proxmark3/doc/termux_notes.md

Proxmark 3 on Android

Requirements

• Android phone
• Kernel with one of:
  • USB_ACM driver
  • module loading enabled
  • published sources
• Root
• Termux

Notes

From official Proxmark3 wiki:

In any case, you would need a USB-C to A or USB-OTG cable to connect Proxmark3 to your Android device. Some Android devices may not supply enough power (USB-OTG = 100mA), and need a USB Y-cable and external battery, otherwise they will get strange failures. ref : https://github.com/Proxmark/proxmark3/wiki/android

Tested setup

• OnePlus 5 (arm64, USB-C)
• OmniROM (Android 9)
• OmniROM kernel
• Magisk 19.3

Setup

Getting ncurses with termcap

You need termcap to build the Proxmark3 client. Unfortunately, the prebuilt ncurses package does not include it. Since this PR hasn't been merged yet, you will have to build ncurses yourself

1. Clone the termux-packages repo
2. Apply the PR
3. Build ncurses. Refer to the build docs for more information. The easiest way is to use Docker:
   • ./scripts/run-docker.sh
   • ./build-package.sh ncurses
   • the built packages will be under the debs directory
4. Copy ncurses_6.1.x-x_aarch64.deb to your phone's /sdcard

Setting up Termux

1. Install Termux and start it
2. Run the following commands:

pkg install make, clang, clang++, readline-dev, libclang-dev, libc++, git, tsu
termux-setup-storage
dpkg -i /sdcard/ncurses_6.1.x-x_aarch64.deb
git clone https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/proxmark3.git

Building Proxmark3 client

1. Edit proxmark3/client/Makefile and append -fPIC to the CFLAGS variable (line 30)
2. make clean && make client

USB_ACM

You need the USB_ACM driver enabled and working to communicate with the Proxmark3. To see if it's working, run tsudo ls /dev/tty* and it should list /dev/ttyACM0 (or similar). If you see this, congratulations, skip this step!

Enable the driver

If your kernel has module loading enabled, you should be able to build the module separately and load it on your system without any changes. Otherwise, grab your kernel sources and edit your build config to include CONFIG_USB_ACM=y. On the tested kernel, this was under: android_kernel_oneplus_msm8998/arch/arm64/configs/omni_oneplus5_defconfig

Building the kernel

If using a custom kernel, refer to the build instructions provided by its maintainer. Otherwise, follow the standard Linux kernel build procedure

Flashing the kernel

You can flash the kernel however it suits you. On the tested device, this was achieved using TWRP, the most popular custom recovery

Testing

Open Termux and start the Proxmark3 client:

tsudo proxmark3/client/proxmark3 /dev/ttyACM0

Everything should work just like if it was your PC!

Troubleshooting

• dmesg | grep usb - useful debug info
• /proc/config.gz - contains your kernel's build configuration. Look for CONFIG_USB_ACM, which should be enabled