Hardware Wallets that work with Smartphones?

[dkbit98]

Apple does not allow USB OTG ?
because I read and watched several videos that use USB-OTG are supported to transfer files from flash drives and connect hardware wallets,
maybe you can use a USB Micro / Type-C to Lightning Port Converter Adapter.

That is correct, ledger officially said that their hardware wallet is impossible to work with any iphone devices using cable connection, until Apple adds support for usbc.
iPhone users cannot connect the Ledger devices to their phone due to restrictions of the iPhone Lightning port, that was made by apple design on purpose.
You can use adapters but they simply won't work.

Due to technical limitations, this is currently not possible for iOS users.

https://www.ledger.com/ledger-goes-mobile-ledger-live-app-now-available-for-ios-and-android-smartphones

I am an android user and currently using Safepal Wallet. Safepal has its own application and some other updates such as the use of an Extension on the Browser which allows the safepal Wallet to sync with the Extension Browser using a QR Code.

I know about Safepal wallet and it is already added to the list of wallets, but I don't like it at all.
They have everything closed sourced including all stuff connected with QR codes, not to mention how they plagiarized source code, etc.

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[taufik123]

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iPhone users cannot connect the Ledger devices to their phone due to restrictions of the iPhone Lightning port, that was made by apple design on purpose.
You can use adapters but they simply won't work.

Due to technical limitations, this is currently not possible for iOS users.

https://www.ledger.com/ledger-goes-mobile-ledger-live-app-now-available-for-ios-and-android-smartphones

The iPhone still maintains the design with a Lightning port even though many are currently using USB type C.
Maybe it's different from Android because the iPhone wants its characteristics to remain and not be changed like Android.
Lightning Port technology and USB Type-C are broadly the same.

So, Hardware wallets that also need to integrate their products to match iPhone devices or partnering with iPhone might be a good choice.

But for now, the use of a Bluetooth connection is another alternative for iPhone users.
But will the use of Bluetooth be a risk that could become a security hole because currently hacking using the "Flipper Zero" device is quite worrying?

I know about Safepal wallet and it is already added to the list of wallets, but I don't like it at all.
They have everything closed sourced including all stuff connected with QR codes, not to mention how they plagiarized source code, etc.

Safepal has all closed sources and this is not liked by many users who like open source.
I also experienced a number of problems when using safepal, more on using a battery which was quite wasteful and updating the firmware which only focused on adding networks.

The last time I used Safepal with an almost full battery indicator, I turned it off or shutdown the safepal wallet.
After 16 days I left it and I turned it on again, the battery was drastically reduced or even almost used up, even though for 16 days I didn't turn it on at all.

[n0nce]

Apple does not allow USB OTG ?
because I read and watched several videos that use USB-OTG are supported to transfer files from flash drives and connect hardware wallets,
maybe you can use a USB Micro / Type-C to Lightning Port Converter Adapter.

That is correct, ledger officially said that their hardware wallet is impossible to work with any iphone devices using cable connection, until Apple adds support for usbc.
iPhone users cannot connect the Ledger devices to their phone due to restrictions of the iPhone Lightning port, that was made by apple design on purpose.
You can use adapters but they simply won't work.

Sure about that? I mean on Passport with microSD adapter it is supposed to work. But maybe the iPhone only supports mass storage media through Lightning. On the other hand, a solution would be for the Ledger to show itself as a 'fake' mass storage device through which PSBTs are automatically exchanged.

For instance: (1) application copies PSBT to 'USB drive' / 'SD card', (2) Ledger main firmware recognizes it, takes it as input, does the signature / showing decoded address on screen, (3) signed PSBT is copied back to the 'fake SD card', while the application keeps scanning it for changed files. (4) Lastly, the signed PSBT is recognized, copied to the phone's RAM and sent to the network.

Due to technical limitations, this is currently not possible for iOS users.

https://www.ledger.com/ledger-goes-mobile-ledger-live-app-now-available-for-ios-and-android-smartphones

You probably can't plug in an arbitrary USB device, so some custom / hacky solution like I described would be necessary. But I do think it should work.

