The keystick works by restarting a computer so the machine starts from the stick itself, in a clean offline environment. Almost any Windows PC or Intel based Mac with a processor from 2012 or newer can do this. A few kinds of devices cannot, and we would rather tell you plainly than let you spend an evening on settings that cannot work. If your device is on this list, your stick is still fine. It will work on a different computer, even a borrowed one.
If a computer runs ChromeOS, it is a Chromebook, whatever brand is printed on the lid. Acer, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Asus and Dell all sell them. Chromebooks are locked so they only start their own system. They cannot start from the stick, and the settings our Windows setup steps describe do not exist on them.
The switches inside ChromeOS do not help either. The Linux development environment, developer options and ADB only affect software running inside ChromeOS, and the keystick never runs inside an installed system. Please leave those settings alone. There are advanced ways to unlock a Chromebook, but they erase the machine and permanently change how it works, and we do not recommend or support them.
iPhones, iPads and Android phones and tablets cannot start from a USB stick at all. The ceremony needs a real computer.
The keystick requires a processor from 2012 or newer. Older machines cannot run the environment, and there is no workaround. If you are not sure what year your processor is from, write to us with the brand and model of the computer and we will give you a straight answer.
Macs with Apple chips (M1 and newer) cannot boot the bootable editions. Nothing is broken, these Macs simply do not start from outside systems. The for Mac edition is made for exactly these machines and runs the ceremony in a sealed, offline sandbox instead. Intel Macs boot the standard editions normally.
What to use instead. Any Windows PC or Intel based Mac from 2012 or newer. It does not need to be your own. A friend’s or a family member’s computer is a safe and normal choice, because the stick never touches the computer’s own system or disk, runs completely offline, and leaves nothing behind after power off. When you have the machine, our setup page walks you through it step by step.
Not sure about your machine? Write to support@koini.io with the brand and model and we will check it for you.
