolkitt 5y ago
  Exactly. Like when Nathan Fielder opened a coffee shop named “Dumb Starbucks”, called it a conceptual art project, and operated for [:strikethrough: months] days, making hundreds of thousands without ever getting sued.
  - manarth 5y ago
    > "and operated for months" 3ish days: opened Friday evening, closed down on Monday. And gave away the coffee (OK, I'm sure there was a fair amount made from the TV show).
densekernel 5y ago
Hopefully this isn't the only possible outcome... Someone at Bose may also be interested in this kind of development.
- p49k 5y ago
  The best outcome is just to change the name right now and be careful not to violate trademarks and avoid any chance of conflict. They won’t be sued if they hurry to rename it to something generic, change the domain name, change the wording to say “compatible with headphones made by Bose”, include prominent text that says “Bose is a trademark of Bose Corporation and this product is not endorsed or supported by them in any way”, stop using their trademarks incorrectly (some instances are improperly lowercase), etc. They can even redirect the old domain to the new one for a while. A company like Bose is not going to punish a mistake that was corrected in good faith in a timely manner.

Humphrey 5y ago

I like the idea... But... My QC35ii's already: - tell me the battery level when turn them on, and the batteries last for so long that they rarely get low enough for me to care what the level is. - Have a button that cycles through which 2 devices are simultaneously connected. I can't imagine a system menu being anymore convenient than a dedicated button on my ear. I wouldn't consider buying it unless it changed the deeper settings such as self voice level (I change this often while zooming). That's the only setting that doesn't have a quick shortcut physical button on the device.

callahad 5y ago
> Have a button that cycles through which 2 devices are simultaneously connected. I'm feeling very dumb asking this, but... which button is that?
- jonathanlydall 5y ago
  I wanted to know myself, so I just checked the guide on the iOS app which actually tells you this. The slider on right ear piece which is also used to turn the headset on/off. A short held slide to the right apparently switches connected devices, while a long held slide opens it for pairing.
  - 7ewis 5y ago
    Oh wow, owned mine for years... never knew that. Often been annoyed when despite nothing playing on one device, it wouldn't switch. Great tip, thanks!
  - synecdoche 5y ago
    > Have a button that cycles through which 2 devices are simultaneously connected. I understand this as being able to cycle through all combinations of two stored devices. I'm only able to select the next previously paired device, not a combination of two devices. Have I misunderstood the GP? I can't find any mention in the help about selection of two devices, only iteration of previously paired devices.

mikkelam 5y ago

Is it a web app? UI doesn't look native to me

gnrlst 5y ago
Based on this tweet by OP, it's Electron + React: https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424?s=20 https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424?s...

vaughan 5y ago

Awesome stuff! Wish someone would do this for Logitech Harmony remote controls. 1. The software was terrible but hardware was awesome. 2. The entire line is discontinued.

kinard 5y ago

Well done, but as others have said, change the name asap.

StreamBright 5y ago

Buy other sound equipment

NeckBeardPrince 5y ago
Why?
- 1_player 5y ago
  Some people get upset when others buy or like BOSE. You're not supposed to! Pay no attention to the hivemind or the audiophile cult. I've had plenty headphones in my life and BOSE are among the best I've had at their price point. YMMV.
  - StreamBright 5y ago
    Which headphone do you have?
    - sand500 5y ago
      I see posts saying Sony as having better sound and similar of not better active noice cancelling for about an the same price. Haven't tried Sony first hand but my Bose qc35 are extremely comfortable.
      - h4waii 5y ago
        The Sony WH1000XM4 ear cups aren't as "deep" as the QC35s, my ears can touch the foam and it takes a bit to get used to that coming from the Bose.
- StreamBright 5y ago
  I dont know, most of the equipment I have bought was not worth the price. There are other vendors with better quality for the same price. There was only one system from Bose I really liked though, the car audio in the older Infiniti cars.

