A ride page for your camera
Add KaroRide as a full data page and you get big buttons for wake, start, pause, stop and power off, plus battery, free storage and clip length at a glance.
Your Insta360,
on your Karoo 3.
KaroRide is a free extension for the Hammerhead Karoo 3. It starts, pauses and stops your Insta360 Ace Pro or GO 3S from the handlebar, and tells you whether the camera is really recording.
Ready
00:00
Camera connected. Nothing is recording.
This is a simulation of the KaroRide ride page. Go ahead and press the buttons.
What it does
Or one field next to your data
Prefer your usual page? Drop the start/stop field between speed and power, and control the camera without switching pages.
A REC you can trust
A recording only shows as running once the camera confirms it. If Bluetooth drops, KaroRide says Unknown and keeps the last confirmed state, instead of making one up.
KaroRide never touches your video settings and never starts recording on its own when a ride begins. You decide when the camera runs.
From the ride
Shot on road and gravel rides with KaroRide doing the button work.
Ride page
Start/stop field
Camera selection
Photos from real rides are on their way.
Cameras
Two cameras today, more to come. This is what works, and where the limits are.
| Feature | Insta360 Ace Pro1st generation | Insta360 GO 3Stested in the Action Pod |
|---|---|---|
| Start and stop recording | Yes | Yes |
| Pause and resume3 | Yes | Yes |
| Battery, free storage, clip length | Yes | Yes |
| Wake the camera from the Karoo | Yes1 | In testing |
| Switch the camera off from the Karoo | Yes | No2 |
- Ace Pro: turn on Bluetooth Wakeup in the camera settings. KaroRide only reports the camera as awake once it has connected and answered.
- GO 3S: the Insta360 SDK has no power-off command for it. Disconnect in KaroRide, then switch off on the camera. Use outside the Action Pod hasn't been tested yet.
- Pause ends the current clip, resume starts a new one. Both cameras work the same way here.
Next up is the X3. The X5 and the Ace Pro 2 are planned. If you own one and want to help test, open an issue on GitHub. Offer to test
Install
Three steps, about five minutes. The APK goes onto the Karoo through your phone.
-
Get the APK onto your Karoo
Hammerhead's sideloading guideFrom this page
Open this page on your phone and download the APK. Tap Share and pick the Hammerhead Companion app. If your Karoo is paired, the APK lands on it and installs.
From GitHub
Or share the download link of the GitHub release with the Companion app. Hammerhead installs extensions from a link as well. Use the APK file, not the source code ZIP.
-
Pair your camera
On the Karoo open Extensions, KaroRide, Open. Accept the SDK notice and allow Bluetooth. Switch the camera on, pick it from the list and confirm on the camera if it asks.
-
Put it in your ride profile
Add a data page with the field CAMERA CONTROL as its only field. Or place CAMERA START / STOP next to your usual data.
Updating later: install the new APK over the old one. Don't uninstall first, and your settings stay.
Download
This is a preview. It works on my rides, and it may still have rough edges on yours. Tell me about them.
- Version
- 1.2.0 preview 1
- Size
- 27.8 MB
- Needs
- Karoo 3, Android 12 or newer
- SHA-256
c8973c6097b3d06271db40eddf57bb94ce8b523a78c978f0b98d541705a746e2- Compare this with the checksum of your downloaded file if you want to be sure it arrived unchanged.
Questions
Do I need my phone on the ride?
No. The Karoo talks to the camera directly over Bluetooth. Your phone is only needed once, to get the APK onto the Karoo.
What happens if the connection drops?
The camera may keep recording. KaroRide shows the state as Unknown and marks the last confirmed status. Once it reconnects, it reads the real state from the camera.
Does a pause stay in the same video file?
No. Pause ends the clip, resume starts a new video file. KaroRide remembers per camera that you paused.
Can I control two cameras at the same time?
KaroRide controls one selected camera at a time. Stop or pause a running recording before you switch. That's a rule of the app, not a limit of the cameras.
Why can't I switch off the GO 3S?
The SDK KaroRide uses has no power-off command for it. Disconnect in KaroRide first, then switch the camera off on the device. A dark Pod display doesn't automatically mean the camera is off.
Will it change my video settings?
No. Resolution, frame rate and stabilisation stay as they are. Set a suitable video mode on the camera; KaroRide never switches it silently.
Is the app in English or German?
Both. KaroRide starts in English. In the three-dot menu under Language / Sprache you can switch to German, and the ride fields switch along with it.
How do I control my Insta360 during a ride?
Add KaroRide to a data page in your Karoo ride profile. CAMERA CONTROL gives you a full control page, CAMERA START / STOP works as a single field next to your ride data.
Which Insta360 cameras does KaroRide support?
The current preview supports the original Ace Pro and the GO 3S in the Action Pod. The camera table shows what works on each model. The X3 is next, the X5 and Ace Pro 2 are planned and not supported yet.
Is this an official app?
No. KaroRide is an independent project. It uses the Insta360 Camera SDK and Hammerhead's karoo-ext, without any partnership with either company.
Free, and it stays that way
KaroRide costs nothing and has no account, no ads and no tracking. If it ever saves you a shot you'd otherwise have missed, I'm happy about a coffee.
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fiVoluntary, via Ko-fi. You pick the amount there.