Flipper Zero Alternative: Bruce Firmware Setup
This lesson enters wireless security with the T-Embed CC1101, an open-source alternative to the Flipper Zero running Bruce firmware. You will flash the firmware and learn what these multi-radio tools can do across sub-GHz, NFC, RFID, and infrared. The hands-on stays strictly to your own devices: turning off your own TV with infrared and capturing a signal from your own remote. Everything else is for understanding the wireless landscape so you can defend it.
What this device is
The T-Embed CC1101 with Bruce firmware is an open-source, ESP32-based tool comparable to a Flipper Zero. Bruce is a firmware built for security research and red-team work, giving the device a broad set of radio capabilities in one handheld unit. It is a legitimate learning tool; the responsibility, as always, lies in using it only on your own equipment or with explicit permission.
The capabilities, and why you study them
These tools can work with sub-GHz radio (the band used by many garage remotes and doorbells), read and write NFC and RFID, send infrared to control TVs and other home electronics, replay captured RF signals, and drive GPIO pins. You study this range not to attack, but to understand how everyday wireless systems work and where they are weak, which is exactly the knowledge a defender needs. Many of these capabilities can be misused against systems you do not own, and doing so is illegal; the course keeps hands-on work to your own devices.
Flashing the firmware
The easiest install is a web flasher: connect the device over USB, go to the official Bruce flasher page, and follow the prompts. To let the flasher take over, you put the device in download mode by holding its button while plugging it in, then install. After flashing you press the reset pin (under the magnetic cover, near the battery) to boot into the new firmware and reach its menu. Always use the official documentation and trusted firmware sources only.
Legitimate, self-only demos
Two safe activities show the device in action on your own equipment. First, use the infrared blaster to send a TV-off signal at your own TV, the same thing your remote does, to see infrared control work. Second, use the signal capture feature to record a press from one of your own remotes, such as a fan or lamp, and observe what a captured signal looks like. Never point these functions at public devices, businesses, or anything you do not own; those are off-limits, full stop.
Working through it
Power it on and explore. Plug the T-Embed into USB to power it and see the stock menu (NFC, Wi-Fi, infrared, and more) before flashing.
Enter download mode and flash. Hold the button while plugging it into your computer to enter download mode, then use the official Bruce web flasher to install the firmware.
Reset into Bruce. Remove the magnetic cover, press the reset pin near the battery, and boot into the Bruce firmware menu.
Control your own TV with infrared. Use the infrared TV-off function pointed at your own television to see infrared control working, just as your remote does.
Capture your own remote. Use the signal capture feature on one of your own remotes (a fan or lamp) and look at the recorded signal.
Common mistakes and troubleshooting
The flasher will not connect. Hold the button to enter download mode before plugging in, use a data-capable USB cable, and select the correct serial port.
The device does not boot into Bruce after flashing. Press the reset pin under the cover to restart into the new firmware.
Using an untrusted firmware build. Only flash from the official documentation and trusted sources.
Pointing the tools at devices you do not own. Only test on your own TV, remotes, and equipment; public or others' devices are strictly off-limits and illegal to target.
Next: Next you will analyze wireless signals and study the boundaries of ethical use.