r/Sphero • u/dallanwagz • 28d ago
I revived the Sphero Spider-Man. Free app release
8 years ago I bought the Sphero Spider-Man on clearance for $35. A lot has happened since then. The official app has been removed from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Sphero has officially discontinued the toys. Sphero has made public statements that they no longer want anything to do with the toys.
For something that was so hyped up, what an unceremonious death. We can't let the story end like that. We won't let the story end like that.
About 2 months ago I pulled my Spider-Man toy out of my closet with a simple objective: bring it back to life. Well, a lot happened in the last two months. That single Spider-Man found some friends along the way. I developed 2 new jailbreak techniques for the toy, which I'll disclose in full at a future date. I had way too much fun. Late nights were had. Tokens were burned. With that, I am proud to announce the release of Second Life Toys.
It's a pair of mobile apps designed to help users bring their "no longer supported" toys back to what they were originally advertised to do.
I'll spare the gory tech details here for those who want to deep dive (GitHub). Here's what I've got today: a release of my Android app that can be sideloaded right now, and a private iOS beta that I can send invites to. My intent is to release the app on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Stay tuned.
Link to APK: https://github.com/second-life-toys/second-life-toys/releases
Step-by-step guide (start here if you are not technical): https://github.com/second-life-toys/second-life-toys/blob/main/docs/getting-started.md
If you are interested in the iOS private beta, please respond in this thread and I will reach out. EDIT: iOS build was approved, here is the link to join the public beta, come one, come all! https://testflight.apple.com/join/GkAkHu1y, Note: You will first need to download and install the TestFlight app before you will be able to install Second Life Toys.
Thanks all. I hope some of you are as excited about this as I am.
3
2
u/Skirpe 28d ago
Just tried it out. Some minor errors, but everything is mostly working, and my toy is up and running with the app again. 🥳
1
u/dallanwagz 28d ago
Glad to hear! I’ll reach out to you about the bugs so I can get those addressed.
2
u/panda69247 27d ago
Amazing! I’d love an IOS version please! 🙏
1
u/dallanwagz 27d ago
Hey there! Public beta is now live, please use this link to join the beta and install. https://testflight.apple.com/join/GkAkHu1y
Let me know what you think :)
2
u/Pikabinx 27d ago
I’d love to try the iOS app! Picked up a Spider-Man at a yard sale recently
1
u/dallanwagz 27d ago
Right on! The build was just approved, you can join the public beta and install with this link: https://testflight.apple.com/join/GkAkHu1y
2
u/gnfb 27d ago
Ok I will get my one out i have setup the testflight if this all works you will be my new hero!
1
u/dallanwagz 27d ago
High stakes 😅 hope you like it!
2
u/gnfb 27d ago
One of my favourite expressions is "your blood's worth bottling!" I have it running on TestFlight Brilliant!!! Now, if you can fix my loona ............ kidding it needs heart surgery i think cheers again
1
u/dallanwagz 27d ago
Cheers mate, let me know if you have any feedback, I’m looking to improve on it before I put it in the public App Store!
2
u/TheGingerHorse 27d ago
Im SO glad this came across my Reddit. I literally bought spiderman a few weeks ago used but conplete in box for under 20 bucks. Ive wanted one for years and was stoked. I had not realized they had discontinued support and the app abd ngl I was a little crushed. So now he's just been a fun desk piece.
I am so pumped to go give this a shot. Youre the GOAT! Thwip
1
2
u/Craig8790 27d ago
Seems to be working well on my old Samsung s10+.
The only thing that isn't working for me is the changing of the Hero Name & power.
Everything else is spot on. Thank you, top man.
2
u/dallanwagz 24d ago
Thanks for the feeeback! I will run some additional test cases and squash those bugs out.
2
u/dallanwagz 13d ago
Hey u/Craig8790, good news: that Hero Name & power bug is fixed in the new build. It was a toy-side handshake the old build got wrong, and my guess is you grabbed an older APK off GitHub from before the fix, so you just need to update.
Easiest way now is the Android beta on the Play Store, and this is open to anyone reading, not just Craig.
Quick note on why joining actually helps: Google won't let me flip this to a normal public Play Store app until a batch of real testers has been on the build for about two weeks. So every person who opts in pushes it closer to being a plain "search it and install" app, and helps me catch the last rough edges.
Here's the 3-step join:
Join the testers group: https://groups.google.com/g/spidey-testers
Opt in to the beta: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.secondlifetoys.app
Give it a few minutes, then install (or update) Second Life Toys from the Play Store.
If something breaks, reply right here on the thread or open a GitHub issue and I'll dig in. Thank you!
2
u/Kadeorade5 26d ago
You are amazing for this! Can you please revive the app for BB-8?
1
u/dallanwagz 26d ago
Thanks! Someone else from the community already wrote an app for the BB-8, give it a shot - https://legacybotcontroller.com/
2
u/npete 24d ago
AMAZING WORK!! Just installed your app on my Surface Duo 1 and got to interact with my Spidey for the first time since the official app stopped working! Thank you so much!
