Getting Started with Version 3.0.1 of the Proxmark3

November 06, 2017

Before beginning, please download version 3.0.1 of the client software here.

If your Proxmark3 is still running version 2.3.0, please take a look at our Upgrading your Proxmark3 to V3.0.1 blog post.

NOTE: These instructions may not work inside a Virtual Machine.

If you have any issues along the way, please email us at support@ryscc.com.

Windows

Please install the necessary drivers before proceeding. Driver instructions are available for Windows XP, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

Step 1: Connect your Proxmark3 to the PC using the 1' long Mini USB cable.

Proxmark3 connecting to computer

Step 2: Open Device Manger by entering Control + R followed by "devmgnt.msc".

Step 3: Note the COM Port number assigned to the Proxmark3, COM3 is assigned in the screenshot below. Note that the Proxmark3 requires driver software to be installed on Windows. Driver installation instructions are available for Windows XP and Windows 8.1 and 10.

Proxmark3 COM Port

Step 4: Open up a command prompt by entering Control + R followed by "cmd".

command run cmd

Step 5: Navigate to version 3.01 of the unzipped software distribution, then "cd" into the "Windows\client" folder.

Step 6: Enter "proxmark3 COM#" with # being the COM port number assigned to your Proxmark.

pm3-bin-v3_0_1\windows\client>Proxmark3 COM4
proxmark3>

Linux

Step 1: Connect your Proxmark3 to the PC using the 1' long Mini USB cable.

Connecting Proxmark3
Step 2: Open up a terminal application.

Step 3: Enter in "dmesg | grep ttyACM" and note the port that Proxmark3 is on.

dmesg | grep ttyACM
[  157.597236] cdc_acm 2-2.2:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

Step 4: Navigate to the v3.0.1 ubuntu_x64 client folder.

$cd pm3-bin-v3_0_1/
pm3-bin-v3_0_1 $ls
driver		recovery	ubuntu_x64
macOS		scripts		windows
pm3-bin-v3_0_1 $cd ubuntu_x64/
ubuntu_x64 $ls
armsrc	bootrom	client
ubuntu_x64 $cd client/
client $ls
flasher		fpga_compress	proxmark3
client $

Step 5: Enter "sudo ./proxmark3 /dev/ttyACM#" replacing # with the number you noted earlier. Enter your admin password. Your Proxmark3 should now be connected.

 sudo ./proxmark3 /dev/ttyACM0

Note: If you are having trouble connecting to your Proxmark3, try the following steps:

Step 1: Disable modem-manager by running the following commands as root.

# pkill modem-manager
# apt-get purge modemmanager

Alternatively, you can edit '/lib/udev/rules.d/77-mm-usb-device-blacklist.rules' and add the following lines:

# proxmark3
ATTRS{idVendor}=="2d2d" ATTRS{idProduct}=="504d", ENV{ID_MM_DEVICE_IGNORE}="1"

You will then need to run:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules

Step 2: Try to connect to your Proxmark3 again using the command in Step 4.

macOS

Step 1: Using Homebrew, download the necessary components to run the Proxmark3 client.

brew tap proxmark/proxmark3

brew install proxmark3

Step 2: Connect your Proxmark3 to the PC using the 1' long Mini USB cable.

Connecting Proxmark3

Step 3: Open a terminal application and enter in "ls /dev/cu*" to figure out which usbmodem the Proxmark3 is on. Note the usbModem# that your Proxmark3 is on.

ls /dev/cu*
/dev/cu.usbmodem411

Step 4: In the terminal application, navigate to the macOS v3.0.1 client folder.

pm3 ~$ cd pm3-bin-v3_0_1/
pm3-bin-v3_0_1 $ls
driver		recovery	ubuntu_x64
macOS		scripts		windows
pm3-bin-v3_0_1 $cd macOS/
macOS $ls
armsrc	bootrom	client
macOS $cd client/
client $ls
flasher		fpga_compress	proxmark3
client $

Step 5: Connect to Proxmark3 client by entering in "sudo ./proxmark3 /dev/cu.usbmodem#". Replace # with the usbmodem that you noted. Enter your admin password and your Proxmark3 should now be connected.

sudo ./proxmark3 /dev/cu.usbmodem411

Smoke Test

Enter the commands below to ensure your Proxmark3 is functioning correctly. Make sure antennas are not near any metal objects, as the metal will interfere with readings.

Enter "hw ver" to obtain the version of firmware running on your Proxmark. The version reported should be v3.0.1

proxmark3> hw ver
Prox/RFID mark3 RFID instrument          
bootrom: master-rysc/v3.0.1 2017-09-21 16:36:44
os: master-rysc/v3.0.1 2017-09-21 16:36:45
LF FPGA image built for 2s30vq100 on 2015/03/06 at 07:38:04
HF FPGA image built for 2s30vq100 on 2017/05/17 at 17:48:26
          
uC: AT91SAM7S512 Rev B          
Embedded Processor: ARM7TDMI          
Nonvolatile Program Memory Size: 512K bytes. Used: 192856 bytes (37). Free: 331432 bytes (63).          
Second Nonvolatile Program Memory Size: None          
Internal SRAM Size: 64K bytes          
Architecture Identifier: AT91SAM7Sxx Series          
Nonvolatile Program Memory Type: Embedded Flash Memory

Connect your LF or HF antenna using the 4-pin 3' long antenna cable. Enter the "hw tune" command. You should receive results approximating those shown below.

LF Antenna

proxmark3> hw tune

Measuring antenna characteristics, please wait.......#db# DownloadFPGA(len: 42096)          
.          
# LF antenna: 20.21 V @   125.00 kHz          
# LF antenna: 10.04 V @   134.00 kHz          
# LF optimal: 20.21 V @   125.00 kHz          
# HF antenna:  1.03 V @    13.56 MHz          
# Your HF antenna is unusable.          
Displaying LF tuning graph. Divisor 89 is 134khz, 95 is 125khz.

HF Antenna

proxmark3> hw tune

Measuring antenna characteristics, please wait...#db# DownloadFPGA(len: 42096)                 
.....#db# DownloadFPGA(len: 42096)                 
.          
# LF antenna:  0.00 V @   125.00 kHz          
# LF antenna:  0.00 V @   134.00 kHz          
# LF optimal:  0.28 V @   169.01 kHz          
# HF antenna: 13.36 V @    13.56 MHz          
# Your LF antenna is unusable.

If everything looks good, your Proxmark3 is ready for use.

For more commands see the command dump over at github.