Here is my (examplens) review of the Mixin service
First of all, apologies for writing a bit later, but here we had two very unpleasant storms and my internet is quite unstable these days, most often of very poor quality.
I haven't read many other reviews, so I don't know much about the service itself, except for a little bit that I participated in the ANN thread.
Opening an account/wallet I have to say that the whole process is very vague. I came looking for Mixin, and the first thing I was offered for download was I came looking for Mixin, the first thing I was offered to download was Mornin key. Until now, I have never heard of that service, but without clear additional explanations, I am asked to download that application (which is not free by the way).
I downloaded the APK file and installed it on the Android device, but something is not right. (It is quite possible that my device is not adapted to the Android 7.0 version)
I was forced to install the iOS app on my primary device anyway. And it worked.
I'm not a big fan of saving important things through applications on mobile devices, I see this as a cons in the whole thing.
Then I thought, hey, I need to test the Mixin messenger app, so I downloaded the Win app for my PC. That was fun, because that application is exclusively a messenger, without any advanced features, wallet, etc... Of course, login is only possible with the help of an activated mobile app. So, just another chat application
- Epilogue, somehow I ended up needing 3 devices for the whole process.
Mixin wallet and deposit. The Mixin Messenger (Android) application itself is the simplest it can be. I forgot to turn off notifications, as another user reminded me when he started spamming me with memes and some funny pictures. Not that I was happy when I saw gifs with a girl petting a dog in an application where I plan to deposit some money.
- A question for the Mixin team, how safe is it to allow users to send files in such an application?
When making a deposit, I can either copy/paste the BTC address or scan the QR code. Since I have to do this transaction from a computer, the QR code means nothing to me in that case, Mixin's PC version does not have access to the wallet, so I had to use a new external application to forward the address from the mobile device to the PC where I have access to my main wallet. Sound complicated? Me too.
If I have already connected Mixin Messenger with Mixin Safe, maybe the deposit addresses from the messenger could also be visible in this application.
The transaction was not visible before the final execution, not even as pending, which put me in a state of checking if I made a mistake somewhere in the whole process.
Mixin Safe The first impression is the simplicity of the interface, which is a good thing, at least for me.
Before any testing, let me emphasize a potential security risk. As I have been having a problem with the stability of the Internet last week, there have been numerous restarts and even a change of IP address by the provider. It is interesting that I have never been logged out of the Mixin Safe application.
- Shouldn't an application like this have some time lock after inactivity where a re-login is required?
I am in the process of adding new Safes to my account. Chose the standard plan of $2 to upgrade this out I immediately received a notification about a pending transaction, all that's left is to wait for the realization.
- I have to emphasize here once again, I am forced to learn about the application on the fly, with no support inside it. Without explanation, it seems as if it is assumed that every user is familiar with this idea.
The next thing I wanted to do was to create another Safe, but this time using the Ledger X wallet. Here, in the whole process, I came across a link to the article "How to use Ledger to create Mixin Safe?", so I was happy, there is a support section here after all. And this is a good example of the instructions I was hoping for from the beginning of this test.
I tried to add team members here. I recognized one username (Dr.Bitcoin_Strange) in the chat, so I tried to add him for testing purposes. I did not succeed in the search, and I tried using a username or Mixin ID. Maybe he needs to add me to his contacts. I gave up on this step and moved on.
Next, I needed to do an upgrade plan, where the Standard Plan $2 option is no longer possible. I guess I used my limit, so the only possibility is to upgrade to Elite or Prosperity plans.
So the next step transfer BTC from Mixin Messenger to Mixin Safe. Fixed 0.00025 BTC fee??
Withdraw from the Mixin safe. Finally, the part that seemed clearer. Now I'm sorry that I didn't create a safe with Ledger (maybe I'll decide on that step anyway), I guess in that case, signing the transaction is different, apart from scanning the QR code.
Here we have the option of an upgrade plan. This is where the possibility of choosing to purchase a certain number of transactions would come in handy. For example, if I withdraw all funds and want to send them to two addresses, why am I forced to buy a larger plan if I will no longer use this service?
Signing through the Mornin key took an unexpectedly long time, without any information. I wasn't sure if everything was okay with my phone, or if it was just a normal process.
Finally, I'm waiting for the confirmation of the transaction, there is no fee charged this time, so I'm wondering if it's only now during the promo period or if will it always be like that.
By passing this test, the concept and basic idea of the project is clear. I really think it has a future, but a lot of development is still needed here. What I consider to be the biggest complaint is that there is a lot of ambiguity during the whole process.
At times I was really frustrated because I had to go back and check what I had overlooked. I am of the opinion that any service that deals with these and similar financial services must be maximally adapted and user-friendly.
I made a certain number of screenshots, but I did not upload them due to technical difficulties. If necessary, I'll add them to the review.