Install GimbalPilot on Windows

1 · Download and extract the zip

GimbalPilot for Windows ships as a plain .zip — there is no installer, nothing touches the registry, and you never need admin rights. To uninstall later, you just delete the folder.

1. Download the Windows zip.
2. Right-click the downloaded file and choose Extract All…, then pick a permanent home for it — Documents or a folder like C:\GimbalPilot both work fine.
3. Open the extracted folder and find GimbalPilot.exe.

Don't run it from inside the zip. Windows lets you double-click files in a zip preview window, but the app can't save settings from there. Extract first, then launch.

2 · The SmartScreen notice

The first time you launch, Windows shows a blue dialog that says “Windows protected your PC.” This is Microsoft SmartScreen, and it appears for any new app that isn't code-signed with an established download reputation — which a beta app from a small developer, by definition, doesn't have yet. It is not a malware detection; it means “I haven't seen this file often enough to vouch for it.”

[ Screenshot: the “Windows protected your PC” dialog with the “More info” link highlighted ]

1. Click the small More info link in the dialog.
2. The dialog expands to show the app name — click Run anyway.

[ Screenshot: the expanded dialog showing GimbalPilot.exe and the “Run anyway” button ]

That's it — Windows remembers the choice for this file, so the notice won't come back on later launches.

3 · First launch

GimbalPilot opens on the connect screen and starts scanning for gimbals over Bluetooth. Before it can find yours:

1. Power on the gimbal and let it finish balancing.
2. Close the DJI Ronin app everywhere — on every phone and tablet that has ever paired with the gimbal. The gimbal accepts one Bluetooth connection at a time, and a Ronin app sitting in the background still holds it. Swipe it away fully, don't just switch apps.
3. Make sure Bluetooth is on in Windows Settings.

Your gimbal appears in the list within a few seconds — select it and connect. From there the app walks you through picking your video source and, if you have a compatible Sony body, pairing the camera for zoom.

4 · Enter your license key — or start the trial

No key yet? Start the free 7-day trial from the launch screen with just your email — everything is unlocked, and no card is needed. (One trial per person and machine; the sign-up needs internet once.)

If you've subscribed, your key looks like GP-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX and was shown on the welcome page right after checkout. Paste it into the license field and the app verifies it online. After that it keeps working through a generous offline grace period — a service never stops because the Wi-Fi dropped.

5 · Troubleshooting quick hits

Gimbal not found

• Is Bluetooth actually on in Windows? (Airplane mode and some laptop function keys silently disable it.)
• Is the Ronin app really closed on every device? Backgrounded still counts as connected — force-quit it.
• Power-cycle the gimbal, then let GimbalPilot scan again.

Black video

• Another app is holding your capture card. DirectShow capture devices are exclusive — only one app can read them at a time. Close OBS, Zoom, Teams, or anything else that might have grabbed it, then re-select the source in GimbalPilot.
• Also check the obvious: camera awake, HDMI output enabled, cable seated at both ends.

Zoom unavailable

• The camera isn't paired yet — run the camera pairing screen in the app.
• Zoom currently requires a Sony body with Bluetooth remote (verified: ZV-E10 II; other Sony bodies with Bluetooth remote likely work). Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm zoom aren't supported yet.
• Tracking works fine without zoom — pan and tilt don't need the camera pairing.

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Stuck on something this page doesn't cover? Email hello@gimbalpilot.com — include your gimbal and camera model and we'll get you running. And if your hardware turns out incompatible, the current month is refunded when you cancel — see the refund policy.