🏗️Setting Up Trezor
Last updated
Last updated
The setup procedure for your Trezor Model T is as follows. The later after the release date of this article you are reading this, the more support there will be from this article. Early readers will have to do certain research themselves to fill in the gaps.
The overview of the steps you will follow are:
Follow the setup instructions in your box
Write down the seed phrase on a piece of paper. You’ll transfer this to metal later on
Find your ETH Address in Trezor Suite. Remember this address
Once the wallet is set up, open Metamask on Firefox. If you don’t have either, follow these links to download them both
Only use these links. Some people create fake versions of popular apps to get access to your crypto
Connect your Trezor Model T to Metamask
Click the Metamask Icon to open it
Click the top right circle
Click Connect to hardware wallet
Click Trezor
Follow the prompts to connect your Trezor Model T to Metamask. Choose the ETH Address you remembered from before
You will use your Etherium address for all your Eth and Binance transactions
Once that’s done and you’re back on the home screen…
Go to http://bscscan.com/ and click this icon at the bottom to import the Binance chain into your Metamask
If you want to import other networks, go to their respective scan tool websites. Fantom is https://ftmscan.com/
Now you can receive and send to Trezor using Metamask, and also view all your alt coins. You’ll simply use Trezor to give transactions permission to go through. You’ll use Metamask to do everything else.
Testing. You are simply going through all the features of Trezor to make sure everything works. This first time is just to learn how to use it. The second time around you’ll be doing this test with your final Trezor account
Send a coin to your Trezor Model T by selecting the same address you remembered. You can access it via Metamask now.
If it’s an ETH coin, Etherium, make sure you are on the ETH network
If it’s a BEP20 coin, Binance, make sure you are on the Binance network
You can import coins to see alts by pressing this button. It’s at the bottom of your Metamask
For this time around, send some BNB over.
Use your Metamask to swap BNB to BUSD. leave 0.004 BNB for transaction fees
Swap BUSD back to BNB
Then send your BNB to the wallet you transferred the BNB from
To do this you click your BNB in the Metamask wallet, and click send.
Enter the wallet address, click next and follow the prompts. Confirm transaction through Trezor
Make sure there is nothing left on your Trezor after this step
Lastly, reset your Trezor completely
Recreate it using the seed phrase you wrote down
If you are choosing to use the Shamir Backup, skip the next step and set up your Trezor like normal. Click the Shamir Backup option instead of the Seed Phrase during set up (I’d recommend using Shamir Backup)
When picking how many seed phrases you want to enter to recreate your wallet, think about how secure you want to be.
2-3 is a good option, which still leaves room for someone stealing up to two, or you losing up to two, before you cannot recreate your wallet.
By default, Trezor Model T gives you a 12-word seed phrase to use. We want 24. This requires us to send a command to Trezor. First, we have to install the Trezor command line. This is one of the holes I mentioned. Instructions for how to do this may be added later. For now, those of you who are more comfortable with computers or just want to play around until you make it work
Now to enable the 24-word seed phrase
Open Command Prompt if you’re on Windows
Open Terminal if you are on Linux or Mac
Type in: ”trezorctl reset-device -p -t 256”
Continue with the creation of your hardware wallet as per usual
Write down your seed phrase to paper
Enable the wipe code
Open Command Prompt if you’re on Windows
Open Terminal if you are on Linux or Mac
Type in: “Ctrezorctl set-wipe-code”
Follow the instructions to set up your wipe code
You’ll type this in if you want to wipe your device, for example when someone is forcing you to unlock it. This will be your second line of defense
Creating plausible deniability
Leave $100 on the standard wallet
If someone forces you to open your Trezor, this money is what they will see
If you cannot enter the wipe code, this will be your third line of defense
Create a hidden wallet
Leave some money on there.
If the person forcing you to open your Trezor knows about the hidden wallet functionality, you can open this wallet and be like “fine here is my other wallet”
If someone keeps pushing and knows the hidden wallet functionality, this will be your last form of defense before your crypto may be accessed
Create additional hidden wallets for the rest of your money
You can create as many as you’d like to break your assets up
Each has a different password attached to the seed phrase, so this is the same as creating different wallets, or buying multiple Ledger devices
Don’t get too crazy. A lot of people have lost their crypto because they went too crazy with their security and forgot how to access their accounts. If you have no need for multiple hidden wallets, create two
One for plausible deniability
One for your crypto
If you want to add a first line of defense, you can buy yourself a micro SD card and enable SD Card protection. Whenever the SD card is inside the Trezor, your pin will work. If your SD Card is inside your Trezor, your pin will not work. Simply remove, hide, throw away, or break if in danger, depending on the danger level
Open Command Prompt if you’re on Windows
Open Terminal if you are on Linux or Mac
Type in: “trezorctl device sd-protect enable”
Every time you go to give permission to a transaction, a webpage will pop up asking if you want to type in your password, or type it into your trezor.
Always put your Trezor’s passphrase into the Trezor. Never type it in using your Keyboard. The whole point of having a hardware wallet is so your crypto passwords are never entered into a computer.
This code forces the passwords prompt to your Trezor right away
Once your Trezor is set up
During the Metamask tests, once you have your BNB sent over, buy Wolfies. You can just hold them. They’re a deflationary asset and you’ll probably be happy you held them
Once you have went through all the tests, reset your wallet, and recreated it…
Make sure your Trezor is connected to your metamask
And move all your assets over to the respective hidden wallets you have for those specific assets. Once again, if you don’t have a need for multiple (Perhaps, you don’t have a lot of crypto, or only one farm), just use one hidden wallet
Engrave your seed phrase(s) onto metal. Fires can take out your paper seed phrases and it will be the same as if someone took your crypto, because you won’t have access if you need to recreate your hardware wallet.
