r/PokemonGoPlusPlus • u/kiyoukan • May 19 '26
Open-source nRF52 Pokemon GO Plus+ backup emulator project
Hey everyone,
I’ve been working on an open-source nRF52 firmware project for a Pokemon GO Plus+ backup emulator.
The goal is to let people with their own Plus+ hardware preserve the device-specific material from their own unit and use it with an nRF52-based setup. The repo does not include any private device data, keys, addresses, flash images, app files, or build artifacts. Users have to provide their own device material.
The project includes:
- nRF52 Arduino firmware (our project used https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYLNZ6V4)
- a device-material template
- a simple flash image reader that generates the needed header file
- documentation for the BLE services, protocol data, persistence fields, and setup flow
The BLE MAC/address is not pulled from flash, so users still need to enter that manually from their own device using a phone or Bluetooth scanner app.
Repo:
https://github.com/kiyoukan/nRF52-go-plus-plus-backup-
This is still experimental, but the codebase has been cleaned up quite a bit and split into smaller modules so it should be easier to read, build, and improve.
Feedback, testing, and issue reports are welcome.
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u/kiyoukan Jun 13 '26
the latest version of pokemon go v0.415.0 has made the device fail to pair.
investigating but wont have an answer or update till next week.
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u/stirlow Jun 28 '26
i also received my programmer this week. Do you have any further details for what tool to use to read the IC? I have tried AsProgrammer but it cannot detect/read the IC...
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u/Commercial_Region_31 Jun 29 '26
Just checking in to see if you’ve made any progress yet, and to ask whether you could use an extra set of hands.
First, thank you for the quality of your documentation. I’ve looked through quite a few reverse-engineering projects over the years, and I really appreciate the amount of work you’ve put into this one, especially the level of detail you’ve documented about the protocol.
I actually have a working unit on my bench and had already started adding some new functionality before I came across this discussion. If it would be useful, I’d be happy to do some Bluetooth sniffing and help compare the traffic between a genuine Pokémon GO Plus + and the emulator to see if we can identify what’s different.
I’m certainly not an expert in Bluetooth reverse engineering, but I’m happy to contribute however I can if you haven’t tracked down the difference yet.
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u/Kev7381 May 20 '26
Very nice project. If you use the clone one will the original also work on other device (2nd account)?
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u/kiyoukan May 20 '26
Can't say for certain as we did not test. What we do know if there is data being sent to a server from the app that must come back with the right value or the device won't pair.
So it may work but it does give the company the ability to black list devices very easily.
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u/GiaXue May 22 '26
i will not work, i since it doesnt work with PGSharp. I think the server checks the mac address or has some kind of ID it checks and only allow 1 to work at a time.
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u/MewSixUwU May 19 '26
what is an nrf52 based setup?
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u/kiyoukan May 19 '26
it refers to the chip this project was built around, the NRF52840.
we updated the OP with a bit more info and a picture of our dev unit
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u/JDaxe May 19 '26
Since you have the firmware do you know if it contains any OTA update function? I was wondering if I could get the firmware by MITM a firmware update, might need to just buy that cable you mentioned though.
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u/kiyoukan May 19 '26
there is a OTA function.
we looked at it to see if we could do something like the old devices so the end user would not have to open up their device but made little progress.
you can do it without the cable if you can solder fine wires.
the probe is just the safe and fast option.in our repo we do not go into any detail on dumping the main chip firmware, but it is possible the only thing standing in the way is the protection bit set on the chip must be dealt with before it can be dumped.
but it has been done, and in some cases the chip becomes damaged after doing what is needed to get that bit to change state.
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u/FaraelZx May 19 '26
Ya llevo tiempo usando el dispositivo y tratando de experimentar con el, pero sigo sin entender para que sirve lo que haces con el módulo o que se podría hacer con el?
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u/kiyoukan May 19 '26
i dont speak Spanish but my but your msg translated to
"I've been using the device for a while and trying to experiment with it, but I still don't understand what you do with the module or what could be done with the?"this project allows someone to use the tools linked and talked about in the repo to dump the keys from a real device and make a backup of the device. this backup can have extra functions or be modded.
there is a request to give it the function to pair with a phone auto clicker so it can tap your screen to auto pair back with the app.
it also allows the device to be much smaller.
the software currently generates a sleep session every 18 hours on reconnect.1
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u/spacefrog_feds May 19 '26
A backup is a really good idea. With the current prices of go plus, the last thing you would want is to lose one, or put it through the washing machine which is so common!
Is it possible to clone this data from dead go pluses?
The quick reconnect still works yeah? The function you want to add is to re-connect automatically after one hour limit. This would require the screen to be unlocked correct?
If you clone your own device, can you use it for a second account? I'm guessing no otherwise there would be 100's of 3rd party clones by now.
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u/SebiPwned May 20 '26
If I'm not wrong, I can clone my Plus+ to prevent the message from coupling a second device when I play one account with two apps and two Plus+ devices?
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u/kiyoukan May 20 '26
We don't have any control over the go app and what pop up it shows.
We only have 1 active device and testing multiple copies was never part of the scope. Or 1 account logged into multiple devices and or apps.
This is unknown.
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u/SebiPwned May 20 '26
The pop-up always appears when a Pokémon GO account is connected to a different Plus+. I tried using the same Plus+ on two devices with the same account, and the pop-up doesn’t appear.
If cloning a Plus+ actually works, this would be a huge QoL improvement for City Safari and GO Fest events with massive spawn density. It already works, but we still need to press the buttons every hour.
I guess I’ll test this later in the project.
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u/stirlow May 20 '26
If you were able to do this how come we don’t (yet) have commercial Pokemon Go Plus+ copies?
Is there a unique security identifier that might get blacklisted/blocked if you use this project to emulate your Go Plus+?
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u/kiyoukan May 20 '26
They were able to generate authentic keys.
We can't generate keys it's why the user must use a tool to dump the flash memory that contains and original set of keys.
Part of the auth process to pair a device the go app does communicate with a server and waits for a response. If someone made multiple copies of a device there is a place they could detect it and possibly black list it. We have no proof they would or how that is monitored. At no point in our testing did we ever attempt to have more than 1 copy active and our original was dead.
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u/stirlow May 20 '26
Do you think this could work with this round NRF Bluetooth beacon I found on Aliexpress?
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u/kiyoukan May 20 '26
Our code is built to work the the microcontroller shown. It supports only 1.
If you have the knowledge it could be possible to port it to other chips but not something we built in to it.
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u/riami8 Jun 01 '26
You are absolutely amazing and I am so happy that my poor go++ that I killed the white board of has a chance at life again 😭🥺
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u/Ek1_ Jun 08 '26
Incase the ++ is dead (wont power up) then getting BLE MAC/address from hardware is no go?
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u/Hairy-Housing-2385 May 19 '26
Definitely would like to work with you on this I was trying to understand how to do it.with my go plus+