Topic: Krux DIY Hardware Wallet (Read 2062 times)

Hi! Any chance you can change this: For support installing, using Krux wallet or any other questions you can visit https://matrix.to/#/#krux:matrix.org

To this: For support installing, using Krux wallet or any other questions you can visit https://t.me/SC_Krux

Cheers

The new QR viewer option for dim/bright is FANTASTIC.  I haven't had time to fully test it yet, but I assume the less-bright option is going to make scanning QR codes much easier.  Love it!

I can't say enough good things about the work you folks are doing.  I'm so glad o have found this project last year.

EDIT:  Ooh, I missed this:

Love it.

Hi, qlrd here (krux-installer developer). I am writing this post to share the new Krux releases:

Krux v24.03.0

https://github.com/selfcustody/krux/releases/tag/v24.03.0

This release focuses on internal optimizations to enhance the firmware's performance, making it lighter, faster, and more reliable. These improvements not only result in a better user experience but also lay the groundwork for seamlessly integrating future features

- Wipe Device (Fully erase every bit of user’s space memory)- Better Deletion of Mnemonics Stored on SD card
- Save and Load Wallet Output Descriptor from SD card- Sign Messages at a Derived Bitcoin address (Attest address ownership)
- Reproducible Builds (Identical firmwares built on Github or any PC)- Entropy Quality Estimation for Mnemonic Creation.
- IRQ Interfaces (Better touch and buttons input response)- Restore Default Settings
- Optimized Settings Storage- Amigo's Power Manager Enhancements
- GUI Enhancements- Mnemonic Numbers Export
- Optimized QR codes (Faster and lighter rendering)- Export QR Codes as Images to SD Card
- Screensaver- Addresses Exploring Improvements
- Update Embit to version 0.7- Maix Dock Simulator
- New Compatible Device – Yahboom K210 Module- Join Amigo IPS and Amigo TFT firmwares
- Many Other Small Fixes and Code Optimizations that make Krux morereliable and able to sign transactions with more inputs and outputs.

Krux-Installer v0.0.12

https://github.com/selfcustody/krux-installer/releases/tag/v0.0.12

This release will follow new features of krux firmware:
 
- Now maixpy_amigo_tft and maixpy_amigo_ips are unified as maixpy_amigo;
- Added maixpy_yahboom in device list for both official and beta releases;
- Added maixpy_cube in device list (only for beta releases);

You can, but it's better to also do it on telegram or on their social media accounts, to get quicker response.

Since you are asking about that, I would like to ask for adding support for Liquid Network assets (L-BTC, L-USDT, etc) in Krux, and that would mean support for Aqua wallet.
Right now as far as I know Liquid supported wallets are Jade, Ledger nano s, Specter, Aqua and Green wallet.

Can I do a feature request here?

I'd love to see BIP85 added to Krux.  I'm currently using a Blockstream Jade for BIP85, but Jade, just like all of the devices I've found that do BIP85, makes the process incredibly cumbersome.  I'd be thrilled to see a Krux implementation where, using the loaded seed as a parent seed, the user inputs a BIP85 index number & chooses whether they want a 12 or 24 word child seed, and they're given the child seed's seed words and options to save them (QR, encrypted QR, save to micro SD).

Amigos have a strong white LED flash light in the back, when scanning QR codes you can press ENTER physical button to turn it on. Can be useful to scan paper QR codes in dark environments.
I noticed some of them blink when starting up. It's probably due to a random state of IOs while the device is getting powered up. Sipeed should have used a pull down resistor on the LED transistor driver gate(I checked the schematics and it is missing). Maybe there's a firmware hack to avoid this glitch, but I wouldn't worry about it. The behavior changed on beta14 because now Amigos go to a deeper level o "shutdown".

Another dev, Tadeu created the screensaver. On beta14 I did some optimizations for it to use less resources too. It's useful to grab your attention and don't forget to turn the device off.

Glad you liked the changes!

Yup.  That solved it for me.

I own 2 Amigos.  One of them has this weird power bug & one doesn't.  When powering on the Amigo that DOES have this bug, the device always does a strange flash of light from the back (is that a flashlight below the rear camera, or is it just a bright LED?).  It used to flash a blip of white light, and then nothing.  Now, with your fix, it flashes with a blip of white light from the rear of the device, and then powers on.  When powering on my other Amigo which DOESN'T have this bug, it just powers up - there's no flash/blip of white light from the back of the device.

