Pairing a Hero 4 Black with a GoPro Remote Control.

As you may have seen in some of my previous postings, the front LCD screen on my 2 day old GoPro Hero 4 Black was smashed.

Overtime the screen has become completely unreadable, which is annoying! A major plus point of the GoPro is it's wifi connectivity and smartphone app. The GoPro app allows pretty much full control of the GoPro and fortunately I'd paired the camera to my smartphone before the screen was smashed, so I've been getting by without the screen.

Unfortunately, I've now changed my phone, so the pairing has been broken. To pair a new phone to the camera a code is required, the code would usually be displayed on the LCD screen - no screen, no code, no pairing!

I've still got my old Hero 2 and Remote Control, Googling the pairing process for the camera and RC let me to YouTube. I found quite a useful video by Brynmag Productions, which I must have watched a dozen times to note down the key presses (as I'm working blind with no screen).

This process worked for me, I linked my RC to the Hero 4 successfully and was able to control the camera, it may not be the same for you - but if you are in the same boat as me, then it maybe worth a try! (I'm not responsible if anything horrible happens!)

Power on (wait a few seconds to start fully)

3 presses of power button to get to settings
1 press of shutter to select settings

1press of shutter to select wifi

2presses of power to get to RC
1press of shutter to select

1press of power to get to 'new'
1press of shutter to select

Make sure your RC is in pairing mode and they should connect.

Another useful tip, is if the camera is off, press and hold the settings button (the one on the side) for a few seconds and it will switch on the wifi.

GoPro HD Hero 2 freezing issues.

I updated my GoPro to the Protune firmware version when it was released a few weeks ago, since then I've been experiencing slowness and freezing when cycling through the camera's recording modes. I've turned off the Protune options and I still experience the problems, the freeze can be for a matter of 4 or 5 seconds between modes or can last much longer forcing me to have to remove the battery to reset the camera. I've also tried it with and without the Wifi Bacpac attached, I've logged an issue with GoPro. Will have to wait for their response.

*follow up post

Android GoPro app finally released!

The GoPro Android app is now available for download from the Google Play store - woohoo!! Hearing that the app has finally been released, I downloaded it this evening. Initially the installation failed, but after clearing some space on my HTC Wildfire I was able to install the app. If you can't remember what you set your GoPro's wireless password to be, you'll need to connect the wifi bacpac to your PC and check (or reset) using CineForm Studio.
To connect your GoPro to your phone:-

1. If you've not used the Wifi Bacpac and remote previously, chances are you'll need to update your camera and wifi bacpac's firmware. (Follow the instructions within Cineform studio and the GoPro website.
2. Go into the settings menu on the GoPro, and change the Wifi mode "Phone & Tablet"
3. Turn on your phone wifi, it should find your GoPro's network quite quickly, something like GOPRO-BN-123456, chances are it will be the only GoPro wireless network you'll find - unless you happen to be lucky enough to own more than one GoPro. You can always check your GoPro's wireless name from Cineform Studio.
4. Using your password connect to your GoPro wireless network.
5. Once connected, start the GoPro app - and see if you're pointing the camera in the right direction!

Obviously I can only comment on how the app looks and runs on my rather old HTC Wildfire (running Android 2.2.1) The interface consists of a small preview window, roughly 1" by 1/2"; a maximise button, a record button, a settings button and some information on the battery, connection and number of shots. There's also an on /off button that allows you to power on or off the actual GoPro camera. Initial opinion's on the app are:-

1. It works!
2. You can change most (not checked fully yet) of the camera settings from the app.
3. The preview isn't fully live, there is some delay in it updating.
4. The 'Locate Camera' feature might be useful, especially if you put the camera down and it's getting dark - or worst case - if you break a mount and loose the camera. The volume of the 'beep' is quite loud, but if you're at the beach/motorcircuit, the sound of the surf/engines may well overpower it.

Looking forward to getting out and trying the app.