Ledger recovery questions

[Moosetracks]

So if I add applications to my ledger for different coins does my recovery seed get me back access to all those coins?  I am confused because I used my pc to add accounts to my ledger, but when I used it on my phone those accounts did not show up.   I had to also add those accounts on my phone and then they showed up with the coins in them. 

So I was wondering if I lost my device if I would have to remember all the coins I had on there and add then as new accounts to get them back rather than just having the recovery seed?

[1714795176]

1714795176

[1714795176]

1714795176

[RickDeckard]

So I was wondering if I lost my device if I would have to remember all the coins I had on there and add then as new accounts to get them back rather than just having the recovery seed?

Your recovery phrase "unlocks" your access to whatever funds that are tied to your Ledger device. However, when you are done importing your private key seed phrase into a new ledger device (assuming you lost your previous one), you'll have to manually add the accounts - cryptocurrencies - that had balance on them (Ledger doesn't automatically add them after an import process). For this you can either:

• Keep a record of which coins you are holding on the device (by, for example, using a portfolio tracking app) - Then it's just a matter of installing the app for each one of them (you can check this[1] video to see how you can do that);
• Install each app available and see if there's any balance on it. The most "manual" method but you'll be sure that you haven't missed any coin.

[1]https://youtu.be/sIeB4xS4ZfQ?t=421

[Pmalek]

So if I add applications to my ledger for different coins does my recovery seed get me back access to all those coins?

Yes, the same recovery seed can be imported in any software/hardware wallet to give you access to the coins you have in case your hardware wallet breaks or Ledger no longer exists. Importing it into a software wallet is not recommended though because you lose the protection a hardware wallet offers by default.

I am confused because I used my pc to add accounts to my ledger, but when I used it on my phone those accounts did not show up.   I had to also add those accounts on my phone and then they showed up with the coins in them.

Anytime you recover your wallet from seed, you will need to manually install each app on your Nano, scan, and add all accounts in the portfolio tab. That portfolio is only visible on that device you added it to.   

So I was wondering if I lost my device if I would have to remember all the coins I had on there and add then as new accounts to get them back rather than just having the recovery seed?

Exactly. Let's say you have BTC and ETH on your Ledger. If you only install the BTC app and add your BTC wallets, your portfolio wouldn't display your ETH stash unless you do the same for ETH.

Your recovery phrase "unlocks" your access to whatever funds that are tied to your Ledger device. However, when you are done importing your private key into a new ledger device (assuming you lost your previous one), you'll have to manually add the accounts - cryptocurrencies - that had balance on them (Ledger doesn't automatically add them after an import process).

Just a correction. You aren't importing private keys into a Ledger Nano or Ledger Live. There isn't such an option to do that. You can only work with and recover from seed. There are advanced 3rd-party methods to find private keys but not from the device or LL.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I am confused because I used my pc to add accounts to my ledger, but when I used it on my phone those accounts did not show up.

Your questions have been answered by the replies above, but this part I have quoted is where you are getting confused. When you add accounts to Ledger Live, that is exactly what you are doing - adding them to the local copy of Ledger Live, and not on to your hardware wallet itself. If you take that hardware wallet and connect it to a different version of Ledger Live, as you did when you took it from your computer and attached it to your phone, then the second copy of Ledger Live does not know which accounts you added on the first copy of Ledger Live, and neither does the hardware wallet. You need to re-add all the accounts on any new version of Ledger Live you use.

[dkbit98]

So if I add applications to my ledger for different coins does my recovery seed get me back access to all those coins?  I am confused because I used my pc to add accounts to my ledger, but when I used it on my phone those accounts did not show up.   I had to also add those accounts on my phone and then they showed up with the coins in them. 

This should work fine if you use same seed words on some other ledger device, but using same seed words on other wallets is not guaranteed to work with all the shitcoins.
Problem can be generation path that can be different for other wallets, and I think ledger is not using standard path for all coins.
Note that important hardware wallet seed words into any hot wallet (mobile, dekstop, etc.) is making them exposed to internet and not safe anymore.

So I was wondering if I lost my device if I would have to remember all the coins I had on there and add then as new accounts to get them back rather than just having the recovery seed?

Ledger should detect all accounts and coins you have used with specific seed words, but I heard some people complaining it's not always doing the job correctly with all the coins.
Problem is that some coins don't have apps, so you will have to use separate wallets for monero and other coins like that.

[Pmalek]

Note that important hardware wallet seed words into any hot wallet (mobile, dekstop, etc.) is making them exposed to internet and not safe anymore.

The word you were looking for is importing.

Ledger should detect all accounts and coins you have used with specific seed words...

True, but not automatically like the OP seems to think. The correct crypto apps need to be installed on the device and the associated accounts need to be added and scanned in Ledger Live.

@Moosetracks
If you have Bitcoin on your Nano device, you need to select the correct account type in Ledger Live. If your coins are only in legacy or nested segwit wallets, and you add a native segwit wallet in Ledger Live, you won't be able to recover anything until you scan the correct account type.