An alternative to HeyMelody and realme Link for your OnePlus, OPPO and realme earbuds.
Android · Windows · Linux
QuickBuds is an open-source alternative to HeyMelody and realme Link. It talks to your earbuds over Bluetooth. It shows the controls that your model has. The phone has real home screen widgets. The PC has a tray icon. It is a hobby project. You can support it on Ko-fi.
QuickBuds works on any Android 8+ phone (Samsung, Google Pixel, Xiaomi, Nothing, Motorola, OnePlus…), not only on OnePlus / OPPO phones. It knows every model in HeyMelody's and realme Link's lists: 140 models in 143 entries. Three models have two ids. It shows only the features each model has. Each model also lists its known issues in Settings.
On OnePlus, OPPO and realme phones (OxygenOS 12 and later, ColorOS, realme UI), the system's own earbud settings can hold the control link of the earbuds. QuickBuds cannot connect in that case. Use the earbud settings in Settings › Bluetooth › your earbuds, or report the case.
Confirmed (43 models)
OnePlus (15 models)
- OnePlus Buds 3: confirmed by its owner on Android, Windows and Linux: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Buds 4: fully working. Every feature is tested on a Nothing Phone (3a), Android 16, and on Windows and Linux.
- OnePlus Buds Ace: confirmed by its owner on Android: noise control, low latency.
- OnePlus Buds Clip: confirmed by its owner on Android and Windows: battery, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Buds Pro 3: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Buds Z2: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus BulletsWireless Z2 ANC: confirmed by its owner on Windows: battery, noise control, equalizer, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, 3D audio, equalizer.
- OnePlus Nord Buds 2: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, equalizer, gestures, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Nord Buds 2r: confirmed by its owner on Android and Windows: battery, low latency, equalizer, gestures, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Nord Buds 3: confirmed by its owner on Android and Linux: battery, noise control, low latency, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Nord Buds 3r: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, low latency, 3D audio, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Nord Buds 4: confirmed by its owner on Windows: battery, noise control, low latency, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OnePlus Nord Buds 4 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android and Windows: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
OPPO (8 models)
- OPPO Enco Air2 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, equalizer, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OPPO Enco Air3 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OPPO Enco Air5: confirmed by its owner on Windows and Linux: battery, noise control, low latency, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- OPPO Enco Air5 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Windows: battery, noise control, 3D audio, dual connection, gestures, find my earbuds.
- OPPO Enco Buds2: confirmed by its owner on Windows and Linux: battery, low latency, equalizer, gestures.
- OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, equalizer, gestures, find my earbuds.
- OPPO Enco Buds3 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Windows and Android: battery, low latency, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, find my earbuds.
- OPPO Enco X: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, high-quality audio, hearing profile, equalizer, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
realme (20 models)
- realme Buds Air 3 Neo: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery. Wear detection does not work.
- realme Buds Air 5 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android: noise control and the feature switches, read back from the buds.
- realme Buds Air6: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, equalizer, dual connection, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds Air6 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android and Windows: battery, noise control, wind noise reduction, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds Air7: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds Air7 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android and Windows: battery, noise control, wind noise reduction, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds Air8: confirmed by its owners on Android and Windows: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds Air8 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, hearing profile, dual connection, gestures, wear detection.
- realme Buds Clip: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, 3D audio, equalizer, gestures, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds T01: confirmed by its owners on Android and Windows: battery, gestures. Low latency works on Windows, not on Android.
- realme Buds T100: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, low latency, hearing profile.
- realme Buds T110: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, gestures.
- realme Buds T200: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds T200x: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, equalizer, dual connection, gestures.
- realme Buds T200 Lite: confirmed by its owner on Android: all features that QuickBuds offers, except find my earbuds.
- realme Buds T300: confirmed by its owner on Android and Windows: battery, noise control, low latency, 3D audio, equalizer, gestures, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds T310: confirmed by its owner on Android and Windows: battery, noise control, wind noise reduction, low latency, 3D audio, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds T500 Pro: confirmed by its owner on Android and Linux: battery, noise control, wind noise reduction, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, gestures, wear detection, find my earbuds.
- realme Buds Wireless 3: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, noise control, low latency, high-quality audio, 3D audio, hearing profile, equalizer, dual connection, wear detection.
- realme Cobble Speaker: confirmed by its owner on Android: battery, low latency.
Not confirmed yet (100 models)
The app detects these models. Their features come from HeyMelody's and realme Link's data. Some may not work.