But for now, the use of a Bluetooth connection is another alternative for iPhone users.
But will the use of Bluetooth be a risk that could become a security hole because currently hacking using the "Flipper Zero" device is quite worrying?

I already explained in the Flipper Zero / NFC thread that it is easy to overestimate its capabilities. It is a nice package with different wireless technologies in it, but nothing groundbreaking in terms of allowing something that was impossible before. Neither does it make existing attacks much cheaper; in some cases (e.g. if you don't use all of its features), the existing solutions are actually cheaper.

To effectively sniff Bluetooth communication, you need to have an extremely wide frequency band SDR or USRP of at least 80MHz due to the frequency hopping between roughly 2.4 and 2.48GHz. It is not specifically a security feature, but it makes attacks hard to execute in practice.

The popular ~$350 HackRF One SDR reaches at most 20MHz (can be lower depending on sampling frequency and such).
You will need a USRP around $10k to capture the whole 80MHz Bluetooth band like this: https://www.ettus.com/all-products/x300-kit/

So, I am 99% sure you can't do this with a cheap Flipper Zero..
Back to topic: on iOS, I do think USB transfer should work by emulating mass storage using the microcontroller, of course Bluetooth and NFC work, and QR codes would be the best option.

[dkbit98]

Sure about that? I mean on Passport with microSD adapter it is supposed to work. But maybe the iPhone only supports mass storage media through Lightning. On the other hand, a solution would be for the Ledger to show itself as a 'fake' mass storage device through which PSBTs are automatically exchanged.

Yes I am 100% sure because I confirmed it with official Ledger support team, but you can always ask them yourself
Only ledger device that currently works with iPhones in ledger nano x using bluetooth ble connection.
It's different story with SD cards and I am not sure about that.

You probably can't plug in an arbitrary USB device, so some custom / hacky solution like I described would be necessary. But I do think it should work.

Ok, go ahead and try doing that.
If you manage to do it maybe ledger will send you some nice bounty reward for doing something impossible they can't do for years.
Ask someone to donate you one of ledgers devices and hack it... can't wait to see results of your new project

[n0nce]

Sure about that? I mean on Passport with microSD adapter it is supposed to work. But maybe the iPhone only supports mass storage media through Lightning. On the other hand, a solution would be for the Ledger to show itself as a 'fake' mass storage device through which PSBTs are automatically exchanged.

Yes I am 100% sure because I confirmed it with official Ledger support team, but you can always ask them yourself

Of course the Ledger doesn't support it. I am just trying to figure out whether it would be technically possible to implement and they're just too lazy to do it.

Apparently, my idea is already used by Coldcard:

USB Virtual Disk Mode: emulates a 4MB disk when connected to macOS, Windows, iPhone, etc.

So, after plugging the Coldcard wallet into your iPhone through Lightning (USB), it shows up as a mass storage disk. Not sure whether you manually copy a PSBT from a wallet app into that disk & the hardware wallet replaces it with the signed PSBT or whether there is an app that does it automatically, but both solutions should work.

Only ledger device that currently works with iPhones in ledger nano x using bluetooth ble connection.
It's different story with SD cards and I am not sure about that.

microSD cards work fine with both Android and iOS; that's how especially many ColdCard users use their wallet, after all.

You probably can't plug in an arbitrary USB device, so some custom / hacky solution like I described would be necessary. But I do think it should work.

Ok, go ahead and try doing that.
If you manage to do it maybe ledger will send you some nice bounty reward for doing something impossible they can't do for years.
Ask someone to donate you one of ledgers devices and hack it... can't wait to see results of your new project

It seems like Coldcard is already doing it on Q1 and MK4..

USB Virtual Disk Mode

Another data transfer option is Virtual Disk Mode: connect the Mk4 to a computer or mobile phone and it sees the Mk4 as a 4 MB USB stick. Using your COLDCARD Mk4 with web browsers and other PSBT sources is effortless because you can save directly to your Mk4.