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We may earn a commission from links on this page.While I typically shy away from promoting outright evil here at Lifehacker (unless it's Evil Week), I'd like to tell you about all the mildly evil things you can do with a gadget called the Flipper Zero. Despite its toy-like looks, this pocket-friendly multitool can be used for all kinds of hacking and penetration testing. It gives anyone an easy way to interact with the invisible waves that surround us, whether theyre RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, wifi, or radio. Think of it as a hacker Swiss army knife that you can buy for less than $200.You can use a Flipper Zero for many purposesto control your TV, cheat at Nintendo, replace your work ID, eavesdrop on walkie-talkies, open your hotel room door, play games, and more. Some of these are totally aboveboard, and others are a bit shady, or worse: Their nefarious applications were enough for the Canadian government to move to ban them (reportedly because they can make it easier to steal certain cars). On the other hand, a Flipper Zero is just a tool, and its ability to commit crimes is way overstated. Here are some of things you can do with a Flipper Zero, some more ill-advised than others.Is the Flipper Zero legal?Despite its potential to be used for illegal purposes, and despite what the Canadian government thinks of them, the Flipper Zero is legal in the United States. But it seems to have made some people here nervous, too: A shipment of 15,000 Flippers was seized by customs in 2022, but later let through. In April 2023, South Dakota Fusion Center alerted authorities across the country about the potential use of the device by domestic terrorists, and Amazon banned sales of the Flipper Zero on their site for being a card-skimming device.How does a Flipper Zero work? Credit: Stephen Johnson The Flipper Zero is basically a two-way remote control that can receive, read, store and transmit a variety of wireless signals. There are plenty of other devices that can do some of these things, but the Flipper puts them all together. Plus, its easy to understandanyone could pick one up and use it to read an NFC card, listen in on someone else's walkie-talkie conversation, or turn off the TV at their neighbors house. The Flipper Zeros gamified presentation (and actual games) and ease-of-use could be seen as a means to demystify the technology that surrounds us, or it could be seen as a way of giving people with limited knowledge a powerful tool to cause chaos. Its all about how you use it.What can you do with a Flipper Zero?This is anything but a comprehensive list of things you can do with a Flipper Zerothere are a lot of possibilitiesbut here are some common ways the device can be used. Flipper Zero $169.00 at Flipper Devices Shop Now Shop Now $169.00 at Flipper Devices Use it as a universal remoteYou can use the Flipper Zero to replace an infrared remote control, so your stereo, TV, air conditioner, and more can all be controlled from the same device. The Flipper uses brute force to send its library of IR codes wherever you point it, so you could use it to control devices with an IR remote thats in rangeunless theyre paired to their specific remote control. So you could use it to change the channel of the TV at a bar, or turn down your neighbors stereo at 2 a.m. (You shouldnt, but you could.)Listen in on walkie-talkie conversationsFlipper Zero lets you decode 89 sub-GHz radio protocols. These are unlicensed radio frequencies that anyone can use, so they're used for many walkie-talkies. If you're within 50 meters of walkies using the the frequencies a Flipper can access, you can play the audio directly from the Flipper's internal speaker. There's no mic, so you can't talk back. Take your pets temperatureIf youve had a microchip implanted in your pet, a Flipper can read your pets identification number and take its temperature if its a thermo chip. Just hold it near where the RFID chip is inserted for a few seconds and bamyour pets number. If you dont know where the chip was inserted, you can scan your pet with the Flipper and find it too. It cannot locate a lost pet, but neither can any scanner.Clone keyless entry cardsIf you have an ID that opens a door, you can (probably) clone it with a Flipper Zero, whether its your work badge or a hotel room key. That sounds like a security nightmare, but you have to have the original key to clone, so you cant open any hotel room lock, just the one you have a keycard for alreadyand theyll make you another copy at the front desk anyway.Read your credit card informationA Flipper Zero can read credit cards. This is the functionality that got the device banned from Amazon, but its really not as bad as it seems. If you scan a card with a Flipper, it can read the card number and sometimes the date, but it cant transmit the information or read the CVC number, so you wont be able to use it to make purchases or empty someones bank account.Crash