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Cryptnook Vault
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Compatibility

Check your phone before you buy

To use Cryptnook Vault with a USB drive, your phone has to read them. Almost all recent Android phones do, but not all. Here is how to find out in two minutes.

Requirements

What you need

Android

  • Android 11 or later.
  • To use a USB drive, a phone that reads them: with a USB-C drive or an OTG adapter.
  • Without a drive, the vault can live in the phone’s own storage.

Windows

  • Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
  • A free USB port.
In two minutes

Does your phone read USB drives?

  1. Check your Android version

    In Settings, under “About phone”. It must be Android 11 or later.

  2. Plug in any USB drive

    A USB-C one directly, or a regular one with an OTG adapter. It does not have to be the one you will use.

  3. Look for it in Files

    Open the phone’s file manager. If the drive shows up, your phone works. Some phones have an “OTG” setting you need to turn on first: look for it in Settings.

The drive

Which USB drive to use

  • Empty, to create the vault

    The vault takes up the whole drive. If it has anything on it, the app will not offer to create one: copy its contents elsewhere and format it.

  • Preferably exFAT

    FAT32, exFAT and NTFS all work. exFAT is the one Windows and Android both read without trouble, and it has no 32 GB limit when formatting from Windows.

  • Any capacity

    With files of up to 125 GiB each, on FAT32 too: the vault splits large files into chunks.

No drive: in your phone’s storage

If your phone does not read USB drives, or you would rather not carry one, the Android app keeps the vault in the phone’s own storage, with the same features. There is one per phone, and you can export it to a USB drive to open it on Windows.

Uninstalling the app does not delete that vault, but leaves it inaccessible in the phone’s storage until its data is cleared or you destroy it. If you are switching phones, export it first.

No surprises

Good to know

  • An “Android” folder appears on the drive

    Android creates it when it mounts any USB drive; the app does not. It holds nothing from the vault, and if you delete it, it comes back.

  • Yanking the drive out does not damage the vault

    At most, the last thing being saved is lost. On some phones, after pulling the drive out, you need to restart the phone for it to see the drive again.

  • Some videos may not play on the phone

    If the phone cannot read the format, the Windows app converts it to MP4 with “Convert for the phone”.

What is not available

  • iPhone and iPad: Apple restricts apps’ access to USB drives for a use like this.
  • macOS and Linux: not for now.