NeckBeardPrince 5y ago

Battery level is way off from what my Bose headphones say. Shows my iPhone twice, trying to connect to them say failed to connect. Eh, at least it was only $9.

neurostimulant 5y ago

I tried the app on my mojave macbook and it's throwing an error when trying to connect to the headphone (I sent the details to your email). Hopefully it's something that easy to fix as there are many people like me who still stuck on mojave for the time being due to 32-bit apps support.

henvic 5y ago

I'd advice you stop charging and just place Amazon ads on your page. Besides being safer as people said, it'd easily generate more money for you. Ads are not "worse", and it's going to be safer for you, and you could've made a lot more money from it because people would go to your website and many would download it, even if they feel they don't need it... Also, many people are interested in noise canceling headphones, and this would likely be how you'd make money out of Amazon's affiliate program :) I myself have a Bose QC35 headphone, but use it on wired mode (to my Blue Yeti X mic), so I'd be one of the people who downloads it... but I wouldn't pay for it. However, if you had an ad there maybe I'd click on it if it showed the newer and greater 700 headphone with a nice price. https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ * I speak this from experience, as I made about ~500 USD with this post here https://henvic.dev/posts/homelab/ https://henvic.dev/posts/homelab/ even though I added ads on it just when it was not hot anymore (had a few dozen thousands views, but mostly on the first days when I still didn't have ads).

inetknght 5y ago
No, do not place Amazon ads on your page. Do not place any ads on your page.
- henvic 5y ago
  I'm gladly going to remove all my ads on my page if you promise to give me money through GitHub Sponsors or something lol Money matters. Not everyone is rich to not care about that. In my case, what I make is still below what makes a difference in my life, but if I can multiply by 10 times it's going to make a lot of difference. * I promise my ads aren't that intrusive. lol
  - elliekelly 5y ago
    They might not be visually intrusive but they are indeed very intrusive. If you went to the mall would you find it intrusive if Macy’s put a little beacon on your shoulder every time you walked in the door so they could follow you around and track your movement for the next few days? The beacon is small and unassuming and tasteful - you’ll hardly even notice it! Who cares? A stalker is a stalker no matter how nicely it blends with the aesthetic.

berdon 5y ago

Can confirm. I made the first unofficial Dropbox client for Android years ago called "Droidbox". Different name, different logo, explicit labeling of "unofficial" and they still wanted to sue the pants off me.

Haul4ss 5y ago
Did you tell them you could build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem?
- nindalf 5y ago
  For those who don't get it, this is a reference to the greatest HN comment of all time - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863.
  - tumblewit 5y ago
    I definitely laughed after reading this thread. Would advise others to read it.
  - Haul4ss 5y ago
    I was afraid my reference was too old, and people would just downvote not understanding what the heck I was on about.
    - ryandrake 5y ago
      This one never gets too old. Even with the no-jokes policy here, I can't resist upvoting "you could build such a system yourself quite trivially" posts.
  - fossuser 5y ago
    For “greatest comment” I was thinking of cmdrtaco’s comment about the iPod, but I guess that was slashdot. https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ipod https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-i... HN is famous for knee-jerk dismissals of tech and companies that then go on to become wildly successful: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19270689 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19270689 Mostly HN comments about this kind of thing should be ignored. It’s easy to be critical and negative about anything new, it’s a lot harder to be right.

jrnkntl 5y ago

I have trouble with the value proposition. If I understand correctly only the noise-cancelling toggle is a proprietary Bluetooth feature of the Bose? Since f.e. Toothfairy[1] also handles the connection of -all- BT devices for your mac (not only Bose headphones), shows battery info and is $ 5.99. [1] https://c-command.com/toothfairy/ https://c-command.com/toothfairy/

ibrarmalik 5y ago
This is interesting. The biggest problem I have with my Bose is that they are listening to another device (e.g. my phone) instead of my macbook, even if they are Bluetooth connected. What I would do with the authors app is disconnect my phone from the headphones. I'm not sure I can do this with Toothfairy.
- jrnkntl 5y ago
  Not sure if this is on other Bose headphones, but my QC35's can cycle through known devices with the power button [edit] removed assumption about functionality presence on all Bose headphones
jsgo 5y ago
By chance do you know of a Windows alternative (likely w/o the battery level indicator and the like, but specifically the redirecting the headphones/airpods/whatever to the device or to another such as a paired phone part)?

devshane 5y ago

This can be done with blueutil (available in brew). `blueutil --paired` to list devices and their addresses, then `blueutil --connect <address>` and `blueutil --disconnect <address>` to switch.

