Trezor Model T is a hardware wallet. It is one of the most popular and secure hardware wallets to store your Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies offline (and hence is out of hackers reach). This guide is focused on how to use the Trezor Model T wallet. To give you a better context, I will start with describing what is Trezor wallet, what is it used for, how do we check the authenticity of the Trezor you have purchased, and then immediately switch to defining the steps needed for How to use Trezor Model T or How to set up and use your Trezor Model T wallet.
If you do not have a Trezor Model T wallet you can buy it here.
The Trezor Model T is more sophisticated than a Trezor Model One. For example you get a touch screen in Trezor Model T. It also uses few extra security features like Shamir backup and FIDO2 authentication. However you can buy a Trezor Model One here. Model One is also a hardware and secure wallet like Model T.
Table of Contents
What is Trezor Wallet
Trezor is a hardware wallet developed by SatoshiLabs. It is used to store your Private Key to access the cryptocurrencies you have purchased. It will also help you to send cryptocurrencies to anyone holding any crypto wallet.
A hardware wallet is a physical electronic device or a hardware which is developed for the sole purpose of storing your Bitcoins (or cryptocurrencies). It can be plugged in to a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile to perform any Bitcoin Transaction of buy or sell.
What is a Hardware wallet
Checking the authenticity and packaging
The Trezor Model T generally comes in a white packaging as shown in the picture below.
We need to make sure that the wallet is authentic and is not tampered at any point.
For this purpose, please note the below instructions.
(a) Normally the Trezor Model T will be encased in a box using embedded magnets.
(b) Please check whether the seal is intact or not. The seal/hologram should sit tightly on the USB Charging port of the Trezor wallet. If the hologram has been removed and you see resulting marks on the Trezor wallet, do not use it. Please contact the Support Team of SatoshiLabs.
Check the accessories included
The Trezor Model T will have the below mentioned accessories:
- USB Charging Cable
- Two (generally) Recovery Seed Cards
- Stickers
- Of course your wallet
How to use Trezor Model T
Step 1: Connecting and Initializing the Trezor wallet
Plug in your Trezor wallet to the USB port of your device (laptop, desktop or smartphone).
Once you do so, the screen will show an icon for a lock and prompt a website to visit.
For your convenience this is the website. Go to this website and on the Start Page choose Trezor Model T as your device.
For Firefox users, please install Trezor Bridge as requested.
Firefox Users and Windows 7/8 users
If you are using Windows 7/8, please refer to the FAQs section.
Step 2: Install the firmware for your device
The next step is to install the firmware.
Firmware is a software program or set of instructions programmed on a hardware device. It provides the necessary instructions for how the device communicates with the other computer hardware. Please refer to this website for more details.
What is a firmware
Once the Trezor Wallet recognizes your device, it will automatically prompt you to install the firmware required for the wallet. Click on “Install Firmware” and wait until the installation is done. Within a minute or so, your device (laptop, desktop or smartphone) will reboot to load the new firmware. Congrats your firmware is loaded in your device now.
Step 3: Create your wallet
After you reboot and the firmware is installed in your device, the next step is to create your wallet.
Trezor will give you two options-to create a new wallet or to recover and use an old existing wallet. See below.
If you do have an old wallet for which you do have the recovery seed, then you can recover that wallet in the Trezor Model T by clicking on “Recover Wallet”. Trezor Model T supports all BIP39 seeds to restore an old wallet.
However, if you do not have an old wallet (in most of cases), you can generate a new wallet by clicking on “Create New”. This is anyways recommended to generate a new wallet in Trezor Model T for security purposes.
Once you click on “Create New” the Trezor will start preparing your wallet.
Finally you will get the message that your Trezor is ready. See below.
Step 4: Secure your wallet
Although your wallet is generated and ready to be used in Step 3, I will strongly recommend you to secure your wallet by backing up the recovery seed generated.
The Trezor Screen will prompt you to backup your recovery seed.
