Flipper Zero

Flipper Zero is a portable multi-tool for “hackers” who likes to play around with radio protocols and access control systems. It started as a Kickstarter project on 30th July 2020. It was then successfully funded on 29th August 2020 after raising a total of US$4,882,784 from 37,987 backers, which blew past their initial goal of only US$60,000.

I was their early bird, so I paid US$119 (S$166) without shipping as Flipper could not determine the shipping cost then. When they managed to get their logistics sorted out in September 2021, I paid US$13.37 (S$19) for shipping to Singapore.

After two years of COVID, I finally received the Flipper Zero on 25th July 2022.

Flipper Zero - Box Open — Flipper Zero – Box Open

Packaging content includes the quick start guide, sticker, and a 25cm USB-A to USB-C cable.

Flipper Zero - Box Contents — Flipper Zero – Box Contents

Flipper Zero - Instructions — Flipper Zero – Instructions

In front contains the 1.4″ 128 x 64 monochrome display.

Flipper Zero - Front — Flipper Zero – Front

Flipper Zero - Back — Flipper Zero – Back

The bottom contains the MicroSD card slot that supports up to 64GB and provides a read and write speed of 5 Mbit/s.

Flipper Zero - Bottom - MicroSD Card Slot — Flipper Zero – Bottom – MicroSD Card Slot

At the top is the GPIO. 3.3 CMOS level, input 5V tolerant and up to 20 mA per digital pin.

Flipper Zero - Top - GPIO — Flipper Zero – Top – GPIO

On the right is the USB-C port for you to charge and connect it with your computer. It works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Flipper Zero - Right - USB-C Port — Flipper Zero – Right – USB-C Port

The IR port is on the left, allowing you to control appliances like your television.

Flipper Zero - Left - IR Port — Flipper Zero – Left – IR Port

When you first start the Flipper Zero, it will randomly generate a name for it. Mine is called Elicdrio.

Flipper Zero - Name — Flipper Zero – Name

Menu includes:

Sub-GHz
125 kHz RFID
NFC
Infrared
GPIO
iButton
Bad USB
U2F
Plugins
Settings

Flipper Zero - Menu — Flipper Zero – Menu

I am not very sure what I am going to use it for. In the back of my head, I can use it as an IR transceiver, radio remote, RFID card reader, and emulator, Universal 2nd Factor (U2F).

The first thing I did was update the firmware using my Mac. It was outdated, so I could not use the Flipper Mobile iOS app with it.

Next, I went to github.com/UberGuidoZ/Flipper and copy some of the files over to my Flipper Zero: