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Hey all.  If you read my previous thread a while back, my nano ledger s after a few years had a very dim screen that was very hard to read.  Then I didn't touch it for months... then one day i plugged it in and it didn't even turn on.  I then got a new nano ledger s and put in my seed... which had issues at first but another member here HCP helped me with it and then it worked and i restored my coins in my new nano ledger.



Now for the future, what should i do to store thr nano ledger s?



The thing is im located in a very hot country and its extremely humid.  Thus think electronics like tvs and monitors can go bad because of it.  Im in the US now but will be heading back there soon.  The thing was i kept my nano ledger s in like a fanny pack... zipped inside it.  Now i had it like that for almost two years with no issue.  So imagine you just put your nano ledger s in the fanny pack, zipped up... only to take it out and use it the few times when you need to do a transaction.  I also did not have my nano ledger s box at the time as i left that back in the US.



So when i go back there, what is the best way to store it if my apartment is humid?   Again almost all apartments have this issue, not only mine.  If you find a nicer apartment, you still going to have humidity issues but maybe not as bad as mine?  Im in a small studio apartment.  I do have my glass door opened during the day and my ceiling fans on all day and night... and of course have the ac turned on a few hours a day almost.  Most ppl do the same where im located due to the humidity.



Now should i just leave it there on a table like where i have my computer/monitor?  That way it can breath as oppose to sticking it in a fanny pack zipped up?  Or should i bring the nano ledger s box with me and just put it inside the box?  My thoughts to put it inside a fanny pack was because my apartment is humid, leaving it just there on a table might not be good idea because humidity might affect it... but does putting it in a fanny pack zipped up make it worth?  I know there is no battery in the nano ledger s though.  If i had the nano ledger s box with me, i would have just put it in a box.  But does the box when closed protect from the humidity of the apartment?



Also i didn't want to like leave it right in the open on the table in plain site so that is was why i put it in my fanny pack.  My studio apartment is very tiny so you can't really hide a nano ledger s anywhere.


Anyone have tips on this?  I mean my nano ledger s could have just went bad with the screen... someone else mentioned it happened to him not long ago and it was a defect.  But anyone know if humidity is a factor in this?  Like where would be the ideal location to put it in?  Install a safe in the wall and put it there?  Or buy a safe and put it there?  But wouldn't it locked up cause humidity issues?  Also i never liked the idea of a safe in a house or apartment because if someone is there... well obviously first thing you look for is a safe.  Also many ppl if they see a nano ledger s there on a table, they might think its a usb stick.



I mean you don't want it in plain site, but you also don't want to put it in a humid/hot place.

I don't live in a really hot or humid place, but I keep my Ledgers inside waterproof cases, along with some other stuff that I don't want damaged.  One of those cases (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DFVL2JL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) (the link is to Amazon) has some insulating foam in it, though I don't know how good a job it does as far as protecting the Ledger from heat. 

I would imagine humidity could have an adverse effect on a little device like a Ledger.  You could buy some dessication packets that absorb moisture and throw them inside an insulated case if you have something like that.  You'd probably have to change them quite often if the humidity is consistently very high where you live.  The second case (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HZUWJ7Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I bought was for larger things, though it's not huge and easily concealable.  You could put your Ledger in there with some insulating material and try to keep it in a cool spot in your house if you have one--probably one lower to the ground, I'd think.

Good luck with your new device, and hopefully you won't have the same problems with the screen and such.

The Ledger box, a fanny pack, a standard safe, etc., will all be useless to protect against humidity since they are not airtight. You need something which is airtight to store it in, but you also need to remove the moisture from the air inside the container.

I'm thinking something like an airtight watertight case for digital cameras, phones and other small electronics that you can find on Amazon, and have a supply of silica gel packets so you can throw a fresh one in every time you have to open it.

Can you post a picture of what I would need exactly when you say this?


Also how do you guys store your nano ledger s?   


I assume you guys don't have the hot and humidity issue like me so none of this really is an issue for you right?  Again, im not sure if it was the humidity or not because for around a year and a half... that was how i stored it... put it in a fanny pack zipped up.  If it was humidity, would it happen sooner though?

Almost any "airtight" box should suffice... You can go "fancy" with something small like this: https://www.amazon.com/Plano-Guide-1449-Polycarbonate-Field/dp/B003JFU652/

There are other similar things on Amazon etc in various sizes, colours, shapes with various padding etc...

