How to Set Up a Hardware Wallet: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

To set up a hardware wallet, the kind of cold wallet where a small device approves each send, you install the maker's app, set a PIN, write and check your backup, and test with a small transfer. Type the maker's setup address yourself, because a fake setup page or app can steal your recovery phrase before any crypto arrives.

What you need before you start

• A crypto hardware wallet bought from its maker. If you have not chosen one, read how to store crypto safely first.
• A computer or phone, and a private place where nobody can see your screen or your writing.
• A pen and any recovery sheet that came with the device, or plain paper.
• A small amount of the coin you plan to keep, on an exchange or broker app account where you can withdraw to your own wallet.

Find the real setup page

As of October 2026, Trezor's setup page is trezor.io/start (opens in a new tab) and Ledger's is ledger.com/start (opens in a new tab). Type your maker's address into the browser's address bar yourself. Do not search for it and do not click an ad.

In a December 2022 alert (opens in a new tab), the US FBI warned that criminals buy search ads with look-alike domains, including to impersonate crypto exchanges. The ad leads to a page that looks identical to the real one, and its download can be malware.

Two signs of a fake page or app:

• It asks for your recovery phrase when your device's own screen has not asked for it, or by message, email or a support chat. Trezor says (opens in a new tab) anyone who gains access to your backup can reach your wallet without the device.
• It points you to software from an unofficial link, a third-party store or a test build. Ledger says (opens in a new tab) never to install software that way, even if "support" claims an urgent issue. It says to get the app only from the Ledger website on a desktop or from the official mobile app stores (iOS and Android).

If you typed your recovery phrase into a page or app like these, treat the backup as exposed and follow what to do if a backup may have been seen. Then report it where you live: where to report a crypto scam. For more on look-alike sites, read fake platforms and look-alike sites.

How to set up a hardware wallet, step by step

1. Check the box

   Check that the package is complete and has not been tampered with. If it is not, stop and contact the maker through the address you typed in.

2. Install the app and run the authenticity check

   Install the maker's app from the setup page you typed in, and update the device if the app asks. Then run the maker's authenticity check for your model if it has one. On Ledger that is the Genuine Check in Ledger Wallet, and Ledger says not to use (opens in a new tab) a device that fails it. For other makers, look for the check in the maker's help pages.

3. Set the PIN and write the backup in your device's order

   The order differs by device, so follow the screens in the order your device asks. A PIN is a short code that unlocks the device. Trezor's Safe 5 guide (opens in a new tab) has you create the wallet and its backup first, and then Trezor Suite asks for a PIN. Ledger's Flex guide (opens in a new tab) has you set a PIN first, and then choose to set up a new wallet and get the recovery phrase.

   Wrong PIN guesses wipe the device, and the limit depends on the maker and model, so find yours before you enter a PIN:

   • Trezor says (opens in a new tab) the Safe 7 resets after 10 wrong attempts. The Safe 5, Safe 3, Model T and Model One reset after 16.
   • Ledger says (opens in a new tab) its PIN is 4 to 8 digits, and after three wrong attempts the device resets and can only be restored with your recovery phrase.

   Pick a number you do not use elsewhere and that is not a birthday, and enter it slowly. If you are unsure of it, stop instead of guessing.

   Choose to create a new wallet on the device.

   The device shows the recovery phrase, an ordered list of words that restores the wallet. Write it on paper in a private, offline setting, then confirm the words on the device when it asks. Never share the words, including with anyone claiming to be support, and never send them in a message. For more, read how to write down and protect a seed phrase.

   Keep the paper offline in a safe place only you can reach. Never take a photo, screenshot or cloud note of it.

4. Run the recovery check

   A recovery check tests that the words you wrote can restore the wallet. Run it before any crypto arrives.

   On a Trezor Safe 5, for example, Trezor's Check backup feature (opens in a new tab) is in the device settings in Trezor Suite, and you enter your words on the device. If they do not match, the device screen shows an error message.

   The Trezor Model One differs. Its check guide says (opens in a new tab) the device screen tells you which word to enter, and you type it on the computer, with the keyboard or a drop-down list. Do that only when the device asks.

   On Ledger, the confirmation you did in the previous step is the check: Ledger says it makes sure you transcribed the words correctly.

   If a check fails, do not receive anything yet. Because this wallet is still empty, the simplest fix is to start again with a new wallet and a new backup, then check that one.

5. Add the coin to your device

   As of October 2026, Ledger says you must install an app for each cryptocurrency you want to manage before you transfer funds to the device. Other makers' apps may work differently; follow your app's steps to add the coin.

   Before you buy or send a coin, look it up on the maker's list (on Trezor's, check your model): Trezor's supported coins (opens in a new tab) or Ledger's supported coins (opens in a new tab). If it is not listed for your model, do not send it.

6. Receive a small test and match the address

   In the app, open the receive screen for your coin. Display the address on the device and compare it with the one in the app, character by character. Trezor and Ledger both tell you to verify a new receiving address on the device.

   If they differ, do not send anything: the address in the app may have been swapped by malware or a fake app, and the device screen is the one to trust.

   When they match, you are ready to send a small test from your exchange.

   Send the test, then wait until the amount shows in your wallet app. If it does not appear, check the exchange's withdrawal history before you send again.

   If you own a Trezor and are sending Bitcoin, read how to move Bitcoin from an exchange to a Trezor.

How to send crypto from a hardware wallet

Run the four checks from the last setup step before every send.

To send crypto from the wallet, open the send screen in the maker's app and enter the address and amount. The device then shows its own details to approve. Check the destination address and the amount on the device screen against what you intended, and approve only if both match. If anything does not match, reject it. Nothing leaves until you approve it on the device.

For the full sending walkthrough, read how to send crypto to your wallet.

What a hardware wallet costs

Check the current price in the maker's own shop, reached from the website address you typed in yourself, not from an ad.

A device does not remove the fees for moving crypto: the blockchain network charges a network fee, and an exchange can charge its own withdrawal fee. Look for both on your exchange's withdrawal screen, and read how crypto exchange fees work.

Firmware updates and a lost or broken device

Firmware is the software that runs on the device. Update it only through the maker's official app. Trezor says (opens in a new tab) firmware updates can sometimes wipe the device, so keep your backup within reach before you update.

If a device is broken, your funds can still be recovered with your backup, according to Trezor. Get a new device from the maker, set it up from the address you typed in, and choose its restore option. Enter your words only where the new device's screen tells you to. On a Trezor Model One, Trezor's guide (opens in a new tab) has you type them in Trezor Suite on the computer, in the order the device shows.

If a device is lost, or you think someone saw or copied your backup, do not keep using the old wallet. Trezor's 2020 guidance (opens in a new tab) is to create a new wallet with a new backup on a second Trezor or, with no spare, a third-party wallet app, which Trezor calls a last resort. Send a small test to the new address.

For a lost device, recover the missing wallet on a device from the maker, entering the words only where its screen tells you to, and immediately move all coins to the new one.

If you still hold the device but the backup may have been seen, move the funds first, then wipe it and recover the new wallet on it. Do not wipe the device until the funds have moved.

Risks to understand

• Address-swapping malware. Trezor warns (opens in a new tab) that clipboard malware (software that changes what you copied, held in your computer's or phone's clipboard) can swap an address after you copy it.
• No working backup. Trezor says (opens in a new tab) that without a valid backup, losing access to your device results in permanent loss of your funds. A wipe has the same effect if the backup is wrong.

Before you buy the coin you plan to keep here, read how to buy crypto.