Oh, and nice, you've added a screensaver since I last updated (or maybe I just haven't left my Amigo running idle).  It's been sitting on my desk as I type this, and the screensaver just came on.  Well done.  The option to Wipe Device is a nice addition too.

You're doing such great work.  Krux is fantastic.

Power button issues reported above should be solved on version 24.04beta14.
Now after shutdown via menu, to turn it on again, for all devices, it's only necessary to hold power button for 1 second.

Thank you for your feedback! I hope we find a solution for this and we all have a better UX with Amigo!

The manufacturer(Sipeed) does not have a proprietary ecosystem, but a fork of opensource ecosystems (Micropython + OpenMV). OpenMV does have their own hardware, which probably subsidizes the software development, so unless Sipeed donates to openMV it could be considered unfair with OpenMV.

The component we're having issues with is AXP173 PMU, you can find more details about the issue in a post I made here:
https://forum.seeedstudio.com/t/maix-amigo-wake-from-sleep-wont-work-in-some-devices-axp173-pmu/273808

That's too bad you're having an issue with aliexpress and cannot get one, they have always been in stock there for $50. Next time you come across other users having issues with their Amigo send them to our Telegram channel, or reach out to our Twitter account, okay amigo?

You deserve it.

The work you're doing is phenomenal.  It was one of your betas that got me to buy an Amigo and start using Krux and I've been a huge Huge massively HUGE fan ever since.  You're making rock solid security easy, and I cannot overstate how important that is.  Thank you for the work you're doing.

As for the Maix Amigo...

The quality of Amigo hardware isn't the best, but it'd be RIDICULOUS for anybody to compare a $50 device to a luxe $1,000 metal and glass device like an iPhone.  I paid less for my Amigos than I paid for a Blockstream Jade, and the quality is higher, not to mention the usefulness of that huge touchscreen.  Krux on an Amigo is such a killer combo.  The only thing holding this project back is that more people don't know about it.  Everyone I've introduced to Krux on an Amigo has been blown away by how easy and intuitive it is.


I have 2 Amigos, and I'm experiencing that issue - or something like it - with one of them.  It's weird, actually.  My first Amigo had trouble turning on.  Sometimes it wouldn't power up until I plugged it in via usb even though the battery was fully charged.  But, for reasons I do not understand, that issue went away and hasn't been an issue since.  Maybe updating Krux firmware solved it?  I don't know, but my first Amigo has been flawless ever since.

My second Amigo has the power issue.  When I turn it on, a light on the back (or maybe inside the device?) flashes, but it doesn't power up.  The only way to get it to turn on is to plug it in via usb, but once it's on it doesn't need to be plugged in.  It's not a problem for me since the device works perfectly otherwise.

And speaking of owning more than one Amigo...  I love that Krux offers different color themes.  At first, I thought that feature was silly, but now that I have 2 Amigos, I like using a different theme for each to make it easier to keep track of which is which.

The cool thing about repurposing these types of devices is that the hardware is often subsidized through the software. I.e. users 'pay off' the hardware through their software-/in-app/similar purchases. So if you can re-flash them with something custom, you sometimes get hardware at an incredible value.

Now that I think about it, I'm actually not sure if this devices comes with some proprietary software ecosystem; I might be mixing stuff up.

Feel free to send them (part numbers and / or datasheets) to me in direct messages; I might be able to work something out on that front.

About the Opensats grant:
It is important to mention that, as Krux creator (Jeff) wants, grants won't go to the project. This one will be for me, to support my work on the project on semester 2024/1.
As Krux has more contributors, both OpenSats and me encourage each one to apply individually for grants, if this is something the contributor aims for.
Krux will never ask for donations or manage funds. It won't be an institution neither have a manager.
Having that said, it will help me a lot and I'm excited to retribute to the community.

Amigo's quality:
From what I know, the quality control is not the best, I've seen some issues with camera (most of them fixed with firmware optimizations, next release will have more of them), I've heard of things like a imprecise touchscreen, a screen with 2 burnt pixels rows.
It still amazes me how they can sell a so powerful and featured device so cheap. I have 4 Amigos, the only issue I had with one of them is a weird power manager behavior, but I still believe it may be possible to fix it with firmware. Some components, like the power manager IC, don't have a English datasheet, so it makes it harder to develop proper firmware.

