I was initially going to create a thread focusing only on one feature and issue I was having with my Jade, but then I thought why not write a quick review about this hardware wallet. So, here it is…
I bought the
Blockstream Jade a few months ago from the official shop in the US and had it delivered to the EU. It’s not the most cost-effective way because there are shipping fees, import taxes, and customs fees (depending on the destination country I didn’t worry about that because I wanted to purchase it from the manufacturer directly and not a reseller. You might save some money buying it from a
reseller in your country, especially if it’s a shop close to you that you can visit and not leave your personal details on a server somewhere.
I made the purchase via bitcoin. The Blockstream store accepts crypto via BTCPayServer, which is nice.
Box ContentsThis is the box content:
• Jade hardware wallet
• 1 USB cable
• 1 Recovery sheet
• 1 compact SeedQR templete for 12-word seeds
• 1 compact SeedQR templete for 24-word seeds
• A Get Started manual
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.talkimg.com%2Fimages%2F2024%2F06%2F08%2FcNtMJ.jpeg&t=665&c=3qr3K9R0M8fX4Q)
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.talkimg.com%2Fimages%2F2024%2F06%2F08%2FcNRqW.jpeg&t=665&c=yPqKm_W63qF9Rg)
Blockstream could have done better here. You only get one recovery sheet. They could have thrown in at least two. The same goes for the SeedQR templetes.
The SetupBefore I set up my device, I first downloaded the latest firmware. Blockstream gives you a few options here: You can install the firmware from the Blockstream Green software wallet, the web portal, or an advanced setup that requires cloning the repository and using a command line.
I upgraded the firmware via the web portal. You can choose one of two firmware versions. One has Bluetooth enabled, and the other one comes with disabled Bluetooth capabilities. I went with the second option.
Blockstream Jade has a
Basic and
Advanced setup. The Basic option requires the device to hold your seed, like a standard hardware wallet. You also generate a PIN code that you use with a blind oracle that functions as a virtual secure element.
But my goal was to use Jade as a
stateless signer, which requires an advanced setup.
That’s where the SeedQR template comes in place. First, you have to generate a 12 or 24-word seed and back it up properly. I also added a long passphrase for extra security.
Then, it’s time to create your SeedQR. For that, you will need a sharpie or a marker. You use it to place small dots on the provided template sheet. This process takes some time, and I was very careful with it since Blockstream only gives you one copy per 12/24-word seeds.
When I was done, I double-checked everything and made sure I could recover my wallet.
Exporting the Master Public KeyBecause Jade is an airgapped hardware wallet, it needs an internet-connected companion software app to create and broadcast transactions. There are multiple choices, but I went with
Blue Wallet for Android and
Sparrow Wallet for my desktop.
Exporting the keys from Jade and importing them into Blue Wallet was quick and painless. There were no problems with the QR scanning.
The same process on Sparrow Wallet was a huge pain in the ass. I don’t know if it’s a compatibility issue, if the camera on my business laptop sucks, or something else was going on, but it was far from pleasant.
It took me several minutes to get the status bar to load to 100% when scanning the QR code. I was close to giving up when it finally worked. I tried adjusting the brightness levels on the Jade, but that didn’t help. There is no option to change the QR density in Jade. It was quite difficult to center the Jade in the middle of the scan surface that Sparrow Wallet provides and figure out the angle correctly.
Does anyone else here have a Jade? Have you tried pairing it with Sparrow Wallet? If so, what’s your experience?
Wallet RecoveryIn stateless mode, the Jade wipes itself clean every time you turn it off. The next time you turn it back on, you have to re-scan your SeedQR to be able to work with your wallet. Scanning the QR with the Jade works nicely, but you need to make sure there isn’t any shadow on the QR template because that can slow down the process.
Because I used a rather complex passphrase, it takes a while to enter it with the Jade. The device has a navigation wheel at the top that you use to swipe between the characters and enter them one by one. You will need a few minutes to get there if you have to navigate between upper and lowercase characters, special-case characters, and letters.
There is a way to make this process a bit easier for you. If you go into the Options of your Jade and select “BIP39 Passphrase”, you can change the method from “Manual” to “Wordlist.” With manual mode, you enter one character after the other. With “Wordlist,” you can only use words from the BIP39 wordlist. As soon as you enter the first few characters, Jade allows you to select possible word combinations to speed up the process. All words will be in lowercase characters with an automatic empty space between them, except the last word.
Sending & Receiving TransactionsWhen your SeedQR is loaded into the Jade, you can verify that the receiving address in your companion app belongs to that seed. By scanning the addresses’ QR code, the Jade shows you if it’s part of your wallet. I like doing it for peace of mind.
The sending to Jade is pretty self-explanatory. The process of sending from the Jade is the same as that of any airgapped hardware wallet. You create the transaction on the companion app, bring over the PSBT to the hardware device via QR code for signing, and bring back the signed transaction for broadcasting on the hot wallet.
Sending from the Jade in connection with Blue Wallet was easy. I had no problems scanning the signed transaction to broadcast it on Blue Wallet. Again, it was Sparrow Wallet on my desktop that created problems, and I couldn’t scan the QR code at all this time.
Overall ExperienceFor the price of this device, I am satisfied. I would prefer if I could use it in connection with Sparrow Wallet, but as I explained earlier, it’s not working correctly.
It’s a good wallet. I already moved some bitcoin to it, and I am waiting for a good opportunity for another consolidation to move another stash.