Bitcoin Forum

There is something i learned the hard way with hardware wallet, I had one and when update is required I was too in haste to get the job done, the battery was around 30%, instead of me to top the battery up before updating I thought I could get away with it, I started to get worried when the update is taking too long, my mind start to feel the guilt of not charging the hardware wallet first, and two minutes later I noticed the screen went dark, it is completely gone, till today I couldn't turn the wallet back on again.

I had to ordered for a new hardware wallet and import my recovery seed to get access to my digital assets, don't ever update your hardware wallet if the battery is not almost full.

What HW wallet is that (Brand, type)? What attempts have you made to revive it before concluding it's hopeless?

As requested, the name is Ellipal titan.

There is really no reason to not keep your hardware wallet battery always near 100%. I am sorry that this happened to you. You can brick a lot of devices this way.

I don't have any experience with the HW you're referring to, as I've the mainstream one. I tried to find out about this case from the update guide (https://www.ellipal.com/pages/ellipal-titan-2-0-update-guide?srsltid=AfmBOooFvz5VAIKCQyLd4q-P0YQ15Kclcbw8npI8P7TZA6vMWPsPtWTG) on the official ELLIPAL website, where it's recommended to update by charging the device. What I'm wondering here is how your device stops working after it's turned off & you have to buy a new one, is the old one really unusable?

Are you new to hardware wallet? You spoilt it yourself, because to upgrade a Ellipal hardware wallet you need an sd card, and while the updating is going on you can plug the hardware wallet into your wall socket, on their official website it says users can charge their wallet with a power outlet during the update.  :-\

What and what have you done before buying another? You could have contelact the team via email, they will respond to you fast, you have a bricked device, maybe some button press combination can somehow unbricked the device, who knows? Throwing the device aside and ordering another feels like you have the money to throw around.

I did not use this, but checking this hardware wallet from community reviews, I knew it is a close source hardware wallet.
https://walletscrutiny.com/?platform=allPlatforms&page=0&query-string=Ellipal%20

It's not a good hardware wallet and you must consider to change to other hardware wallet brands, which are open source.
[LIST] Open Source Hardware Wallets (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5288971.0)
[GUIDE] How to buy a Hardware Wallet the right way (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5288201.0)

Allright, since you already think it's dead, there's no harm in trying to fix it with a little hope. Try this:
Press the power button for 15-30 secs, then connect the charger for up to an hour. Then try turning it on. I once had this experience with my phone where the firmware update (I set it to automatically) failed.

Good luck.

It's better that you avoid this wallet because it's close source and it's good that you have packed it up. You should buy Trezor wallet since you want to use a hardware wallet for multiple coins. However, it's good that you use only bitcoin hardware wallet to store your bitcoin. You can use passport wallet, it's open source and a good wallet for only bitcoin.

You should buy your hardware wallet directly from the manufacturer website.

How did you update if it is not connected to the PC? Does the Ellipal Titan work like that? In my experience, I constantly update when it is connected to the PC with the software, which ensures that it is charging and does not corrupt the device.

Me too, and I thought that perhaps it had WiFi, but no: it seems that this Ellipal hw updates by inserting a SD card. So, although according their guide one should ensure that the charging cable is connected directly to a power outlet, and place ELLIPAL on the charged adapter, it seems that the OP didn't do it because it doesn't work like the hardware wallets we all know.

Fortunately, he kept the private keys safe.

I have no idea about this hardware but, I prefer the ones that I can connect to the PC and it automatically on after connecting.

And every update that I do to the hardware if there's a new one, I make sure that it's connected to the PC and to sustain its power as well since it's got no battery.

A big lesson for you but as long as you've got your recovery seed, you should be fine even if it happens again although you'd be more careful next time when there's another update.

Not only Wallets it's a common knowledge not to update any softwares or PC/ phone unless you have sufficient battery to avoid software clash.

The wallet getting cashed is due to your negligence it has nothing to do with the software company or the device itself.

Batteries can be a big problem in hardware wallets, especially if they are crap like ledger  :P
But as for updating firmware you should always have your device with full battery or connected to power source, that applies to hardware wallets, laptops, smartwatches, etc.
I would however try doing device hard reset and contacting support before opening money on new device... and I would never buy ledger or other closed source wallets.

Everyone should avoid multi‑coin crypto wallets and use Bitcoin only wallets instead for example, Blockstream Jade, Coldcard, Passport, or a Trezor, but only when running Bitcoin‑only firmware.

First,Multi‑coin wallets support many different cryptocurrencies and have more complex firmware. This complexity increases the attack surface  meaning there are more potential points where hackers can exploit bugs or vulnerabilities. Each additional currency increases the chances of a software error or misconfiguration.On the other hand, Bitcoin‑only wallets are simpler, focused exclusively on the Bitcoin protocol, which minimizes the risk.

Secondly, theres no reason to hold other cryptocurrencies long‑term besides Bitcoin, Most of them are scams, pump-and-dump schemes, intended only for short-term speculation ,All of them will sooner or later become worthless.

I can understand that you need a full battery to update, but the worst thing that can happen is that the update fails and you need to reboot your wallet, not buy a new one. Failure in this way means it's bad and should be avoided.

If the wallet is closed-source, you should avoid it

You forgot to answer rat03gopoh's second question, so I'll mention the easiest solution that could work... A lot of my SD cards have become corrupted in the middle of an update, which caused my devices not to turn on ^{[I haven't experienced it on a HW, but these issues are usually the same]}, so I'd suggest removing the SD card from your Titan device before turning it on ^{[if you haven't done it yet]} and make sure you wait 5 to 10 seconds before pressing the power button again.

After reading your story, I'd like to comment on the following:

- Never rush when interacting with finances or finance-related devices (hardware wallets).
- Read the manufacturer's instructions before updating your HW device.
- If your HW has a built-in battery, also connect it to a charger to prevent it from turning off during the update firmware.
- Have a second, backup hardware wallet available in case your primary device fails (not necessarily the same brand), so you don't lose access to your assets (even temporarily).

As a bonus:
- Don't panic, as any problem can be solved. :) But it's better to anticipate the consequences in advance and take steps to avoid them (create backups, backup devices, etc.).

If you had 30% battery and you were not able to upgrade the firmware, then there is definitely something wrong with that device - because I also have HW that is upgraded via SD card and I did the upgrade with a similar battery percentage without any problems.

If you can't recover the HW, I hope you don't buy the same one again.

Your case does not seem to be unique; there are some reports of devices being bricked after an update
It seems that this is not so rare with this hardware wallet:

1 - https://www.reddit.com/r/ELLIPAL_Official/comments/18245he/titan_mini_bricked_after_first_fw_update/
2 - https://www.reddit.com/r/ELLIPAL_Official/comments/z76mj5/warning_to_anyone_on_titan_mini_firmware_10/
3 - https://www.reddit.com/r/ELLIPAL_Official/comments/1hbd4jr/titan_20_bricked/

It's not your fault that your battery is at 30%.
Try contacting the manufacturer and explaining that the device bricked after the update and ask how they can help you

He probably bricked the device, so it can be rebooted and turned on anymore.
Ellipal hardware wallet is closed source crap that is based on modified android os, and I hope he didn't waste money purchasing that device again.
I generally think hardware wallets should have external power, not integrated batteries that can't be removed easily.