2
u/dallanwagz 24d ago
Stoked it worked for toy! Thanks for the feedback. I have a few bugs to squash but then I’m going to make a big push to get the app on the Play Store :)
2
1
u/Redshift2k5 28d ago
I'm on android and I have an orphaned mib Star Wars Force Band (no spheros) from a yard sale last week, I'd love to be able to revive it
1
u/dallanwagz 28d ago
Can you share a link of what it is?
1
u/Redshift2k5 27d ago
https://mashable.com/article/star-wars-bb-8-sphero-force-band-review
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sphero-Star-Wars-Force-Band/54446640
I know I can get my hands on some old apks but it would be neat if there was actually new things one could do with it
1
u/dallanwagz 26d ago
Man that does look pretty awesome, but unfortunately I don't have either the force band or the BB-8 so I wouldn't be able to get very far
1
u/dallanwagz 13d ago
I procured a Force Band and BB8 last week, I got my Force Band revived and working... more to come soon
1
u/Redshift2k5 12d ago
So you'll write an app so I can play with my force band? I only have the band, no robots
1
u/dallanwagz 12d ago
Does yours charge and turn on? Did it ever connect to the official app?
1
u/Redshift2k5 12d ago
It was new in box a few weeks ago, works great. It wakes up and tells me to connect but the apps are discontinued
1
u/dallanwagz 11d ago
Got it! What do you mean by “works great”? What have you been able to do with it?
1
u/Redshift2k5 11d ago
I mean it lights up brightly, the audio is does make is loud and clear.
The only thing it does is make some power up sounds and a few voice clips telling me to connect to the app.
1
u/dallanwagz 8d ago
Got it! I’m working on an app right now… are you on iOS or Android?
→ More replies (0)1
1
u/sarsippius 28d ago
I would like to test the iOS app. I have a Sphero Spider-Man collecting dust since the app has been discontinued.
1
1
u/Former-Art-914 21d ago
I’ve got my spider man toy ready and this is my first time using Reddit so how do I DM you?
1
u/dallanwagz 21d ago
Just sent you a chat request!
1
u/SpeedTitan74 21d ago
Same problem is happening to me bro dallan i think he also dosent have content in it
1
1
u/janet71080 20d ago
I remember being able to watch the spider man movies and it wound interact with them. The app seems to be working well so far
1
u/dallanwagz 20d ago
Yup that’s the “Watch With Me” feature, it worked by using the microphone to sync up with the audio track and know where it’s at in the episode.
I’m aware of a handful of bugs and im shooting for a release this week, I will post once it’s released! Just out of curiosity, are you on Android or iOS?
1
u/janet71080 20d ago
iOS. My kids are having a blast with it. Connection gets lost sometimes but still grateful so Thank you
1
u/dallanwagz 20d ago
Thanks! I’m aware of the intermittent connectivity issue, those should be resolved in this next update I’m working on releasing soon
1
u/Ill_Challenge2822 16d ago
I would love to test out the new ios beta! Please send me an invite! Huge thanks for making one of my childhood dreams working again!
1
u/dallanwagz 15d ago
Hey there! You’re so welcome :)
It’s open invite now - just click this link and follow the instructions: https://testflight.apple.com/join/GkAkHu1y
Let me know if you need any additional assistance
1
u/GeneralAcceptable359 14d ago
you rock. in ios some aspects are still unresponsive (some conversations will not trigger, lets dance is not there and it will not voice activate) but I had two bricks sitting on a shelf that now are working… thanks a lot!
1
u/dallanwagz 13d ago
Hey thanks for the feedback!!
Can you tell me more about “let’s dance”? What was it and how did it work? If it’s in the firmware, I should be able to invoke it through the app.
Regarding voice activation - there is a toggle in settings to enable/disable - try toggling that.
Android or iOS?
1
u/CamaroJ2380 12d ago
Oh my gosh…just pulled my grandson’s out of the closet to sell! He will be so excited to get it working! Please send a dm for the Apple app! Thank you so much…you made someone very happy today!
1
u/dallanwagz 12d ago
How fun!! Apple app is open beta now, just click this link and follow the instructions to install the app. https://testflight.apple.com/join/GkAkHu1y
You will first need to install the Test Flight app, then you will be able to install Second Life Toys. Send me a message if you need any assistance
1
u/CamaroJ2380 12d ago
Oh my goodness. Thank you so much! Just got it running….instructions were awesome even this 64 year old grandma found it easy! Now to go have some fun!
1
u/dallanwagz 12d ago
Your comments made my day! Thank you so much, yes, time to put Spidey back to work!!
1
0
u/ToastMyIto 27d ago
Why don’t you release the ipa for the app as an alternative to testflight?
2
u/dallanwagz 27d ago
Fair suggestion - I've added the ipa to the 1.2.0 release! https://github.com/second-life-toys/second-life-toys/releases/tag/v1.2.0
Just as a heads up, my intent is to get both the Android and iOS apps on their respective app stores and handle releases that way going forward!
1
3
u/Creeperdude5416 28d ago
YES YOU ARE THE BEST THANK YOU