The cyber-buddy,Flipper Zero.
A portable pentest multi-tool with a Tamagotchi-like personality — Sub-GHz radio, NFC and RFID, infrared, iButton, and GPIO in one pocketable device. This guide covers official and custom firmware, safe updating over qFlipper, the CC1101 Sub-GHz radio, the 13.56 MHz NFC module, and the pyFlipper CLI wrapper.
A Swiss Army knife for wireless
Flipper Zero reads, saves, and emulates the signals that surround you — radio remotes, access cards, infrared blasters — with full access to its source code and hardware design so you can tailor it to your own needs.
- Firmware — stock, dev, and custom forks like Unleashed.
- Sub-GHz — CC1101 radio across three bands.
- NFC — read, save, and emulate 13.56 MHz cards.
On this page
What this guide covers
Firmware
Official, release candidate, dev, and custom builds — including the Unleashed fork and its RogueMaster variant.
Sub-GHz radio
The CC1101 radio reads, records, and replays signals across the 300-348, 387-464, and 779-928 MHz bands.
NFC module
Read, save, and emulate 13.56 MHz NFC cards — UID, ATQA, SAK — with saved cards stored on microSD.
Authorized targets only
Only interact with signals and access-control systems you own or are explicitly authorized to test — cloning others' is illegal in most jurisdictions.
Start here
Information
Flipper Zero is a portable multi-tool device for geeks that can interact with various digital systems in real life, such as RFID, radio protocols, access control systems and more. It gives you full access to its source code and design, so you can tailor it to your own needs and preferences. Your cyber-buddy, Flipper Zero, is a cybernetic companion with a Tamagotchi-like personality that enjoys exploring and manipulating digital and analog systems.
This guide covers firmware (official and custom), updating, the Sub-GHz radio, the NFC module, and the pyFlipper CLI.
Stock and custom
Firmware
The bundles of joy when installing various firmware for your flipperzero! The main chipset on the FlipperZero stores both a “New” and “Old” firmware, thus making it a bit easier to custom load your firmware without the higher risk of bricking your device. Granted there is always a risk of bricking your device, so be very careful! Make sure wires are tight and your machine is charged.
Firmware is the software that powers your Flipper Zero and lets you enjoy its amazing capabilities and control its functions and features. We will teach you how to update your firmware, thus keeping your device fresh and flawless with new improvements and fixes. There are different types of firmware for Flipper Zero, such as the official firmware, the release candidate firmware, the dev firmware, and the custom firmwares. The official firmware is the stable version that is tested and approved by the Flipper team. The release candidate firmware is the next version that is being tested before it becomes official. Finally the dev firmware is the latest version that has new features and changes, but it may have bugs and errors. In addition, there are custom firmwares made by other users who want to modify or add something to the Flipper Zero, which we will go over later down in this document. You can choose which firmware you want to use and install it using the Flipper Mobile App or the qFlipper desktop application, with more information in the #update section.
Custom
Section titled “Custom”Custom firmwares are special versions of software that let you customize your Flipper Zero and unlock new possibilities. They are made by creative and talented users who want to share their ideas and innovations with the Flipper community. You can try different custom firmwares and see what they can do for your device! We hope you find the best custom firmware to fit your needs and we recommend having multiple SD Cards with each custom firmware, so you can swap easily.
Unleashed Firmware
Section titled “Unleashed Firmware”Official Repo
Forked Unleashed Firmware include:
Keep it fresh
Update
Once you get your hands on the flipperzero, we recommend that you update it to the latest firmware via qFlipper application, links below:
Official Main Updates Github Repo Updates - Release Page
There are other methods of updating, including Mobile and Web but from experience, I recommend sticking with a direct cable upgrade, to avoid possible firmware corruption.
Sub-GHz radio
GHz
-
The frequencies that FlipperZero operates in are
300-348 MHz,387-464 MHzand779-928 MHzbands through theCC1101chipset. -
GHz Sub Menu
Section titled “GHz Sub Menu”Read- Reads & decodes the signal of the protocol within the frequency range.- Lower left side will display the current frequency.
- Lower right side will display the remaining slots of scanned signals.
Read RAW- Records the radio signal in RAW format.- Requires a microSD for the storage of the RAW.
Saved- Lists previously captured signals stored on the microSD, ready to replay or inspect.Add Manually- Create a signal by picking a known protocol and entering its parameters by hand.Frequency Analyzer- Scans the bands to detect the strongest nearby transmitter’s frequency — point it at a remote and hold its button to identify the frequency in use.
GHZ InfoSec
Section titled “GHZ InfoSec”- 315Ghz - Common frequency that car fobs operate in.
Design tooling
GUI
To help with designing the GUI, we recommend checking out Flipper UI , which is an amazing tool for quick edits.
Source for it can be found here : FUI-EDITOR
13.56 MHz
NFC
These are notes on the NFC aspect of the device.
FlipperZero NFC
Section titled “FlipperZero NFC”- NFC (13.56 MHz) module can read, save and emulate NFC cards / frequencies.
- NFC is known as near-field communication and operates at the 13.56 MHz (which is an unlicensed radio frequency ISM band under the ISO/IEC 18000-3).
- Menu
- ->
Read- Read && Save NFC data, including, UID, ATQA, SAK and storage data. - ->
Detect Reader- Emulation of an NFC card to grab information related to authentication keys from logs sent by a reader. - ->
Saved- Saved NFC cards on the device, which can be emulated. - ->
Extra Actions- Commands for extra functionality through custom scripts, plugins, applications on the device. - ->
Add Manually- Create an NFC card by adding the data manually.
- ->
- NFC Terms
- ->
UIDis a read-only unique identifier for the specific NFC chip.
- ->
- NFC-V
- Currently does not fully support ISO 15693.
CLI wrapper
pyFlipper
This is an unofficial cli wrapper for the Flipper Zero device and we will integrate it with our current eco-system, including the possible future expansion into our core IoT project.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is the Flipper Zero?
Flipper Zero is a portable, open-source multi-tool for pentesters and hardware hobbyists. It reads, saves, and emulates a range of wireless and access-control signals — Sub-GHz radio, NFC and RFID cards, infrared, iButton, and GPIO — behind a playful Tamagotchi-like interface.
What is custom firmware for the Flipper Zero?
Custom firmware replaces the official firmware to unlock extra features, protocols, and plugins the stock build restricts. Popular forks include Unleashed and its RogueMaster fork. The chip stores a New and Old firmware slot, which lowers (but does not remove) the risk of bricking when flashing.
What frequencies does the Flipper Zero Sub-GHz radio use?
The Sub-GHz module uses the CC1101 chipset and operates in the 300-348 MHz, 387-464 MHz, and 779-928 MHz bands. Common targets include 315 MHz and 433 MHz car key fobs and remotes, within the limits of local radio regulations.
How does NFC work on the Flipper Zero?
The NFC module operates at 13.56 MHz (ISO/IEC 18000-3) and can read, save, and emulate NFC cards, capturing data like UID, ATQA, and SAK. It supports many card types, though full ISO 15693 (NFC-V) support is limited. A microSD stores saved cards for later emulation.
How do I update Flipper Zero firmware?
The most reliable method is a direct USB cable update via the qFlipper desktop app, which avoids the corruption risk of wireless flashing. You can also update over the Flipper Mobile App or the web updater, but a wired qFlipper upgrade is recommended.