The Flipper Zero

Question

I heard about it on an episode of Behind the Bastards, and I still can’t tell what it IS. Somebody said it’s like the sonic screwdriver from Dr. Who, but that doesn’t really narrow it down.

In: 4

Answer 1

It is a small computer with a set of antennas, some I/O ports, and capabilities to receive and transmit on many bands and software for dealing with that.

So if you have a random device like a key fob, you can use software on the Flipper Zero to read the fob’s data. Then you can use that software to have the Flipper Zero to “play” it back, which means you’ve made a copy of the key fob.

Because of the wide array of antennas it has, it can work with a ton of key fobs and remote controls. I’m pretty sure with the right software it could also do secure rotating keys, so it could replace a garage door opener.

This is also fun if you’re a security tester or attacker. It’s possible you could use it to intercept *someone else* using a radio device to open a gate or interact with a device, then “play back” that signal later to open it yourself. That might not work for rotating keys but if it does then it does. You could also make a *guess* about what the signals to open a gate might look like then write a program that sends slightly different signals over and over to see if you manage to open the gate.

The I/O connectors it has work with a standard a lot of hardware devices use and that’s also well-known to tinkerers. So if there’s something it can’t do but there is hardware that can do it, you can probably wire up a circuit and write some software to make the Flipper Zero use that circuit to do what you want.

But it’s a tinkerer’s tool, so it’s not quite as magic to the average person as the tinkerers state. I don’t think my dad would bother with the work to get it to learn all of his fobs and other devices, even if it meant he had to carry less things. Like a set of actual lockpicks, it’s only “magic” in the hands of people who have spent a lot of time learning how to use it. It’s not quite “push button open anything”, but to a person who’s heavily customized it it comes close.