Install GimbalPilot on Windows
Five minutes from download to a connected gimbal. One setup file, no admin rights, one SmartScreen click, and your DJI RS powered on.
Right now, the desktop app isn't downloadable — a compiled build is on its way. Until then, GimbalPilot runs straight in Chrome or Edge at gimbalpilot.com/webapp with the same features and no install. This guide stays here for when the desktop build returns.
1 · Download and run the installer
GimbalPilot for Windows ships as a single setup file. It installs into your own user folder — no admin password, nothing system-wide — and gives you a Start Menu entry, an optional desktop icon, and a normal uninstaller in Windows Settings.
- Get the Windows installer from your account page (about 220 MB — it bundles the AI models and everything else; no other installs needed).
- Open the downloaded GimbalPilot…setup.exe. Windows shows the SmartScreen notice described below — click past it once.
- Click through the installer. When it finishes, GimbalPilot launches and you log in with your gimbalpilot.com account. Done.
Prefer no installer at all? GimbalPilot also runs straight in the browser at gimbalpilot.com/webapp (Chrome or Edge) — no setup file, no SmartScreen notice. A portable zip of the desktop build is handed out from your account page when available: extract it anywhere and run GimbalPilot.exe (keep the _internal folder beside it — it holds the app's libraries).
2 · The SmartScreen notice
When you open the setup file, 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.”
- Click the small More info link in the dialog.
- The dialog expands to show the app name — click Run anyway.
ILLUSTRATION · THE REAL DIALOG LOOKS LIKE THIS · TWO CLICKS, SHOWN ONCE
That's it — the notice belongs to the setup file only. The installed app launches from the Start Menu with no warnings at all.
3 · First launch
GimbalPilot opens on the connect screen and starts scanning for gimbals over Bluetooth. Before it can find yours:
- Power on the gimbal and let it finish balancing.
- 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.
- 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 · Log in with your account
The app signs in with the same account you created on gimbalpilot.com — email and password, no license keys to copy around. No account yet? Create one at gimbalpilot.com/account first and start the free 7-day trial there — no card needed. (One trial per account; tracking runs in 5-minute sessions during the trial — restart the app for another.)
Logging in needs internet once; after that the app keeps working through a generous offline grace period — a service never stops because the venue 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.
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.