Set up your first hardware wallet

What the device does

A hardware wallet keeps your keys on a small device of its own. Your computer or phone prepares a payment. The device signs it after you check the details on its own screen.

Malware on a computer can change what its screen shows, so every check in this guide happens on the device screen.

Signer Another name for a hardware wallet. It signs payments. The coins themselves live on the Bitcoin network.

Buy it from the maker

Order from the maker’s own shop, or from a reseller the maker lists on its site. A device from anywhere else may have been opened on the way.

When it arrives, check the packaging before you open it. Makers describe their seals on their own support pages, so look there for what yours should look like. Watch for cuts, tears, a broken seal or signs of resealing.

The backup cards in the box should be blank. If any words are already written or printed on them, don’t use the device. Contact the maker’s support.

Install the app and let the device check itself

Download the maker’s own app from the maker’s own site. Then connect the device.

Many current devices run an authenticity check the first time you connect them to the app. It confirms the device is genuine. Let it finish. If it warns you or can’t complete, stop and contact the maker’s support.

The app then installs or updates the firmware. Some devices leave the factory with no firmware at all, and the app installs it during setup. If your maker says that and the device already has firmware on it, stop and contact support.

Firmware The software that runs on the device itself. The maker signs it, and the device checks that signature.

Create a new wallet

Choose to create a new wallet. The device makes your backup words itself. Never use a list of words that came with the device or that someone else gave you.

How many words you get depends on the device and the options you pick at setup.

• 12 or 24 words. This is the common standard, called BIP39. The words come from a fixed list of 2,048.
• 20 words. Some devices use a newer standard, called SLIP39, with its own list of 1,024 words.

Both work. Write down exactly the number your device shows you.

Some devices offer other backup types too, like a memory card. This guide sticks to written words.

Passphrase An optional extra word that opens a separate wallet. Leave it for now. It has its own step further down.

Set a PIN

The device asks you to set a PIN. Some makers call it a device password. You enter it each time you unlock the device.

Pick one you’ll remember. If you forget it, you’ll need your backup words to get back in. So the backup comes next.

Write the backup words on paper

The device shows the words on its own screen, one at a time or in groups.

• Use a pen and write in clear capital letters.
• Number every line and keep the words in order.
• Check each word against the device screen before moving on.

Keep them off anything online. Don’t take a photo, don’t type them into a phone or computer, and don’t save them in the cloud. The maker will never ask for them. Only enter them on the device itself.

Anyone who has the words can spend your Bitcoin. Keep the paper where you’d keep cash.

Test the backup

Many devices have a backup check in the maker’s app. You enter your words on the device, and it compares them with the words it holds. Nothing gets saved or changed. If they match, the device says so.

If your device has no backup check, the seed backup guide, step 5 shows another way to test.

If the check fails, look at each word and try again. If it still fails, make a new wallet with a new backup before you put any Bitcoin on it.

Receive, and check the address on the device

In the maker’s app, open Receive. Copy the address into the exchange’s withdrawal form.

Then show the address on the device screen. Compare it with the address you pasted, all the way through. If they match, it’s yours.

Bitcoin wallets give you a new address each time you receive. Using a fresh one each time makes your payments harder to link together.

Move off the exchange, a small amount first

On the exchange, withdraw a small amount to the address you just checked. Pick the Bitcoin network when the exchange asks.

Wait for it to confirm. Check that it shows up in the maker’s app. Then withdraw the rest the same way, checking the address on the device again.

Once they arrive, the keys for those coins are on your device.

Sending, and checking the device screen

When you send, the app prepares the payment and the device shows it before signing. Check two things on the device screen: the address and the amount.

If either one doesn’t match what you meant to send, don’t confirm. Cancel and start again.

You can stay here as long as it feels right. If you get curious about where to keep those words for the long run, step 3 is backing up your seed properly.