Topic: [CFNP] Mixin Safe - Decentralized Bitcoin Custody Solutions | Review Campaign - page 3. (Read 6628 times)

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Bitcointalk username: ZAINmalik75

Mixin Name: ZAINmalik75
Mixin ID: 41189093
Batch no: #5

My Review About App:
I use my personal mobile phone to register the "Mixin safe" messenger apps. Unlike other apps, "Mixin safe" messenger apps, I have no problem to register on mobile phone even this was excellent to do this all as this was very easy and comfortable to do this all.
Here I want to say one thing if anyone wants to download "Mixin safe "app, then they can download it from Google Play Store by entering the link provided from the main website, otherwise it will be not good idea to download app from any other website.

Signup and creating pin:
This was really easy to work with because I feel the team done good job here, and they understand all about market and people's mindset, so this process completed without any problem, but you have to remember your 6 digit pin because without this you can't do anything on this app. Also if you feel any problem from PIN then you can try biometric option by enabling them for easy and quick process done.


Setting:
This all is very smooth as we can change our mobile number and 6 digit pin with many other features are also giving good impression to users here I want to add one thing which really admire me this is emergency contact because this is also important for all users with chat and grouping is also impressive thing from team as well.


Wallet:
Mixin wallet is used to receive, store and send cryptos. All big coins and big networks available. Deposit and withdraw function is very easy to use with same options which we have in other wallets. One function is added which is to send crypto to contact which increase the security and delivery fund with fast speed without paying any fee.


Deposit and Withdraw:
I deposited BNB through my wallet and this all works very smoothly which was really impressive because I faced no problem during this process and then after checking all features on wallet I try few experiments which was also fun, and then I have been withdrawing my funds without any problem even fees were higher than Binance but still this all was doing very easily which is surely going to have good impact on users in future.


Last words from my side:
safe is very simple and easy to use. Payment method option is convenient since it has multiple option. The transaction speed and website responsiveness in every task is very quick which makes my overall experience smooth on all the process. For me most user-friendly cryptocurrencies wallet to store various type of crypto in the market.

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Sandra 🧑‍🦰

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Please do the things that was asked within the deadline. It's really not nice to give me additional hassle. I don't want to go through scam accusations and things for few hundred dollars. Failed will receive a negative feedback straight with this link.

Additional information.
Batch#5 reward/payment sent.

Tx: 900a75669f59873892dfd11191a3ff2a3f04616664facf027c10703f8ae07c68

Two more days before your deadline :-D

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We have 2 open slots, may have one or two more. Please apply. You will be added in Batch extended with BlackHatCoiner.
Those who are in the spreadsheet already, they can submit their review. You will receive your payment (if not yet) in time.

Bitcointalk username: dkbit98

Let's start from the beginning.
I first though this is going to be simple procedure to set up all wallets and create multisig setup, but soon I realized I need to spend fair amount of time to download and set up everything correctly.

Mixin app is free so I downloaded latest version, and I knew it is based on well known signal messaging app and I knew they are asking for phone number registration.
This is the first thing I didn't like, but I found a way around it and I managed to registered account, that can be used both as messaging app and as cryptocurrency wallet.
I first though this is a cool idea since it supports Bitcoin, Monero and many other coins, but than I realized that I can't download and/or export private keys or seed words, that probably means that app is custodial.
I also can't set my own fees and I saw comments on google store from other people who complain that fees are outrages high.



I went ahead and changed settings in Mixin app to increase my privacy, but I had one small issue with trying to hide my phone number, and I will explain it later.
After setting up my PIN and changing settings in my main Mixing app, I created another account on different device that served as my Messenger Contacts and as Emergency Contact.
I tried finding account with username but it only worked after I typed user ID number.
I tested removing, adding contact again, changing username, and everything worked fine.
There is also Mixing desktop app, and I downloaded it and connected using QR code.



I wanted to test all Mixing products so for this purpose I used Morning Key as Owner Wallet and installation procedure was not complicated.
Paying $1 dollar for app is not a lot of money for this app but I decided to download free APK version available on website, since I used deg00gled phone for this testing.
This time I generated seed words and save them in offline in safe place, and I continued further.



I had a small problem with Mixing Safe because I tried to open with disabled option for phone number, and I couldn't create it until I returned and enabled sharing of my phone number.
I tried talking with Mixin chat support, but nobody was responding, maybe because of different time zones or they don't have enough people for this positions.

 

I went ahead creating Mixin Safe and I needed to pay 2 pUSD in crypto, and I selected USDT and overpaid fee microcents, but I was later refunded using EPC inside wallet.