smartphonesYou can use a Flipper Zero to crash nearby Androids by flooding them with Bluetooth messages. Its not exactly easyyou need to load a developer build of third-party firmware in order to run the crash my enemys phone appbut its possible, in theory. This used to be possible on iPhones too, but Apple removed the Flipper's ability to overload iPhones with spam Bluetooth requests. You can still send the requests, but it won't cause the target to shut down. Open a Tesla charging portYou cant use a flipper to steal a Tesla, but you can use it to troll a Tesla owner by opening their cars charging port (assuming this vulnerability hasnt been fixed.)Open garage doors or security gatesThis one is iffy. Some older garage doors and security gates can be opened with a device like this. Newer models have better security and use rolling codes, so storing a code on a device like this wouldnt work. Ring someones doorbell from a distanceThis will only work with some wireless, usually older, doorbellsRing or Nest doorbells are probably safeand you need to first read the doorbell to get the right frequency, but if you do that, you can hit the bell as you walk up to the porch or play ding-dong-ditch from a distance. Clone your Nintendo AmiibosNintendos Amiibos are basically RFID chips surrounded by figurines. You can use a Flipper to scan and emulate the code and feed it back to your Nintendo Switch. Or you can use this database of Amiibo codes and skip the middleman to unlock in-game extras without buying a vinyl doll.Test your car key fobWhile you can't use the Flipper Zero as a replacement for your car's key fob (more on that below) you can use it to test the range and strength of your fob. Explore the invisible energy fields all around youMany people who purchase a Flipper are no doubt disappointed by its limitationsits not a universal hack-anything device. It is, though, a tool for checking out all the invisible fields around you. You can use it to see where your wifi signal is weakest, or discover exactly how often your iPhone is shooting IR waves at your face. You can use it to test the security of all your devicesdoorbells, garage doors, locks, etc.to make sure no one else can use a Flipper to mess with you. Play video gamesThe Flipper Video Game Module, released in late 2023, is a Raspberry Pi-powered add-on that turns the Flipper Zero from a hacking/testing tool into a miniature game system. The Video Game Module adds motion sensing through a gyroscope and accelerometer, a controller port, a USB port, and a video-out jack, so you can use your TV as a Flipper Zero display. Read more of the details here.Things a Flipper Zero cant doTheres a lot of misinformation about the capabilities of the Flipper Zero. Its not a pocket device that can instantly hack anything, and there are safeguards in place to prevent the most obvious illegal uses. (This is not to say that Flipper Zero itself couldnt be hacked to offer darker possibilities, of course.) So here are some evil things the Flipper cant doat least right out of the box.Steal a carDespite TikTok videos that suggest otherwise, you cant use a Flipper to open and start a car, even your own. Keyless entry cars open when the fob sends a radio signal to a receiver in the car. Thats a piece of cake for a Flipper, except that all but the oldest cars with keyless entry use rolling codes that change every time you use one. So you might be able to use it one time, but thats it. Still, setting up a single-use car door opening is an easy way to impress your friends. (There may be exceptions, however.)Change the prices of gasolineThe TikTok videos that show a Flipper user changing the prices on a sign at a gas station are fake. Steal money from an ATMObviously, you cant empty an ATM with a commercially available handheld device. Change traffic signalsThis one is complicated, because you could use a Flipper to control a set of external infrared LED lights that mimics an Opticoma device that can change some traffic signalsbut its not really the flipper thats changing the signal, its the LED lights, and you could use something else to control them, too. Open someone elses hotel room doorWhile the Flipper can store and transmit the RFID signals needed to open a locked hotel room door, it cant do it without physically holding the card near the device first. So you cant open all the doors in a hotelunless the establishment has a master keycard that you somehow get your hands on. But then why would you need the Flipper?Is the Flipper Zero evil?The Flipper Zero is not evil. If anything, for evil hacking, its overrated. The Flipper is a collection of tools bundled together in an attractive packageits useful and cool, but its not going to let you break into a bank vault or steal someones identity. While a nefarious person could use a Flipper to do a limited set of nefarious things, they could also use a hammer to smash windows instead of driving nails. In other words: Its just a tool. The evil comes from how you use it.