Porting to Other Devices:
I have the goal to port Krux to another device on this semester, it may be an ESP32. But ESP32s are too weak to run video applications. Jade got QR codes signing working with pure C, on a tiny screen. But with Micropython, in larger screens, I would say it is almost impossible to make it work.
An Amigo's competitor like LILYGO® T-Display-S3-Pro costs the same as Amigo, but the MCU has ~half processing power, the screen is smaller, the camera is worse (the same as Amigos's frontal camera).
One possibility to run Krux on cheap and available ESP32s is to make a "blind Krux" version that works with SD cards as the only way to sign PSBTs.
Other port possibilities are OpenMV's Cam H7 and Arduinos Portenta and Nicla Vision. Running with ARM on ST MCUs at 480MHz, these devices are compatible with openMV, which make them very suitable to run Krux. The problem is that, with cameras and displays, these devices will cost 2 or 3 times an Amigo.
There are also other cheap and powerful RISCV devices, like Milk-V and Sipeed's M1sDock but they lack Micropython support and documentation.
Effort will be required to enable cheaper signers. I'll be on it, I know Keith from SeedSigner will be too on his Micropython research.
Soon boards with better chips will be launched, like ESP32 P4 and Amigo's K210 successor, the Kendryte K230. Let's keep improving with them!

Yeah I know, but aliexpress is not an option for me right now since they refuse to accept my cards after last refund I requested from them for their shitty service and for not receiving what I ordered  
Device is also not available on official website or on ebay, and all other website I found have much higher price, so I will just pass.
Another thing I heard from other users is their screen is not the best, and it's easy to get malfunctioned or broken.

I just picked up a second Amigo for $50, shipped, two weeks ago.  They're not that hard to find.  Well, I'm sure stock comes and goes, so maybe I was just lucky?

AliExpress has them for $48, plus $3 shipping.

It'll take a few weeks in the mail, which is never fun, but it's worth the wait.

I love that the Amigo comes with a plastic box, which is a great way to store it when not in use.

Maix Amigo is often out of stock and even if you manage to find it on other websites you will probably have to pay more than $50 for it.
Few years ago I was able to find M5stickV for less than $30, and situation was probably similar for Maix Amigo in that time.
I heard Krux team is now working on porting code to some new EPS32 devices.

That's FANTASTIC!

Congrats to everybody at Krux.  They deserve recognition for such an amazing project.

For anybody reading along who isn't familiar, pick up a Maix Amigo for around $50 and you've got a touchscreen open source airgapped hardware wallet that is incredibly intuitive and easy to use.  While so many hardware wallets hide features like passphrases, zpubs, receive & change addresses, etc, Krux makes all of that stuff - and more - easy to find.  Oh, and did I mention encrypted QRs?  The large touchscreen on the Maix Amigo is perfect for Krux.  Cheap too.  I got mine for $50.

In Third Wave of Bitcoin Grants there was a good news for Krux wallet, that is one of the ten projects who received grants from OpenSats!
Other Bitcoin projects that received grants are Clams, Fully Noded, Validating Lightning Signer, Fedimint Lightning Gateway, Pickhardt Payments plugin for Core-Lightning, BitBanana, Crack the Orange, Bitcoin Core App and Vexl.

https://opensats.org/blog/bitcoin-grants-december-2023

In other news related with Krux.
For people who don't know how to flash device and install firmware manually, not there is Krux installer first stable version 0.0.1:
https://github.com/selfcustody/krux-installer/releases/tag/v0.0.1

Have you tried using the Legacy URV1 QR option in BlueWallet, under Settings, General?  I have that turned off and I haven't had a problem with BlueWallet's QRs, but I did have trouble with animated QRs from some other app while testing Krux - sorry I can't remember which though.

For now, BlueWallet is my favorite companion app with Krux, though I need to spend more time with Sparrow too.

I hope you can figure it out, because Krux with an Amigo is by far the most user friendly hardware wallet (signer, really) that I've tried, and with user friendliness comes safety because intuitive design leads to fewer mistakes in my opinion.