Along with a "Silica Gel" (aka "desiccant") pack or two. These ones can apparently be zapped in the microwave and "recharged": https://www.amazon.com/wisedry-Rechargeable-Microwave-Reactivate-Indicating/dp/B081JQFH4J/

Or just collect a few of the packs from other things that you buy :P


I live in a temperate zone, so humidity really isn't an issue where I live...

You could have just been unlucky and received a faulty device where the humidity didn't cause the damage? Has any of your other electronic gadgets been damaged in the past? Things like USBs, mobile phones or computer components? Do you notice rust around metal items around your place. Computer or TV malfunctions?

I guess you still have the box of that ledger, so you can use it to put back your ledger in the box, and you can save it in your cupboard or rack. Don't tell anyone about the ledger so that no one will know about your crypto and your ledger. If you want to use the ledger, you can get it from the box and connect it to your laptop or computer. Just think about the easy thing you can do. I am sure you will find how to store your ledger safely. As long as you don't save it in the hot temperature, your ledger will be okay.

Well my device worked fine for over a year and a half.  It was around that time, when screen went dim... then i didn't touch it for months... then finally it didn't turn on.  I had a monitor go bad in my apartment but I don't think it was due to humidity.  But i heard lot of ppl electronics has went bad due to hot/humidity where im located.


Well the other thing is this.  Should i bring my ledger nano box with me when i head outside the US again?  I did not bring it last time when going back because my thought was... well leave it in the house instead because if i bring it there and say any theft, well its easy to find the nano ledger s box and it might be like... okay where is this device.  Also i didnt want to bring the box in case it gets scanned at the airport and TSA would examine it.  So i just bring it and put it in my carry on like with my usb sticks so when they scan it, they think its a usb stick.  I heard cases of tsa confiscating it... but is this concern?  Because when i was outside the US, i thought, man i should have brought the box that came a long with it as i thought its probably better to store it in the box as oppose to putting it in a fanny pack and zipping it up right?  Because well.. think of all the ledger nano s that are not sold... they still in the box right so wouldn't they have less moisture etc?  Or its difference because the seal isn't broken for that?


So based on that, should i bring my nano ledger s box back with me out the country?  I would not store it in my fanny pack zipped up anymore when i get back.  So get those silica gels .. but could i put that in the nano ledger s box with it and its fine?  Or not because its not airtight?

As mentioned previously, it will not work with just the Ledger box... the Ledger box is NOT airtight. It's just a cardboard box. The silica gel packs will be practically useless inside the ledger box.

A simple "airtight" food storage container would be better than the ledger box. Even one of those glass jars with lids that have rubber seals around them would work. Basically, go search google for "airtight container" and go from there.

I'm sure they had all manner of containers at your local Walmart/Target/Dollar Store that would do the job.

Okay i get what you mean by that, thanks hcp.

HCP or anyone else, im going to order the silica gel right now.  How often do you need to replace them and how many do you need to put at once? 


They seem to sell packs of 50 and hundred or more.  Like do i need to put at least a few of them in an airtight box and replace them with a few ones every month or so?  I won't need it for anything else but just this so curious how many I need if say I want to make sure my ledger stays cool for half a year.

Depends a lot on the size of the container and how often you open it (breaking the airtight seal). One should probably be enough for a relatively extended period if the container you get is about the size of the original ledger box, has decent seals and you don't open it often. If the box is bigger, you might want to consider 2.

They're cheap enough, so you can probably afford to replace the pack(s) every couple of months. But it's more to do with how often you open the container. Every time you open it, you're basically replacing all the "dry" air inside with moist, humid air again. I'd probably be considering changing the packs after opening the container 3 or 4 times. If I didn't open the container at all, I'd probably consider changing them after a year.

Also, you can "refresh" silica packs by baking in an oven at a very low temp like 120C-150C for 30-60 minutes to dry them out so you can re-use them (and you can microwave the "paper" packet ones for like 3-5 minutes on a medium setting).


Silica gel doesn't regulate temperature. They're for moisture control. It'll help keep the humidity in your container under control and keep the device "dry", but it won't do anything for the temperature.

Hey thanks.  Okay so does that mean if say every few days i open it say, every two or three days, i need to replace it with a new one each time?  Because im ordering a huge pack of these.  So if someone was to use it every single day though and opening it everyday, you going to change it every few days right?  Like you not going to use a new one each day right?


