What follows is an excerpt of the printed handbook that arrives with every Cipher. The paper copy is the one that matters — it does not need power, cannot be searched at the border, and cannot be revised remotely.
§1 Before you power on
Inspect the tamper-evident seal on the box. If the foil is intact and the holographic signature is unbroken, the device inside matches the build you ordered. If anything looks wrong — creases, discolouration, resealed edges — do not power on. Contact us with the order identifier printed on the receipt.
Choose a room without wireless microphones and, ideally, without other phones. Setup is a private ritual. Give it ten minutes.
§2 First boot
Hold the power button for two seconds. A yellow banner will appear briefly at the top of the display; this is GrapheneOS confirming that verified boot is active. This banner is a feature. Read it every time.
You will be asked to set a screen-lock PIN or passphrase. Choose a passphrase you can type in the dark. Six digits is a floor, not a ceiling.
§3 Everyday operation
Cipher is preconfigured. Aurora is where you find apps. Element is your messenger. Tailscale is already running — you will see a small key icon in the status bar when the tunnel is up. If it goes down, the phone tells you.
When you install an app, GrapheneOS will ask you which permissions it may use and whether to grant them once, always, or never. The default answer is no.
§4 Verification
At any time you can verify the build hash against the one printed on the receipt. The verification page walks through the exact commands. You should do this at least once — not because you distrust us, but because a device you can verify is the only kind worth carrying.
§5 When something goes wrong
There is no cloud sync. There is no remote wipe. There is no "find my". This is deliberate. If you lose the device, treat it as lost — the Faraday sleeve is a good habit precisely because Cipher does not phone home.
If the device fails within two years, we repair or replace it. Ship it back in any padded envelope, tracked. Do not include your handbook or your seal — those are yours.
— Excerpt ends here. The full handbook is 34 pages and ships in the box.