Chapter 10

Help, and honest limits

Common problems with real answers, and a plain list of what this device does not do.

Common problems#

What you see	What is happening
"No internet" when I join its Wi-Fi	Correct and expected. That network deliberately goes nowhere — it exists only so your phone can reach the device in front of you. Choose "stay connected".
My phone keeps dropping back to mobile data	Turn mobile data off for a minute while you finish setting up.
The screen says Locked and nothing works	Working as intended. It locks after a few idle minutes. Unlock it again.
Nothing appears when I plug it into my computer	Try a different USB socket, and avoid unpowered hubs. If you are using an adapter on a phone, check it is a data adapter and not a charge-only one — that is the most common cause.
It says the time is not confirmed	It has no clock of its own after a power cut. Connect your phone or laptop once and it corrects itself.
Two-factor codes are being rejected	Almost always the same cause as above. Reconnect and try again.
I am being made to wait after wrong passphrases	Deliberate, and only a delay. Your data is not at risk and nothing is being erased.
It will not let me add anything yet	You have not finished writing your recovery card. Chapter 01 explains why we insist.

What this device does not do#

We would rather you knew before buying than found out afterwards.

We cannot recover your vault. No key, no copy, no reset, no exceptions. Support cannot help with a forgotten passphrase and no amount of proving your identity changes that.
It is not a fast external drive. It holds documents, not a film library. Large transfers take time.
Storage is fixed by the model you bought, though the card is swappable. See Storage.
It needs to be plugged in. There is no battery.
Passkeys here are protected by software, not by a dedicated security chip. A YubiKey does that one job with more specialised hardware. We do many jobs on ordinary hardware, and we say so rather than implying otherwise.
You cannot run your own software on it. The protection that keeps attackers out keeps you out too.
Two-factor codes need a clock. After a power cut it will not show them until something tells it the time.
It cannot stop a determined attacker with laboratory equipment. It is built against theft, loss, resale and prying, not against a state.
It will not protect you from yourself. If you photograph your recovery card and put it in a cloud drive, none of this helps.

Getting help#

Guides, downloads and the full product details live at vault.bendflex.in. We can help with the device: setup, connecting, updates, faults, replacements. We cannot help with anything requiring access to your data, because we do not have any.

Before you write to us

Have your serial number ready — it is on the screen and on the slip in your box. If the device is faulty we will replace it. A replacement device is a blank device, so your backup and recovery card are what bring your vault back. Chapter 07 is how you make sure they exist.

BendFlex · VaultPlug Guardian · Owner's Manual v1