Topic: 🛑 🛑 If Your Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet Is Lost, Stolen then what to Do? 🛑 (Read 281 times)

Totally agree with you, it is wise to have a backup ready for any contingency situation, anyone who stole a hardware wallet thinking they can gain access to it fast enough has probably wasted time, especially in a situation where the owner of the hardware already make preparation for such situation, this is very thoughtful and can save someone during the time of need.

I completely agree with that, because that's why we have hardware wallets - to store key information in a completely isolated environment that is achieved with the use of state-of-the-art technology. As we can see one of the most famous manufacturers of such devices has completely failed in that mission using security elements whose protection has been hacked.

Some other rules apply to them now if they want to protect themselves in case they lose their HW or have it stolen, but I think everyone should be especially careful not only with their backup, but also with the device itself.

Right. You can always restore your wallet using your previously backed up mnemonic phrase. The commentator above, however, claims that there are hardware wallets that allow you to restore a wallet without having to provide such a phrase. That is nonsense at the very least. Sensitive information should never leave a hardware device, and there shouldn't be any way to retrieve it, neither for you nor for a potential attacker. And yes, those wallets that show up your seed phrase on a computer screen during the first setup should be considered insecure and even malicious. Sensitive information is supposed to be shown only on the hardware wallet screen.

When HW is lost data can be transferred to another. But it’s always advised to keep all login details in secured location so when issues like these arise one can easily gets back all wallet and without any lost. There are many ways to keep Hardware Wallet safe to avoid distress and disappointment in time of misplacement of Hardware Wallet.

Well, each hardware wallet generates a seed that can later be entered into another hardware or desktop wallet, so which one is then good in your opinion? And it’s not a problem that some HWs like Ledger allow the seed to be checked, but in a way that the words from the seed only show up on the device screen. This way you can check the correctness of the seed without compromising it.

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Partly true, in case of Trezor HW 4 digit PIN can be brute-forced in 2 minutes with a simple script, so if you not have strong passphrase, one who has come into possession of the device can very easily extract the seed.

For your information Ledger has the ability to set a PIN from 4 to 8 numbers.


Good advice that I have been practicing personally for some time. Apart from the fact that the second device serves as a replacement if the first one breaks down, it also serves as a kind of cold wallet and main storage - regardless of the fact that something similar can be achieved by adding more accounts to one HW with passphrase.

It is unlikely that this problem would have occurred if you were using an HD wallet. In any case, it will be useful for those who use hardware wallets to know this.

Everyone should avoid using hardware wallets that allow you to "restore" your seed phrase using a computer or whatever else. On the contrary, hardware wallets are supposed to securely store your seed phrase and never reveal it to anyone, including you. If you didn't back up your seed, you shouldn't have a chance to restore your wallet for security reasons. Otherwise, it would be enough for an attacker to stole your hardware wallet to "restore" your seed and seize your bitcoins. One should also avoid using those hardware wallets that require manual typing of your seed phrase on the computer connected to the Internet.

Yes, but it depends on the hardware wallet that you are using. There are hardware wallets that you need to connect to your personal computer to extract the seed phrase. Once you open it on your personal device you will see in the option the steps on how you can restore your seed phrase, you just need to follow it.

I have not used a Hardware wallet before but I think it works the same way. If you got a seedphrase when setting it up then it should be retrievable from the walelt while its still functional except in cases of theft or damage. just my opinion though. Someone with an experience in here can throw more lighton this.

Yes! This instance commonly happens when you accidentally or manually reset your hardware device.

The option "Restore from recovery phrase" from your Hardware device is pretty similar to how other wallet operate like Electrum, Bluewallet or any non-custodial wallet that lets you hold your private keys. If for instance you are using Ledger Nano device, what you'll do is to just connect the device to your computer and navigate thru the said option, enter your new PIN code and then finally enter your mnemonic phrase.

There are lots of guide that ca be found on the internet though.
[1] https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005434914-Restore-from-recovery-phrase

Can we restore seed phrases from a hardware wallet . Just like trust wllet or other if we allready login into it and the we have a option to restore or see phrases again..

In case your HW wallet is stolen or was damaged. You can just import the mnemonic seed phrase to a non-custodial wallet like Electrum and create a new standard wallet with an option "You have already a seed". Based on my experience though, you need to remember what type of address you are using in Ledger in order to verify the "derivation path" for your Ledger device.

These are the default path:

/m/49'/0'/0' == Segwit Address (starts with 3..)
/m/44'/0'/0' == Legacy Address (starts with 1..)
/m/84'/0'/0' == Native Segwit (starts with bc1)

You don't have to wait for a new device, or even buy a new HW wallet for the matter.

Hardware wallets usually follow a specific format to generate the keys for the addresses and you can easily just import them to a desktop wallet and transfer the funds out. It's imperative that this is done ASAP, being resistant to bruteforce attacks doesn't mean it is 100% resistant to side channel attacks as well; some HW wallets have a vulnerability that affects the secure chip.

They would also need to know your PIN or password that you created when you first set up the device. (Ledger devices ask for you to create a 4-7 digit PIN) Also as an additional layer of security Ledger devices also only allow for a very limited amount of attempts for inputting your PIN, so if someone like a thief is trying to guess, most likely they will be locked out.

Your seed phrase represents the private key to your hardware wallet. It is that set of 12 , 18 or 24 words that you were prompted to write down and keep in a safe place away from where you store your hardware wallet.

Pro tips: Store your seed phrase on a secure medium (not saved to your notes on your computer desktop or in your email and also in a secure location that is as safe as possible from exposure to things like water, fire, and the attention of people wanting to steal from you.
 
Seriously consider having a replacement device already on hand in the event that your current device is lost, stolen or damaged. This will make the recovery time much faster and you won’t need to wait for the new hardware wallet to be dispatched and shipped to you (during a bull run when a lot more people enter this space, things like hardware wallet manufactures often become backlogged and you will most likely have a long wait time before receiving the new device.