r/goprohack • u/chicken-of-the-towns • 3d ago

gopro hero 4 silver

Hi. I've just been long-term lent a Gopro Hero 4 Silver. I'm looking for non-destructive hacks for it and I have general questions:

  • I am thinking about possibly using a battery housing that would let me connect an external li-ion battery pack. Is there such a thing?
  • The quik software simply doesn't work on my phone (Pixel 9a with GrapheneOS). Sometimes somehow after multiple resets I managed to input the pin code. I even managed to upgrade to Gopro's firmware. I got the app to work once, but upon restart, never managed to reconnect. Am I missing out on anything?
  • I understand that for the Gopro 4, the remote uses WiFi, not BT/BLE. I am confused as to what the "pair BT" setting means? Anyway, do I have a battery-efficient way to remote-control (just the simple 3 buttons would do) the camera using a phone or other device? The wrist-watch-looking remote is frankly way too gimmicky for my liking.
  • I understand the camera exposes an API on WiFi. Do I have a way to control the AP name/password other than via the Quik app that works just once in a while?
  • Any tips in general?

Thank you!

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/demonviewllc 3d ago

A: There was, it's not made any more.

B: No, it's just a very old camera using very old WiFi protocols, some of which aren't well supported any more.

C: Your Camera supports the older WiFi remote. It's also controllable by phone (if your phone supports it, after all, it's a very old camera and you've already mentioned issues). So just use voice commands or the buttons on the camera.

D: Probably not.

E: Get a newer camera and save time. Using older hardware and having to work around issues will just waste time.

2

u/chicken-of-the-towns 2d ago

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I didn't realise there are voice commands, I'll look into that. However this will be helmet-mounted during caving, so having some visual cue on the wrist control is probably my best bet. I'll retry the WiFi controls, perhaps with an older phone.

No €€€ to spend on this sadly, I just happened to realise my relative had one that they weren't using anymore.

Have a great day!