First strange thing I notice in Mixin safe is that this is beta software and nobody should send more than $1000 worth of crypto?!  
I would probably not send even $100 after reading this red banner, so I decided to send much lower amount for this testing.
Only two coins are available for multisig, Bitcoin and Litecoin so I had to proceed with LTC, but initially I wanted to try testing with XMR.





I managed to deposit LTC and create Mixin Safe, and after that I withdraw LTC back to my own non-custodial wallet, and I had to do all procedure in reversed way.
It all worked fine more or less, but I had few small bugs along the way and I had no support from their support and I had to figure it out myself.

My Final thoughts:

Mixing Safe is an interesting concept but I have to say that I don't like the final product.
I really don't understand exact purpose for this much complications for beta software that can hold maximum $1000 with risk of losing it all because of some bugs.
Setting everything up is not easy and newbies would probably need hours to set up everything, if they ever manage to do it, and I don't think Mixing Safe is good for them.
Experienced Bitcoiners will never use Mixin Safe for multiple reasons, when they can create Multisig setup themselves in much safer and quicker way.
On top of everything I said, people using Mixin Safe will pay additional fees and they will have risk of exposing phone number and other personal details.
A lot more improvement is needed for this service to gain more popularity, and I won't name any competition services here, but easier alternatives use multisig setup or shamir secret sharing.

Mixin ID: 41194480

Thanks to Royse777 and the Mixin team for the opportunity.

Completed the following:
-  Prepare Owner Wallet:
-   Prepare Members Wallet: Get Mixin Messenger  
-   Set Mixin Messenger PIN  
-  Add Mixin Messenger Contacts: Please ask all safe members to add each other as a contact in Mixin Messenger, including yourself.
-  Set Emergency Contact: Please ask all safe members to set an emergency contact in Mixin Messenger, including yourself.  
- Create and Sign in Mixin Safe
- Fund and send asset transactions from Mixin Safe

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Enter the reveiw




First off, I followed the guide at: https://support.mixin.one/en/article/how-to-use-mornin-key-to-create-mixin-safe-1u1rf36/
In order to attain my own Mornin key. As per the instructions, there is a free apk version of the app available as seen here:



I went for the APK version, but I saw this error message. After multiple attempts still return the same error (as seen in the screenshot below):




I moved on to the next alternative, to install the Mornin key via TestFlight on macOS.




Now installed, I proceeded to create an account. Mornin key provides Biometrics and PIN options as security measures to secure accounts created via the app.


After authenticating with biometrics, I am asked to access my seed phrase and store it safely for recovery if needed.



Next up, I installed the Mixin messenger app, completed the account setup and created PIN. It requested me to input my desired pin 4 times. A bit excessive but since it's a security feature, I don't mind.



Worked on the next attempt. And I signed in successfully.



I proceeded to sign into the Mixin safe dashboard using my mornin key on my mobile to scan the qr code.



Then I created a Litecoin safe after paying a $2 upgrade fee with MATIC on the polygon network, added a member from Mixin messenger as a 1/3 key holder and deposited it into the safe using LTC tokens.


Summary
Having tried out the majority of the features available on the Mornin key, Mixin Messenger and Mixin Safe, I want to note the following:
 

• Overall, the UI of Mornin, Mixin Messenger and Safe are all good - I didn't have any problem with the colours used in the UI design.
• The onboarding and user experience wasn't a smooth one and it also wasn't intuitive.  Most of the time, I didn't know what the next process in the flow was and had to play around in order to figure out the next step. The mixin safe start page (https://safe.mixin.zone/start) provides a solid onboarding experience which I enjoyed. other than that, I had to do a lot of figuring stuff out on my own to use other features.
• I couldn't use the Mornin key app on my desktop since any operation that involves the mornin key on the Mixin safe dashboard requires scanning a QR code in order to confirm the approval. An alternative for Mixin desktop users should provide an option for entering a secure code displayed on the Mixin safe website and entering that code in the mornin key app to trigger an approval operation.  Why do I have to install the mornin key app on my desktop when I can't use it to approve operations/transactions in my safe because it requires qr scan?
• I love the minimalist design of the mornin key app on both desktop and mobile. However, for a typical password manager, it lacks a lot of features. Relying on manually inputting website URLs. Plus, there is no way to view passwords that are automatically created by the mornin key upon adding a new login item.  A mornin key browser extension would be nice to have but not necessary and it will improve the process of using the mornin key app on desktop.
• Seed phrase storage and confirmation on Mornin key app don't allow for copying the phrase. That's a plus for me since clipboard attacks are rampant now.
• When it was time to make a transaction from my safe, I approved the request using 1/3 from a member via mixin messenger. When it was time to scan the QR code to make a safe approval via Mornin key app, The qr codes kept changing. I know this is by design but it's not intuitive. It took me around 5 minutes before I realized that the qr code scanner needs to be fixed between 30 seconds to 1 minute (probably more) before it can get 3/3 approval. There should be a tiny note informing the user about this. I almost took it for a bug but it is a feature.
• Some of the articles in the docs are vague and need some additions here and as well as someone grammar fixes in some areas like here: https://support.mixin.one/en/article/how-to-use-mornin-key-to-create-mixin-safe-1u1rf36/
  
