notes:hw:xencelabs-quickkeys

Trace: • maffs-powerbook • xencelabs-quickkeys • dnd • portapup • maffs-ibook • 13 • copyright
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====== Notes on the XenceLabs Quick Keys ======

Bought this off amazon the other day and it's an interesting device, so I'm documenting what I find about it.

===== Hardware info =====

USB: VID 0x28bd PID 0x5202 - Manufacturer "HANVON UGEE", advertises no version or serial number.

USB pcaps pending - currently on a mac machine and capturing USB traffic on a mac requires disabling system integrity protection.

Device has a rotary encoder, 10 buttons, a power slider switch, RGB light ring, green power LED, blue connectivity LED, power slider, internal battery (capacity, chemistry unknown), OLED screen (low pixel density, white phosphor)

Device appears to transmit only signals (ie., button press and rotary wheel moving +/- steps); although it appears to be using HID, it does not present as a regular input device and requires the driver components for actioning anything.

The device seems to have an FCC ID - 2AYM6-K02A. The firmware version indicates it as K02-B, making me wonder if this device is not actually compliant with the FCC as it does not display the regulatory mark anywhere.

===== Software info =====

Software seems to be a generic XenceLabs-branded application that works for both the QuickKeys and other products offered by the company.

The software is delivered as a DMG disk image, which contains an `xar` compressed `pkg` (on Mac). Within this, there is a set of preinstall and postinstall scripts (preinstall removes any existing copies of the software, and closes any running instances; postinstall runs a loop waiting for the driver and other software to be installed) and the actual software. The scripts and software are stored in gzipped `cpio` archives.

The software archive contains a `LaunchAgents` plist (`com.xencelabs.xencelabstablet.plist`) which registers a launch agent `com.ugee.XencelabsAgent` to be started during login and during a logged-in session, and launches `XencelabsAgent` with the command-line argument `/mini`. It registers the `com.ugee.Xencelabs` mach service.

The software archive also contains a set of applications in a tree:

  * Xencelabs
    * .guide (contains a copy of LGPLv3, some images, and some plists)
      * Info.plist: `{"Mode": "0"}`
      * com.xencelabs.config.plist: `{"guide": 0}`
      * com.xencelabs.config_run.plist: `{"guide": 1, "KeyBoard": 0}`
    * Xencelabs.app
    * UninstallXencelabs.app
    * Driver
      * XencelabsAgent.app
        * Contents/MacOS/DriverUpdate.app
        * Contents/MacOS/FirmwareUpdate.app
      * XencelabsDriver.app
      * XencelabsGuide.app

All applications appear to be universal binaries with both arm64 and amd64 builds.

Going by the system permissions prompts that come up when various inputs from the device are received by the computer, XencelabsDriver handles scrolling and XencelabsAgent handles keypresses. This is known because both applications request the ability to control the system via accessibility features. Rudimentary binary analysis shows that if this is denied, the programs will execute `tccutil reset Accessibility` on themselves to ask again for the permission.

===== Firmware info =====

The device came loaded with firmware version K02-B 20210824, and the diagnostic tool states the "keyboard selection" is English.

===== Observations relating to the stock software and firmware =====

Scrolling with the rotary encoder appears to be handled inefficiently, either in-hardware or via the software. Turning the wheel too quickly will result in maybe scrolling up or down by one step, or may result in no scroll at all.

The OLED itself seems to receive its displayed data from the computer - there are references to functions for writing OLED data in the software. This may explain why the screen updates so slowly in normal use - I can see the screen update in blocks.

There's a small amount of travel between the rotary encoder's centre button and any actual resistance.

The green LED (power) fades in a "breathing" animation pattern when the battery is charging, but becomes a solid green when the battery is full. The blue LED (connectivity) flashes when the device is not connected, and fades in a breathing animation pattern when it is connected via USB, but is a solid blue when connected via the dongle. When connected and charging, both LEDs appear to be synchronised.

The device can be turned off while plugged in; it will continue charging while off, but will not operate. Plugging it in when turned off will turn it on. It's unclear what the utility of it being plugged in but off is - preventing screen-burn when charging?

When first turned on wirelessly, or when first plugged in, the device will not operate without the software installed. The software itself claims to include drivers, but this is a USB HID device, which notably does not use conventional drivers, so realistically the software could be reverse-engineered as open-source software. Plugging the device in or turning it on with any of the ten buttons held down does not appear to invoke any kind of alternate mode (eg. DFU).

The software allows you to input a name for the hardware, but the name is only stored locally.

===== Observations relating to the hardware =====

The eight buttons surrounding the screen are made of metal, as is the mode switch button below them. The button in the centre of the rotary encoder is part of the rotary dial itself.

The device seems very well-built, and has a rubber base to prevent slipping when in use - a nice addition, but over the course of at least a decade, it will eventually degrade and perish, and need to be removed.

The device has a kensington lock slot - I wonder if they intend this for businesses?

The bottom-right corner of the device has a slot that would normally be for a fingernail or something to pull the back panel off. I haven't tried to pull it off yet - there's little to no flex when trying with my fingers, which leads me to wonder if it's just an aesthetic touch.

===== The dongle =====

The device contains a battery so that it can be used wirelessly - my first thought was that this was via bluetooth, but this does not appear to be the case. It came with a dongle, which I would assume means it runs over normal 2.4GHz or perhaps 430/868/915MHz.

When first plugged in, the dongle appears to be identified by the system as a keyboard.

USB: VID 0x28bd PID 0x5203 - Manufacturer "HANVON UGEE", again advertising no serial number or version.

It has model number ACD12-A and FCC ID 2AYM6-ACD12A

With the dongle plugged in, the software allows you to manage up to two "pairings" for the dongle. The device appears to be pre-paired to slot 2, and the software lists it as having ID (address?) `f483b3LLNNLL` (last three octets anonymised but available on request) - this looks very much like a bluetooth MAC address, making me wonder if the dongle is simply bluetooth.

The FCC-published information about this device indicates that yes - this is simply bluetooth/BLE.
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