Testing Seed Phrases

[jerry0]

Hi all.  So yesterday i restored my old nano ledger s phrase in my new nano ledger s thanks to help especially from HCP.


Now i mentioned that a while back when i got my first nano ledger s... i basically created a new seed... wiped it by putting wrong pin three times... then created new seed... wiped it by putting wrong pin three times... before the third time... i created new seed... then used that as the seed for my old nano ledger s and when i put in the seed yesterday, it confirms to work.



Now i do have the first two seeds written down which i had wiped each time the first time i got the nano ledger s.  I like to know... what is the best way for me to try to put these seeds in to see if they work?  Im pretty positive i wrote the seeds for these correctly... but they do not have any coins there.   Now best way to test these seed words to confirm there is no coins there?



Shoudl i use my new nano ledger s to test those words?  But if i do that, it will reset my new nano ledger s that i already set up right and have to do it again?


I do have an an old outdated electrum but i know its the last electrum update where it doesn't have issues with the malware message.  Also i have no btc at all in electrum on my laptop.  Could i try putting the seed into electrum with both of them to see what happens?



Now assuming the seed works for each of them, which im pretty sure its correct... though i didn't wrote it twice on paper ... if there are no transactions, it would show nothing at all in transactions right?  Like it wont even show the date i created the seeds?  Whether i do this on electrum or my new nano ledger s, it would be same thing?

[Rath_]

Now best way to test these seed words to confirm there is no coins there?

Why would you do that in the first place? The probability of generating an already used seed is extremely low.

Could i try putting the seed into electrum with both of them to see what happens?

If you don't intend to use those wallets then you can restore those seeds in Electrum.

Shoudl i use my new nano ledger s to test those words?  But if i do that, it will reset my new nano ledger s that i already set up right and have to do it again?

Yes, you would need to enter your last seed again after testing both seeds.

if there are no transactions, it would show nothing at all in transactions right?  Like it wont even show the date i created the seeds?  Whether i do this on electrum or my new nano ledger s, it would be same thing?

Yes, there would be no entries in the "History" tab (in Electrum). It is impossible to tell when the seed was generated. It will be more convenient for you to do it in Electrum. The result will be the same.

[HCP]

If you never used those seeds (and reset your old device after you had created them), then there is practically 0% chance that there is any coins there.

If you just want to satisfy yourself, then I agree with Rath, the easiest and most convenient way to do it would be with Electrum. Note that you will need to create THREE wallets for each seed... one for "Legacy", one for "P2SH-SegWit" and one for "Native SegWit".

Given you have 2 "extra" seed mnemonics, you'll need to create a total of 6 wallets in Electrum.



Also, before you ask, download the latest version of Electrum and learn how to verify it properly... I'm not going to get into a discussion with you about whether or not it is safe to use your old 3.3.4 version... uninstall 3.3.4 and install 4.0.3.

Step by step instructions to verify the download are here: https://bitcoinelectrum.com/how-to-verify-your-electrum-download/

[Pmalek]

I think you will just be wasting your time performing those tests. Those addresses were never used, nobody knew about them, you didn't send them to anyone to send you any coins. The chance of someone typing about 90 characters wrong and sending you coins by mistake is far from slim.
Even if you wrote down a word wrong and managed to generate a valid seed you wouldn't know the difference to the original one since you never took note of any of its addresses.