Recovery reference

Path	Needs normal firmware	Needs fingerprint	Rewrites firmware	Erases state
tinytouch update	Yes	Yes	OTA application only	No
Factory browser flash	No	No	Bootloader, partitions, app, OTA state	Normally no
tinytouch factory-reset	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Recovery browser flash	No	No	Recovery image and one-time marker	Yes

Normal factory reset

tinytouch factory-reset

Use this when serial communication and fingerprint approval work. It also removes this device's local HID credentials. It preserves macOS smart-card pairings because the CLI cannot match a pairing to the selected device. Inspect and remove a stale pairing with the sc_auth commands below.

Factory browser flash

Factory flashing installs release firmware without erasing valid NVS state.

Recovery browser flash

Recovery writes a one-time marker at 0x212000. On boot, it:

1. deletes and verifies sensor templates;
2. erases ESP32 NVS;
3. erases the request marker.

If sensor cleanup fails, recovery preserves ESP32 NVS and the request marker. Some sensor templates may already have been deleted. Recovery retries after reconnecting the device; it does not report completion until the sensor count is zero.

Recovery removes:

• fingerprint templates from the sensor;
• PIV private keys and certificates;
• HID host pairing keys;
• mode and timing settings;
• OTA and configuration state stored in NVS.

Recovery can't remove macOS Keychain items or smart card pairing. Run setup again and manage stale pairing with sc_auth.

Use sc_auth list -u "$USER" to inspect saved pairings. To remove a stale identity, use sudo sc_auth unpair -u "$USER" -h HASH, replacing HASH with that identity's hash. Check the selected identity before removing it, especially if you use other smart cards.

To run recovery, follow Recover tinyTouch.