User-friendly Ledger Nano S? Not!

[grayduck]

I just got my Ledger Nano S. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this thing is not at all user-friendly. I'm fine with the setup, keywords, etc. and the display on the device, I like that, but once it is set up, why is there a separate app for each coin? Why do I have to go through MEW to transfer ERC20 tokens? Why do I have to go to ethplorer.io to look at what I have on the device?

Why isn't there a single app from Ledger that I can use to manage, or even just view, all the coins that I can store on the device?

It seems to be quite a big shortcoming for the top hardware wallet to have to depend on non-proprietary, third-party websites to access their best-selling device.

[OmegaStarScream]

Ledger will be releasing a desktop and mobile app in Q2 2018. All the coins will be available in one app, you can also use Ethereum and ERC20 without using a third party service (MEW).

[Lucius]

I just got my Ledger Nano S. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this thing is not at all user-friendly. I'm fine with the setup, keywords, etc. and the display on the device, I like that, but once it is set up, why is there a separate app for each coin? Why do I have to go through MEW to transfer ERC20 tokens? Why do I have to go to ethplorer.io to look at what I have on the device?

Why isn't there a single app from Ledger that I can use to manage, or even just view, all the coins that I can store on the device?

It seems to be quite a big shortcoming for the top hardware wallet to have to depend on non-proprietary, third-party websites to access their best-selling device.

As OmegaStarScream is saying,Ledger is working on solution for this "problem" and instead of Chrome apps we should have desktop app with interface that will show all coins we have.By that time you just need to use Chrome app and open/close Ledger Bitcoin Wallet app for every coin.But this is not such big problem and it takes just few second to swich from one coin to other.

Be sure to update firmware to 1.4.1 version which will let you to add up to 18 coins to your Ledger Nano S,instead 3-4 what has been the case so far.

[Rath_]

As OmegaStarScream is saying,Ledger is working on solution for this "problem" and instead of Chrome apps we should have desktop app with interface that will show all coins we have.By that time you just need to use Chrome app and open/close Ledger Bitcoin Wallet app for every coin.But this is not such big problem and it takes just few second to swich from one coin to other.

Be sure to update firmware to 1.4.1 version which will let you to add up to 18 coins to your Ledger Nano S,instead 3-4 what has been the case so far.

Last year, Ledger claimed that they would release a new app by the end of 2017. Let's hope that there won't be any delays, again. I doubt that anyone will actually have 18 apps at the same time since they optimized their libraries in order to shorten the apps code due to similar signature code as stated in their 1.4.1 update F.A.Q. Once you install Bitcoin, Ethereum, U2F, there won't be much space left.

A lot of people have been complaining that this update broke their devices so they had to reinstall the firmware using special instructions. Anyone here experienced similar problem?

[Lucius]

Last year, Ledger claimed that they would release a new app by the end of 2017. Let's hope that there won't be any delays, again. I doubt that anyone will actually have 18 apps at the same time since they optimized their libraries in order to shorten the apps code due to similar signature code as stated in their 1.4.1 update F.A.Q. Once you install Bitcoin, Ethereum, U2F, there won't be much space left.

A lot of people have been complaining that this update broke their devices so they had to reinstall the firmware using special instructions. Anyone here experienced similar problem?

I honestly do not expect release of new apps in a near future,but maybe this time Ledger will surprise us and before we expect.

Regarding number of apps,I see HCP is write that he has been successfully installed apps for 10 coins,in any case much better than before.As for the update of firmware,my personal experience was not too good,but my device is not broken and everything is working excellent after upgrade.

You can read more here : Ledger Nano S firmware update 1.4.1

[CryptoRobert]

Ledger will be releasing a desktop and mobile app in Q2 2018. All the coins will be available in one app, you can also use Ethereum and ERC20 without using a third party service (MEW).

This will be big, I guess. In fact the current situation is quite annoying, you cannot have too many apps on the ledger so if you have many classes of assets it is a pain to jump from one to another. Hopefully their upcoming app will handle whatever new coins they will be going to support.