OnePlus (18 models)
OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2, OnePlus Buds, OnePlus Buds Z, OnePlus Buds Pro, OnePlus Nord Buds, OnePlus Buds N, OnePlus Nord Buds CE, OnePlus Buds Pro 2, OnePlus Nord Buds 2, OnePlus Buds Pro 2（轻享版）, OnePlus Buds Pro 2R, OnePlus Buds V, OnePlus Buds Ace 2, OnePlus Open Buds, OnePlus Buds 3V, OnePlus Buds Ace 3, OnePlus Flow Buds, OnePlus Buds Pro 4
OPPO (51 models)
OPPO Enco Quiet, OPPO Enco M31, OPPO Enco M32, OPPO Enco M33, OPPO Enco Free, OPPO O-Free, OPPO Enco W31, OPPO Enco W51, OPPO Enco W11, OPPO Enco Air, OPPO Enco Play, OPPO Enco Free2, OPPO Enco Buds, OPPO Enco Air Lite, OPPO Enco W31 Lite, OPPO Enco R, OPPO Enco Air2, OPPO Enco Air2 Pro, OPPO Enco X2, OPPO Enco Free2i, OPPO Enco Air2i, OPPO Enco Air3, OPPO Enco R Pro, OPPO Enco R2, OPPO Enco Free3, OPPO Enco X3i, OPPO Enco Air2（新声版）, OPPO Enco Air3i, OPPO Enco X3, OPPO Enco Air3s, OPPO Enco Air4 Pro, OPPO Enco R3, OPPO Enco Air 3i, OPPO Enco Free4, OPPO Enco Air4, OPPO Enco Air4i, OPPO Enco R3 Pro, OPPO Enco Buds3 Pro+, OPPO Enco Buds3, OPPO Enco R4, OPPO Enco Air4（新声版）, OPPO Enco R5, OPPO Enco Clip, OPPO Enco X3s, OPPO Enco Free4（丹拿版）, OPPO Enco Air5s, OPPO Enco Clip2, OPPO Enco Air5s（星光版）, OPPO Enco X4, OPPO Enco Air4s, OPPO Enco Buds3s
realme (31 models)
realme Buds Wireless 2S, realme Buds Wireless 3 Neo, realme Buds Wireless 5 ANC, realme Buds Wireless 6 Neo, realme Buds Wireless 6, realme Buds Wireless 6 ANC, realme Buds Air 3, realme Buds Q2s, realme Buds Air 3S, realme Buds Air 5, realme Buds N1 Pro, realme Buds N1, realme Buds T200 Lite, realme TechLife Buds, realme Buds T500, realme Buds T500 Pro Harry Potter Edition, realme TechLife Buds T500 Pro, realme Buds Air 2 Neo, realme Buds Air, realme Buds Q2, realme Buds Air Pro, realme Brick Speaker, realme Buds Air 2, realme Buds Wireless 2, realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo, DIZO Wireless, DIZO GoPods D, DIZO GoPods, realme Pocket Speaker, realme Buds Wireless Pro, realme Buds Air Neo
Own other buds? Please tell us what works. In the app, Settings › Test my earbuds reconnects the buds. It runs a tour of each feature, shows a diagnosis and adds one JSON line to the report. The desktop uses App settings.
The app offers this test once, after the first connect to a model that is not confirmed. Settings › Feedback sends a description and the log, without a GitHub account. Or open an issue. CONTRIBUTING.md says what to include. Each report lets the next release fix that model.
The developer can answer a report. The answer shows once in the app, on the next daily count (see Privacy). To talk to the developer and other owners, join the Discord server. If the earbuds do not connect, follow Send a snoop log for a connect problem.
The app's log is not enough to add a missing feature. The developer does not own your earbuds and cannot guess the command. An issue for a missing feature needs both of these:
- A Bluetooth snoop log of HeyMelody or realme Link while you change the setting.
- A screen recording of the vendor app during the same test, or numbered screenshots with a label for each step.
An issue without them waits, and closes after 7 days with no answer. The log takes about 10 minutes and needs an Android phone. A PC cannot make it, because the vendor apps run only on a phone. The iPhone versions of the vendor apps cannot make it either.
- Turn on the Bluetooth HCI snoop log in Developer options.
- Stop QuickBuds. Change the setting in the vendor app: on, off, on.
- Take a bug report and copy
btsnoop_hci.logout of it. - Open a Missing feature issue and attach the log and the recording.
All steps: Send a snoop log for a missing feature.
The current release is 5.6.0. Pair your earbuds in the system's Bluetooth settings first. QuickBuds connects to paired earbuds. It does not pair them.
| Platform | How |
|---|---|
| Android 8+ | Install QuickBuds<version>.apk from the latest release. Allow the Bluetooth permission when asked. |
| Windows 10 / 11 | Unzip QuickBuds<version>-windows-x64.zip and run quickbuds.exe. It is portable: no installer, no drivers, no background service. |
| Linux | Run the command below. It needs only curl and BlueZ. |
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/spizganed/QuickBuds/main/scripts/install-linux.sh | shThe script needs no administrator rights, adds a menu entry, and the app updates itself. More ways to install, and how to remove it: INSTALL-LINUX.md.