I don't plan to not touch it at all for a few months like last time, i mean i will definitely connect it to my laptop probably at least once a week etc. 


Those come in huge packs... pack of 50 or hundred....

Some people are even using dried rice instead of silica gel for absorbing moisture  ;)
You can also find some case for hardware wallet to protect it from water and damage.

Keep in mind that Ledger operating temperatures are between 0° and 40° C ( 32°F to 104°F).
So anything cooler and hotter than that is not good for Ledger.

This really depends on the container.

No one can give you a generic answer to a question about items which come with different properties.
The best would be to read the description of the container you want to buy, how to use it etc.

There is probably no need to connect it to your laptop every other days just for the sake of "checking" that it is still working. Once every couple of months would be more than adequate. If the humidity really is as bad as you say it is, then the less time it spends out in the open unnecessarily then probably the better. As long as your seed phrase is backed up securely, then you don't need to worry even if your replacement Ledger stops working like your old one did.

There are some silica gel packets which come with color changing indicators or similar to tell you when they are fully absorbed and need changed. Since they are so cheap, and I usually only use my hardware wallet a few times a month, personally I would just use a fresh packet each time. The most important thing is to make sure the container is actually airtight though. A silica gel packet won't do anything useful if fresh humid air can constantly seep in.

I had a little incident yesterday with my Trezor. It stopped working. When I connected it to the USB connector, the screen began to pulsate white and then completely went out. I kept it, as usual, in my office in a desk drawer. Humidity in my region is normal, neither high nor low. He served me a little over 5 years. So, I'm wondering - 5 years is its normal lifespan for this device ?

I already ordered another trezor, and I had to do it not only because I needed to restore my coins, I had to do this because I used my trezor as a key of two-factor authentication for access to mail and some exchanges.

And yes, in fact, I think that five years is a pretty good, considering that I have been operating it almost daily, except on weekends.
 
Still, despite this, hardware wallet makers may need to consider making their devices a little more durable than a regular electric shaver.

If you want a more robust Trezor device than the one you have now, you can always go for the Metallic version of the Trezor One.
https://shop.trezor.io/product/trezor-one-metallic
It is made from anodized aluminum that better prevents corrosion, it improves the wear resistance, and electrical insulation capabilities. But it also costs €580, an amount most people aren't ready to give out for a hardware wallet.

This source explains the features of anodized aluminum, if you are interested:
https://www.meiprecision.com/4-features-anodized-aluminum-products/

It seems to me that anodized aluminum will in no way increase the life of the Trezor. The only thing he can protect him from is solely from mechanical damage. Otherwise, the anodized aluminum Trezor has the same internal part, the same microcircuits and the same filling, so you should not expect any increased service life from it. it will be easier to have a pair of spare Trezors of the same modification, this will radically solve the problem when you need to quickly restore a broken Trezor through a seed phrase.

Okay like to update this thread.  I put my nano ledger s in one of those containers HCP suggested and put the silica pack gel inside.  Now if i keep it there for a few weeks, then open it and use it and put it back in, do i need to replace the silica gel packs?  I put two of those gel packs.



Also... do i need to put that usb cable in the container as well?  If so, is it safe to put both the cable and the nano ledger s in the container with a few silica packs?  Or best to use a different container for each?

Only if they absorbed lots of moisture, which they probably didn't within a few weeks depending on where you live.



 ;D ;D ;D

You can basically use any USB cable with data pins. It doesn't need to be the original one. So in the end.. it doesn't matter.
If they break, use a different one. There is absolutely no issue with that procedure.

The lifespan of these packs is dependent on how much moist air they come in to contact with, not a set time scale. Once you have sealed them inside your (presumably small and airtight) container, then they will fairly rapidly absorb the moisture in the few cubic inches of contained air. If you open the container to remove your Ledger and immediately close it again, then again they will only be exposed to a few cubic inches of new moist air. If you open the container and leave it open for an hour while you use your Ledger, then they will be continually exposed to new air.

Let's say you've put in two packets which are 5 grams each. These 10 grams of silica gel will be able to absorb around 4 grams  of water. At 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 100% humidity, it takes about 8000 cubic inches of air to hold that much water (very rough calculation). So provided you are only opening it every few weeks, and provided you close it up every time and don't leave it sitting open for minutes or hours while you use your Ledger, you'll be fine to only replace the packets every few months.