Aissen 5y ago
I doubt you can run blueutil directly on the headset. This app controls the headset's pairings, from the Mac.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

fnord77 5y ago

I was all excited about this and then I saw that it is a paid app with no access to the source.

granshaw 5y ago
Would you still pay for it if the source were available? (Fellow indie hacker here)
- throwaway57Df 5y ago
  Not OP, but I would and I have (Blink term emulator for iOS) I bought it because i couldnt be bothered to set up XCode, figure out the build, and sideload it. Im not a pro-developer so that always takes me time. Also the price was reasonable. In fact, that the source is open encouraged the purchase for many reasons. I think one of the problems of Stallman and the GPL (I love Stallman, anI think he was the most prescient visionary of the field of computing as it pertains to society) is that there is little recourse for a GPL project to get punked by a freeloading company (who will often not even acknowledge their use of GPL nevermind open source their code). I think Stallman and the GPL are still right, but there are issues that need to be better addressed (i don't know how)
- freewizard 5y ago
  I might not need OP's app but generally for apps I do need, I'm happy to pay some premium for open source for the added trust and risk of being ripping off.
- fnord77 5y ago
  yes. there's a problem with the QC35 I want to fix. It will beep everytime it loses or gains a BT connection. when I'm watching a movie and my phone is in the other room, the headphones constantly connect and disconnect from the phone, making an incessant beeping.
chewmieser 5y ago
I don't think you're quite the target audience for this then. It's $9... And most apps don't give you access to source. This seems very reasonable.

mark_l_watson 5y ago

Sorry, a little off topic: iOS and iPasOS apps generally run fine with macOS on M1 Macs. Neat project, I hope the author doesn’t have legal hassles.

vageli 5y ago

Is there a link to a deep dive into the reverse engineering of the app?

ronyfadel 5y ago

It's neat that it shows the Bose devices' battery level. AFAIK the Apple APIs don't display that on macOS because it doesn't fully implement the Bluetooth spec (it does on iOS). One of my apps gathers battery info for all almost Apple devices (and some non-Apple), but I had trouble getting battery info for Bose, Logitech, Sennheiser (etc..) bluetooth devices without very low-level hacks that I wouldn't ship in an app destined for casual users.

remix2000 5y ago

I wonder if it supports Bose on-ear wireless… Is there a compatibility table somewhere?

JeanSebTr 5y ago

Just bought it! I'd recommend adding SPF, DKIM and DMARC record to your domain so that emails don't ends up in spam (that probably the reason they currently do).

JeanSebTr 5y ago
Also, please test your download page on different browsers.

ashton314 5y ago

Fantastic! The Bose app for iOS is a dumpster fire. I fired up Charles Proxy to poke around and found out it was using the Facebook SDK. I just want to control my headphones—I’d prefer it if I didn’t have to send telemetry to FB to do that! (App since deleted and I’ve accepted having fewer controls.)

jarek83 5y ago

Could you give some hints how this was done? There is an app for Boss's WAZA-AIR for Android and iOS that I'd really like to have on my Mac. The app itself is much more complex so the question here is if it matters? Or you just took a blackbox and made it run on Macs?

ronyfadel 5y ago
Check this: https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect/ https://github.com/Denton-L/based-connect/

shp0ngle 5y ago

As other people wrote already - you should rename the app, or you will get sued for trademark infringement, soon.

drewg123 5y ago

Looks like it does not handle firmware updates, which is a plus. I uninstalled the app when they started rolling a firmware update to my QC35 that was widely reported to reduce the effectiveness of the noise cancellation.

h4waii 5y ago
FYI, you can officially roll back firmware to a specific version from Bose, and there are 'hacks' [0] (simple MiTM) to allow downgrading to any version. 0. https://github.com/bosefirmware https://github.com/bosefirmware

jonwest 5y ago

Does anyone know of other Bluetooth adapters that do something similar to the Bose Connect app? Where you can specify which devices are connected to it like that? Ideally I’d be able to use an adapter to pair to a set of speakers I use on my desk, and be able to specify which devices are connected to those speakers. I don’t care whether it’s a desktop or mobile app

gdsdfe 5y ago

cool, can you add an audio equalizer ? :)

nickserv 5y ago

> Will this void my warranty or destroy my beloved headphones? > > No! > Boze.app communicates with your headphones in the exact same way that the official Bose Connect app does. I'm not sure how you can know that the protocol is exactly the same without access to Bose's technical documentation, and extensive testing on all supported models. Furthermore, it would be Bose that decides what constitutes a violation of their warranty, not you. This seems borderline unethical to me.

novok 5y ago

While your at it, might as well add a 'disconnect on sleep, reconnect on wake' option too. My bose headphones would stay connected to my laptop often even after I closed it and it got annoying to switch them to my phone.

post_break 5y ago

Has anyone replaced the battery in their QC35's? Mine are getting older, and the battery is still going fine, but I haven't found a reliable source for batteries. Maybe it has changed in 6 months.