The Recovery seed is a 12 word (random words) phrase which is needed every time you log in to your wallet from a different device. This recovery seed will also be needed when you try to recover your lost or stolen wallet. Please understand that anyone who will have access to your recovery seed can access your wallet and hence your Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies you have kept in the wallet. Hence keep your recovery seed as secured as possible. Also hard copy of the recovery seed is strongly suggested as it cannot be hacked at any time. Use a permanent marker to write and save your recovery seed in a piece of paper.
Secure your Recovery Seed
Also, do not disconnect your device during this process. If you do, you will not be able to view your recovery seed again and will have to start over again by wiping the device.
Step 5: Name your wallet
The next thing you can do is to name your wallet. This is suggested more when you have two or more Trezor wallets and you want an easy differentiation among them.
Step 6: Choose a PIN
Now choose a difficult PIN for your wallet. Choose some difficult combination of different numbers. Do not choose easily guessed combinations like your Date of Birth.
The PIN protects your wallet from unauthorized access.
Benefits
| Pros | Cons |
| Very Secure: You will set a PIN that will be required each time you login to the Trezor wallet. You will be given a backup phrase, for resetting your PIN in case you forget it. | Relatively costlier than the software wallets. |
| Constant firmware updates that keeps it ready to surpass any new malwares. | |
| Supports a huge number of cryptocurrencies including the most popular ones like BTC, ETH, ADA< XRP, LTC, XLM, DOGE, DASH, XMR and many more. Check this website for a full list of cryptocurrencies supported by Trezor. | |
| Pocket friendly: Small in size, such that it can fit in your pocket | |
| You can use Trezor with a laptop, desktop and even a Smart phone. | |
| Compatible with all updated versions of Chrome and Firefox. |
FAQs
What is a hardware wallet
A hardware wallet is a physical electronic device or a hardware which is developed for the sole purpose of storing your Bitcoins (or cryptocurrencies). It can be plugged in to a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile to perform any Bitcoin Transaction of buy or sell.
For more detailed information about wallets, please refer to this guide.
Which devices, Operating Systems and chrome, is Trezor Model T compatible with?
Trezor device is compatible both with computer and smartphone. The supported operating systems are Windows 10, macOS 10.11 and higher, Linux and Android OS. Trezor Model is is compatible with all updated versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
Is Trezor Model T compatible with Windows 7/8?
If you are using Windows 7/8 there can be driver issues at some times. To relinquish such issues, you can use the ZADIG installer. You can also install the drivers manually using this guide.
Which cryptocurrencies does Trezor Model T supports?
Trezor supports a huge number of cryptocurrencies including the most popular ones like BTC, ETH, ADA< XRP, LTC, XLM, DOGE, DASH, XMR and many more. Check this website for a full list of cryptocurrencies supported by Trezor.
What will happen if my device (laptop, computer) is infected by Virus and I connect my Trezor with it?
Nothing will happen to your cryptocurrency. Its just like connecting your mouse to your infected computer. Nothing happens to the mouse. Similarly, your cryptocurrency will be completely safe (at least till now) when you connect your Trezor with an infected device.
How safe is Trezor?
The firm SatoshiLabs (which manufactures Trezor) releases regular firmware updates to keep the wallet ready to any new malware or threats in the market. The only thing is that these will not automatically be updated to your wallet. You need to update them yourself whenever they are released. The instructions on how to update the wallet as released by SatoshiLabs can be viewed here-
Which is better-Trezor or Ledger?
Both Trezor and Ledger are hardware wallets which are ultra secure for keeping your cryptocurrencies. However Trezor might be a better option as it is open source.
Conclusion
If you are keen on investing in the crypto space in the long term, then I will strongly recommend to get a hardware wallet like Trezor (Model T and Model One) or Ledger Nano. These wallets (also called cold wallets) keep your private keys offline, rather than online as in the cases of desktop/mobile wallets. Hence these cold wallets are not prone to hacks and internet attacks.
However, if you are just starting in the crypto investments ecosystem, I will suggest to first go with a software wallet. When the stakes increase immediately switch to the hardware wallet. You can simply import all your software wallet cryptocurrencies into a hardware wallet like Trezor. You can get a detailed analysis of different types of crypto wallets in this article.