[Lucius]

Ledger will be releasing a desktop and mobile app in Q2 2018. All the coins will be available in one app, you can also use Ethereum and ERC20 without using a third party service (MEW).

This will be big, I guess. In fact the current situation is quite annoying, you cannot have too many apps on the ledger so if you have many classes of assets it is a pain to jump from one to another. Hopefully their upcoming app will handle whatever new coins they will be going to support.

In the best case user now can have up to 18 different wallets on Ledger device,and I read somewhere that this can be achieved by adding apps in alphabetical order.But even when Ledger release desktop app user shoud not be see all coins in desktop interface just because of limitations device have regarding number of apps.I do not know can the number of apps in device increase in the future,but Ledger have the plan to increase the number of supported coins to 100+.

Good thing is that we will have only one desktop app,so switching from one to another coin will be much faster and more user friendly.

[bob123]

In the best case user now can have up to 18 different wallets on Ledger device,and I read somewhere that this can be achieved by adding apps in alphabetical order.

Sorting in alphabetical order does increase the speed of the nano s 'booting'.
It does not increase the amount of apps you can store on the device.

The actual amount is dependend on the types of coin wallets you install onto your nano s.

Each fork of BTC, for example, does now use the same code inside the nano s. This means 'similar' applications do need less space than completely different coins.

I do not know can the number of apps in device increase in the future

I think there is not much more room to grow since the memory itself is limited (with a good reason: to avoid injection of malicious code).

[Balthazaar]

I just got my Ledger Nano S. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this thing is not at all user-friendly. I'm fine with the setup, keywords, etc. and the display on the device, I like that, but once it is set up, why is there a separate app for each coin? Why do I have to go through MEW to transfer ERC20 tokens? Why do I have to go to ethplorer.io to look at what I have on the device?

Why isn't there a single app from Ledger that I can use to manage, or even just view, all the coins that I can store on the device?

It seems to be quite a big shortcoming for the top hardware wallet to have to depend on non-proprietary, third-party websites to access their best-selling device.

Why is there a separate app for each coin?

Easier/faster when you need to upgrade the app for a given coin. Moreover, such design allows the key to be used to sign other data than just transactions. It makes the key much more flexible for different usages, but at the cost of little extra steps for the user.

Why do I have to go through MEW to transfer ERC20 tokens?

You don't have to go through MEW, you can use any wallet app that supports ERC-20 tokens and the Ledger Nano, like this one: https://www.red-lang.org/2018/06/red-wallet-tiny-simple-fast-and-secure.html

Why do I have to go to ethplorer.io to look at what I have on the device?
Why isn't there a single app from Ledger that I can use to manage, or even just view, all the coins that I can store on the device?

You have nothing on the device, the device is just a key for signing transactions, your coins/tokens are online on the blockchains, that's why you need a block explorer like Etherscan or Ethplorer in order to see your balances and past transactions. Accessing the balance of all your coins/tokens from one app should be possible in the upcoming Ledger app.

[ttookk]

I don't know, I find Ledger is quite easy to use. I've never felt more safe moving funds around. I mean, MEW, Electrum and all the other alternatives are a mayor pain in the ass without Ledger anyway.

Ledger needs to move slowly. Can you imagine what happens if they screw something up and people lose their funds? They can't afford to rush things.

Sadly, this means they can't just "do this" or "do that". I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for them to get the Monero integration done, but I'll gladly wait another few months if the alternative is "if you do X, there is a chance you lose your funds, so tread lightly".

Additionally, keep in mind that having third party support is extremely important and a huge plus for a project like Ledger. You need a way to access your funds without having to rely on one cntralized service. This is crypto after all. Otherwise, you'd trust the Ledger company even more than you have to already.

However, I do agree that in order to get more people into crypto, we need to get things even more userfriendly as they are now. But we can't compromise when security is involved.