waynecochran 5y ago

I thought this sort of this was expressly verboten by the various Apple dev agreements? You may not and You agree not to, or to enable others to, copy (except as expressly permitted under this Agreement), decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, attempt to derive the source code of, modify, decrypt, or create derivative works of the Apple Software, Apple-issued certificates or any services provided by the Apple Software or otherwise provided hereunder, or any part thereof (except as and only to the extent any foregoing restriction is prohibited by applicable law or to the extent as may be permitted by licensing terms governing use of open-sourced components or sample code included with the Apple Software).

jeffreyrogers 5y ago
It's not Apple software though, right? It's Bose's software.
- waynecochran 5y ago
  I am not sure how ownership is defined for apps in the app store. I know they have access to better lawyers though.
  - machello13 5y ago
    This app isn't in the store.
    - waynecochran 5y ago
      But the app that was reversed engineered was right?

grishka 5y ago

Expected a github repo link but instead it's closed source and it costs $9 and it apparently doesn't even allow you to set the noise cancellation level. So it's $9 for an app that has two buttons that send bluetooth packets and it also reads the battery level in some clearly standard way because Android and iOS both show that natively. There's probably less than a screen worth of code. edit: looking at the tweet[1] it's an electron app... An electron mac app for $9. Let that sink in. [1] https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424 https://twitter.com/DannyAziz97/status/1389482681608679424

urda 5y ago
Honestly it feels really scummy to have reversed engineer (which itself is not an issue) the protocol, use a name way-too-similar too "Bose", closed source, and of course charging 9 bucks for a page of Javascript.
- grishka 5y ago
  I have no issues with reverse engineering, especially in the name of interoperability (which is btw an exception from copyright laws in many countries), but the rest... yikes.
  - urda 5y ago
    yeah I should be clear that the issue isn't reverse engineering, it's everything else around it.
iscrewyou 5y ago
On the plus side(sarcastically), an app that doesn’t have a subscription model!
xtat 5y ago
came here to say this- dont understand why this is so upvoted
neb_b 5y ago
Who cares how it's built if it solves a problem for people?

angrais 5y ago

@dannyaziz97 can you explain why you're promoting this on twitter and in the title as you reverse engineering the iOS app when you've used a pre-existing library that does all the work? It's quite dishonest to not lead with building on the work of others to promote your product.

Ninn 5y ago
It seems someone has taken on the spirit of "Move fast, break feelings"
dang 5y ago
I have no idea if that's a real issue or not, but have changed the title from "Show HN: I reverse engineered the Bose iOS app and rebuilt it for Mac" to what the page itself says, which is more informative anyhow.

_throwawayaway 5y ago

Great delivery with no app stores involved. I can totally see this app grow to support more devices.

lardissone 5y ago

Not sure if it works, but there's an open source version of this one for Sony headphones. Edit: forgot the link to repo: https://github.com/Plutoberth/SonyHeadphonesClient https://github.com/Plutoberth/SonyHeadphonesClient

jonwest 5y ago

On a similar note, I love my QC35s for the simple fact that this kind of an interface is available for them in general—I haven’t been able to find other Bluetooth devices that have a controlling app like this, though maybe I’m looking in the wrong places. Does anyone know of any Bluetooth adapters that have a connection app like Bose Connect that would allow me to add Bluetooth to an existing receiver via RCA? That would be awesome!

dirtyoldmick 5y ago

Doesn't work on my MBP and QC 35.

ymolodtsov 5y ago

I definitely don't get people here protecting Bose's proprietary sources. It's a consumer-unfriendly with bad customer support that just keeps it products dying. I'd wish I looked at their user forums before buying QC35.

mraza007 5y ago

Do we have something similar for Sony Headphones WH-1000

smsm42 5y ago

I am feeling weird about this one because I'd totally pay for this app, but not $9. On one hand, I understand that the author spent a lot of work on it, and $9 is not that big a price, but somehow my intuition vehemently protests it. If it costed under $5 I'd probably not even think about it. Maybe my intuition is messed up by years of free stuff.

DavideNL 5y ago

Was going to buy... but unfortunately it's credit card only :'(

tomster2300 5y ago

A heads up that this may be a scam. I purchased the add-on yesterday and never received an email with a download link. I emailed Danny twice, per his website's instructions in case the email was not received, and he's not responding. Sure it's only been 24 hours and I'll wait a little longer before doing a charge back, but just a warning for the wise. @dannyaziz97 if you see this, please either deliver on your product or refund me my purchase. Thanks!

bnj 5y ago

The battery depleting as you scroll down the page is a nice touch.

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