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How to set up your first hardware wallet

A hardware wallet keeps the keys to your Bitcoin off the internet. Setting one up takes about half an hour. Go slowly, follow the steps in order and you will avoid nearly every common mistake.

Before you start

• Buy only from the maker's official shop or an official reseller listed on the maker's site. Avoid marketplace sellers and second hand devices.
• Find a quiet half hour, somewhere private, with a pen and the recovery card from the box.
• Download the maker's app only from their official website or your phone's official app store.

Not chosen a device yet? See them side by side on Choose a wallet, or read Ledger vs Trezor vs Jade.

Setup, step by step

1. Check the box. Seals intact, no recovery words already written anywhere. Our setup checklist covers every check.
2. Connect and update. Plug in or pair with the official app and let it install or check the firmware.
3. Create a new wallet. Choose "create new", never "restore", unless you already have your own words.
4. Set a PIN. Pick it on the device itself. Do not reuse your bank card PIN.
5. Write down your recovery words. The device shows 12 or 24 words. Write them on the card in order, by hand. No photos, no notes app, no cloud.
6. Confirm the words. The device asks you to re-enter some of them. This proves your copy is right.
7. Add Bitcoin in the app. Create a Bitcoin account and get a receive address.

Test before you trust it

Check the receive address on the device screen, not only on your computer. Then send a small test amount, see it arrive, and only then move the rest. Our exchange to wallet guide walks through it. And if the device is ever lost, stolen or broken, here is how to get your bitcoin back.

Common beginner mistakes

• Typing recovery words into a phone, computer or website. A real wallet never asks for this.
• Keeping the only copy of your words in the same drawer as the device.
• Buying a "pre set up" device. Genuine devices never come with words.
• Skipping the test payment.

We will never ask for your recovery words. Not SHATOSHI, not a wallet maker, not support staff. Anyone who asks is trying to steal from you.

Not financial advice. General education only. Do your own research.