Hardware Wallet Configuration

tip

• DOs:
  • Split your 24-word seed phrase into multiple parts (e.g., 2-of-3 or 3-of-5 schemes) to improve security and prevent single points of failure.
  • Use durable metal plates to back up shards, as they withstand disasters like fire or water damage.
  • Store shards in separate, secure, and fireproof locations to mitigate risks from theft or natural disasters.
• DO NOTs:
  • Write or store the entire seed phrase in a single location or medium.
  • Store all shards together.
  • Overcomplicate the process—stick to manageable schemes (e.g., 2-of-3) to reduce the risk of human error.

Seed Phrase Security strengthens wallet recovery and asset protection by splitting your seed phrase into shards and engraving backups on durable metal plates. By combining sharding schemes like 2-of-3, secure storage you greatly reduce risks from theft, disasters, and unauthorized access.

Wallet Factory Reset

As a measure to mitigate potential exploits involving temporary firmware modifications or un-authorized state access on hardware wallets, we recommend performing multiple factory resets. This helps reduce the risk of such exploits.

tip

Recommended Action: Perform a factory reset on the device three times.

Sharding

Wallet sharding is the process of splitting your 24-word seed phrase into multiple parts (shards) and distributing them across different secure locations. This way, no single shard can reconstruct the wallet by itself, providing an extra layer of security against loss or theft.

Why?

• Reduces the risk of single point failure: If someone gains access to one shard, they cannot access your funds.
• Protects against disasters: By distributing shards in different locations, you increase your chances of recovery even if one location is compromised (e.g. fire or flood).
• Adds redundancy: Using a multi-shard scheme like 2 of 3 or 3 of 5, you can lose some shards and still recover your wallet.

Setup

Simple Manual Split

In this method, the seed phrase is divided into 3 parts, and any 2 parts are sufficient to reconstruct the entire seed phrase.

warning

You should never write down your whole seed phrase anywhere.

As an example, you could split your 24-word seed phrase into:

• Shard 1: Words 1-8, Words 9-16
• Shard 2: Words 9-16, Words 17-24
• Shard 3: Words 1-8, Words 17-24

With this method:

• Any 2 shards can be combined to reconstruct the full 24-word phrase.

warning

When splitting, you should always use a 24 word seed phrase, since splits are prone to brute-force the missing words. As an example:

• A 12 word seed phrase shard can be brute forced in: ~109 seconds
• A 24 word seed phrase shard will take: 3830854 years

Engrave the Shards on Metal Plates!

A highly durable backup option, unlike paper, metal plates will remain legible even in the event of a fire, flood, or physical impact, significantly improving the longevity and reliability of your shards:

• Clearly engrave each shard’s words on a separate plate.
• Label each plate (e.g. “Shard 1 of 3”).
• Use a stamping kit for durability and readiness.
• Double-check, mistakes could render the shard unusable.

Storage

Distribute the shards in separate and secure locations

• Avoid storing all shards in one location, as this defeats the purpose of sharding.
• Choose secure and fireproof storage options. (Metal plates will solve this)