  
• Question to Mixin team: In a safe that has only 1 member, 1 owner and 3 keys; who owns the final key? The Mixin team or the owner has 2 keys vs 1 key for the member.
• The payment gateway to pay the upgrade fee in order to get a safe is smooth. This was a plus in my books.

Bitcointalk username: Z-tight

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This is my honest review of Mixin Safe, from the installation of all the necessary apps, to what i think about mixin safe in general and all my experiences from start to finish. I skimmed through some reviews before i tried out mixin safe for myself, but honestly even after doing that i still didn't understand exactly how mixin safe worked, i guess i had to try it out myself to understand how to use the safe.

Mornin Key
Mornin key is an app you have to pay for in order to be able to insall it, after making the little payment which is less than a dollar, i started having problems because the app refused to open on my device, the problem was actually from my device i guess, because i was using a phone with a low GB Ram, then i installed mornin key on another device with a higher Ram, i was able to open and access the app. Creating an account on mornin key is easy, and you must save a backup of your mnemonic because that is the only way to recover your account.

Mixin Messenger
Downloading mixin messenger is free, unlike mornin key, the only problem with it is that you have to register with your phone number, there ought to be other options, like using an email address. Upon registeration, you will receive a 4 digit code to complete your registration, afterwards you are required to set a six digit pin which you have to confirm at least 4 times, take note that this pin is very important as you will be required to input it in many of your activities in mixin messenger.

Mixin Safe
Creating a safe could be ambiguous if you don't know what to do exactly, you are to visit the website: https://safe.mixin.zone/ and click on "sign in", and then use the camera icon in your mixing messenger to scan the QR code, but before doing that you must have added contacts that you trust in your mixin messenger app, then afterwards you have to add an emergency contact, this contact can help you recover your account, but take note that the emergency contact cannot help you to recover your pin; to add emergency contact: settings>account>security>emergency contact, this contact will also have to add you as their emergency contact, and then a 4 digit code will be sent to your friend which you have to get for the whole process to be complete. After all of that, you can now scan the QR code, after scanning there are some request notifications that will pop up, like "allow bot to read your assets", "allow bot to read your contacts", etc, only the request of allowing bot to read your public profile cannot be altered, i didn't alter any of it, so if i may ask, what will happen if i refuse some of the request authorization?

Creating safe
To create a safe you have to choose your preferred network and a safe name. I chose BTC. You also have to set up owner and member wallets.

Your owner wallet will hold your key as the owner of the safe, you can either use mornin key, BTC core or Ledger. I used mornin key to scan the QR code and create owner wallet.

Next is the member wallet, and you have a minimum of 1 and maximum of 5 members to add, after adding members you wish, the next is a summary of all your set up, and date and time the safe was created. To finally create safe you must upgrade your plan, each plan comes with its own perks and benefits.

I chose the $2 upgrade plan, i made my payment in BTC and afterwards another page was opened, and now i have to wait for confirmation, after confirmation i was told that i overpaid and i was given a refund code, the amount in question was very small, but just to test the refund process, i requested for a refund. Take note that the refund would be sent to my mixin messenger wallet.

The refund process is easy, you have to add the Mixpay bot to your Mixin messenger, then send the refund code in the chat and follow the process for the refund.

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After my plan was upgraded, the final process is to use mornin key to scan the QR code and sign, then the safe is created.

Deposit and Withdrawal
There is a minimum deposit of 0.0001 BTC, i copied my BTC address and made a deposit to test the process, once my tx was confirmed, my deposit reflected in my safe and i also got a notification of the deposit in my mixin messenger as well as my members also got notifications. Withdrawal was also smooth, after making a withdrawal, your added members must approve the tx, and finally you will have to use your owner wallet to sign the transaction.

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My observation about mixin safe is that i think the name is a little bit confusing, and i wonder why it is called 'mixin', it is not a mixer, it can be called a 'safe wallet'. I know the creators of this safe want an easy way for people to hold their funds, but there is nothing easy about the whole process, it is ambiguous and many people will not understand how it works at first. This is also like a web wallet, and the users do not hold the keys to their funds, there is also no privacy in the process because once you make a deposit or withdrawal your added members will know about it.