Got the APK somewhere else? The only official downloads are the GitHub releases. A copy from another site is genuine only if it carries the signature of this certificate (SHA-256). Run
apksigner verify --print-certs <apk>to see the signature:9ae0ea888079cbd86af5a24391cd351af4a81fc04ebe9bd8429074c736249f61
| Area | What you get |
|---|---|
| Battery and wear | Each bud and the case, live. |
| Noise control | Off, Noise cancelling (Low, Medium, High, Smart), Adaptive, Transparency. |
| Sound | Equalizer with presets, custom curves and bass boost. High-quality audio, 3D audio, low latency mode. High-quality audio needs an LHDC or LDAC link on models that offer a codec list. The phone's Bluetooth settings choose the codec. The High-quality audio switch changes the bitrate and the sampling rate. |
| Hearing | A hearing test that tunes the sound to your ears, and a fit test of the ear-tip seal. |
| Controls | Gestures per bud, wear detection, dual connection, find my earbuds, prompt volume, tap sensitivity, firmware version. |
| Per model | QuickBuds reads the model and shows only what that model supports. Settings › Known issues lists the limits of your model and phone, and the app tells you once when your model has some. A switch on the feature-sync engine moves only when the earbuds confirm it. Noise control moves at the tap. A failed change shows a toast with the reason. |
| Android | Home screen widgets from 2×2 up: the battery first, then the noise control and switches after a double tap. A 1×1 widget steps through your noise control modes. Quick Settings tiles: noise control, low latency, wind noise reduction and open QuickBuds. A notification with the battery rings. On Android 16, a status chip can show the earbud levels in the status bar. A ten-page setup guide. A game equalizer that follows the game in the foreground (needs Usage access). |
| PC | A tray icon with quick controls (Windows) or a battery menu (Linux). |
| Looks | Material, QuickBuds, Pixel art and Glass styles. OLED Black, Classic Dark and White themes, wallpaper colours, your own accent and palettes. Glass has six backgrounds. The phone and its widgets have all four styles. The PC app has the first three. |
| Feedback | Settings › Feedback sends a description, a model test or a crash report with the log, without a GitHub account. The developer can answer a report, and the answer shows once in the app. |
| Languages and updates | 27 languages, switchable in the app. Updates come from GitHub releases. The PC app updates itself. |
| Widget: battery | Widget: noise control | Tray: Linux |
|---|---|---|
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- CONTRIBUTING.md: build, tests, translations, where things are, and the rules.
- build-android.md and build-desktop.md: the build steps for each app.
- report-worker/: the Cloudflare Worker behind Feedback, the daily count and the replies.
- PACKET-CAPTURE.md: capturing the earbuds' traffic, HeyMelody's included.
- PROTOCOL.md: the wire format, every claim tagged with its source.
- ROADMAP.md: the plan, and the features decided against.
Everything to build and release QuickBuds is in this repository, except the signing key. If the project stops, anyone can fork it and publish their own signed build.
The first hints about the earbud protocol came from OppoPodsManager, Pods-Protocol-Reverse-Engineering and OppoPods. Today every fact in PROTOCOL.md rests on a capture, a device test, or the vendor apps. The project studied the vendor apps for interoperability only.
Built with Slint (GPLv3) and tray-icon on the PC.
Fonts: Doto and Google Sans Flex,
both SIL Open Font License 1.1, licenses bundled in app/src/main/assets/.
Once a day, QuickBuds sends its platform, its version and a random install ID to a Cloudflare Worker. The Worker counts active installs with it. The ID ties to no device, account or address. The app sends no earbud data.
The ID also lets the developer answer a report you sent. The answer comes back with the daily count. A problem report carries the same ID and is sent only when you send it. On Android, Settings › Count my install turns the daily count off
(then no reply can reach you). About › Privacy › Reset install ID forgets the ID. On the PC, delete the app_id key in settings.json.
The Worker code is in report-worker/.
These are ideas, not plans. Nothing here is promised. To propose one, open a feature idea.
Launch an app with an earbud gesture. You pick a gesture, for example a triple tap on the left bud. You pick an installed app or action. Examples are Spotify, a playlist, or a voice assistant such as Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude. QuickBuds runs it when the gesture happens.
Open questions:
- Do the earbuds report a gesture over the control link when that gesture has no function set? If yes, the app can act on it. If no, a workaround needs its own research.
- HeyMelody already offers "voice assistant" as a triple-tap function on some models. Then the phone's chosen assistant app starts. That path can work for models that offer it.
- It differs from HeyMelody's firmware "Spotify Tap", which no model uses (see ROADMAP.md).
Status: idea, no research yet.
Copyright (C) 2026 spizganed
QuickBuds has two licences:
- Open source: the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. Everyone can use, study, change and share QuickBuds under this licence. It has no warranty. See LICENSE.
- Commercial: the copyright holder can license QuickBuds under other terms, for example for a company that wants to build it into a closed-source product. To ask, open an issue on GitHub.
Contributors keep the copyright of their work. They license it under both terms in the Contributor License Agreement. The public source stays under the GPL.
QuickBuds is an independent project. It is not affiliated with OnePlus, OPPO, realme, HeyTap or their affiliates. Those companies do not endorse or sponsor it. OnePlus, OPPO, realme, HeyMelody and the earbud model names are trademarks of their owners. This text uses them only to say which devices the app works with. The project studied the protocol only to make these earbuds work with this app.