Losing your Ledger doesn’t mean you lost your coins and tokens. As long as you have access to your 24-word recovery phrase, you can buy a new device and quickly restore access to your Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other crypto asset.
Ledger wallets are used to sign transactions and, contrary to what some people think, don’t contain crypto assets – your Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other coins exist on the blockchain, decentralized among thousands of nodes across the world.
What if my Ledger is stolen? A step-by-step guide to regaining access to your crypto
First things first – don’t panic, your crypto is safe. Next, you should get hold of your wallet recovery phrase and a new Ledger wallet. This will allow you to recover access to your cryptocurrency funds. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide of what you should do if your Ledger device was stolen:
Step 1: Get a new Ledger wallet
Buy a new Ledger wallet or use a backup device to regain access to your existing cryptocurrency accounts.
As a precaution, we recommend buying a backup pack from Ledger and setting each device up with the same recovery phrase. This will significantly reduce the time you need to move your crypto funds to safety after your Ledger device gets stolen.
Step 2: Restore your recovery phrase into your new device
Set up a new Ledger device and enter your old 24-word recovery seed phrase to secure your accounts. When this process is complete, the new device will act as an identical copy of your old device, and you’ll be able to manage your crypto.
If both your recovery phrase and your backup device were stolen, you will be unable to regain access to your crypto funds.
Step 3: Transfer your crypto assets to temporary accounts
Using the new device and Ledger Live, send your crypto assets to temporary accounts (a software wallet, another hardware wallet, or your exchange account). This is a precaution in case a third party manages to enter the correct PIN to your stolen device, and subsequently gets access to your crypto assets.
Keep in mind that software wallets and exchange accounts have a much lower level of security than Ledger hardware devices, so they should be used just as a temporary storage method.
Step 4: Remove existing accounts from Ledger Live
With your crypto safely stored in temporary storage, delete or rename your existing accounts (which are now empty). This will ensure that even if a third party gets access to your Ledger account, they won’t have access to your crypto.
Step 5: Reset your new Ledger wallet
After moving your crypto to temporary accounts and deleting your accounts, you can safely reset your device. This will delete all settings and applications from your device, along with all private keys.
To reset your device, hold both physical buttons simultaneously to access the “Control Center”, then navigate to “Security“, and, finally, confirm the “Reset all” option by pressing both buttons again.
Step 6: Set up your new Ledger as a new device
With your Ledger now a blank slate, you can proceed to set up your wallet as a new device. This includes setting a new PIN code and writing down a new recovery phrase. To do this, simply start by turning on your Ledger device, and the setup process will commence automatically.
Step 7: Move your crypto assets back to new Ledger accounts
With everything set up, you can now safely move your funds from temporary wallets to new Ledger accounts.
What ifmy Ledger breaks or I lose my Ledger?
Having your Ledger stolen or losing it on your own is basically the same from the standpoint of your device’s and crypto’s security. If you lost your Ledger you should take the same measures as if your device was stolen, including restoring your seed phrase to a new device, moving crypto to temporary accounts, deleting your existing accounts, and setting up a new Ledger as a new device.
In case your Ledger breaks or stops working due to technical problems, then you can be a bit more relaxed with how you handle the transition to a new device. For example, transferringcrypto to new accounts and deleting old ones becomes redundant in case your Ledger breaks, since you won't have to worry about anyone actively trying to get access to your crypto. If your Ledger breaks, you should recover your seed phrase to a new device, and that's it – youshould be good to go. To prevent any downtime when setting up a new device, you can have a backup device ready in case ofemergency.
Essential tips to increase your Ledger’s security
There are several measures you can take to increase the level of protection of your Ledger wallet and the crypto assets managed by it.
Securely store your recovery seed phrase
In case your device is lost or stolen, having the recovery seed phrase readily available is one of the most important things. Using a metal device to protect your 24-word backup phrase will greatly increase the its security.
Use a secure PIN
If your Ledger falls into the wrong hands, a strong PIN will be the last line of defense between your crypto assets and a malicious third party. We recommend using a strong PIN that is not easy to guess. Using a longer number (you can use anywhere from 4 to 8 numbers) will exponentially increase the security of your PIN. It is worth noting that a Ledger device will reset once the PIN code has been entered incorrectly three times.
Have a backup device on hand
Buying a new device takes time, which is of the utmost essence in case your device is stolen. To avoid waiting for a new device to arrive, many users get backup Ledger devices so they are ready in case the device is lost or dies due to technical reasons.
You can buy the Ledger Backup Pack, which includes a Nano S Plus and Nano X at a discounted price, or get the Nano S Plus pack or the Nano X pack, both of which include three devices at a 10% discount.
If you are interested in learning more about the differences between the two devices, you can check our Ledger Nano X vs Nano S Plus comparison.
The bottom line: Getting your Ledger stolen is not an issue if you take the correct measures
Losing your Ledger is certainly a very uncomfortable experience. However, if you follow the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to regain access to your crypto funds in no time. Ledger hardware wallets are widely considered the best crypto hardware wallets, and the ease of recovering your existing crypto accounts to new devices is a major reason why.
In addition to owning a backup Ledger device, protecting your recovery phrase with a metal device like The Billfold will greatly increase the security of your seed phrase. You can read more about the best metal crypto wallets for seed storage.
