Looking Hardware wallets are one of the best ways to manage your private keys securely. And given the growing prominence of cryptocurrency especially Bitcoin, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to invest some money in buying a hardware wallet.
Getting started and used to Ledger Nano S can be a bit tricky for beginners. Hence I have come up with this tutorial where we will learn to setup Ledger Nano S.
Ledger Nano S is the most popular yet basic of the hardware wallets available. Which also makes it the easiest to use and also cheap.
If you are looking to buy one, you get can it on this link. They usually deliver within 3–4 business days.
Note. Only buy Ledger Nano S from the official website. Avoid buying it from other e-commerce platforms.
When you receive your Ledger Nano S it would look something like this from the outside. It contains the device, a USB and a few cards to write your backup phrase (these cards should be blank and not pre-filled). https://www.ledger.com/start
There are two ways you can setup your Ledger Nano S.
First we will start with, creating a new wallet.
With ledger Nano S, side buttons are used to navigate left and right. And press both buttons together to confirm.
To start the device we just have to connect it to the PC using the USB provided.
Now let’s configure it as a new device. https://www.ledger.com/start
First, we have to enter a new pin. This pin is important to access your device, so keep it random and long. Also, make sure you remember it. For the demo I’ll just keep it simple(5,5,5,5).
Next, the device will create a mnemonic (back up phrase) for our new wallet. This is the most important thing of your wallet. The phrase itself gives access to your funds.
Few important points to manage your phrase…
In case, if your device stops working or if you lose it, this phrase can be used to recover your wallet on another device.
Ledger Nano S comes with a few cards where you can note down your backup phrase.
Below is how it will look once you have noted down your backup phrase. Don’t worry I would immediately reset my device after this. Make sure you never share this phrase with anyone.