Is my Cold Card Q bricked?

[Solo6R]

I've been using a Cold Card Q for about a month or two now without issue. Today I upgraded (after verifying) the firmware, and also decided to try a restore from backup (after sending my BTC to another wallet first), since it dawned on me I never actually tested that yet after creating the wallet. Anyways everything went well, the firmware upgrade went smoothly, as did my backup, all good. I sent my BTC stack back to the cold card, and called it a successful..maintinance? Anyways, a couple of hours later I go to turn on the device and it shows the normal "Verifying..." screen but then the screen just goes black, almost like it's off, but it's not because the green light in the top left remains on. I've tried removing the batteries for a minute and powering back on, I've tried powering on with just USB (wall charger, not a PC) power, I've tried with and without an SD card present. I'm not sure what else to do. I've got a support email into Coinkite but I imagine I won't hear back from them until Monday, so figured I'd ask here if anyone had a solution or has heard of this happening, and what the general recourse is like, will they mail me out a new one free of charge or am I gonna get burned here?

UPDATE: CoinKite has responded within 1 business days confirming a replacement is being shipped out, with NO questions asked. They're also not requesting I send the defect unit back which IMO is great support and security for the customer, and industry as a whole!

[satscraper]

I think the best for you is to wait the response from support as number of those people on forum   who are familiar with technicalities of  this device  is less than hand fingers. The complains about the various  Cold Card Q issues sound more than often (just DYOR) thus I would not be surprised to hear  from  you  that your wallet manifested the scent of bricked device.

[Pmalek]

Here is a similar problem where a user experienced problems with powering on their Coldcard. According to him, support asked him to send several photos and videos of his hardware wallet not working and eventually sent him a free replacement device. I would suggest to follow the support's instructions and be patient. Don't enter your seed into a hot wallet out of paranoia or "just to see if it works". You'll only lower the security of your bitcoin.

[Solo6R]

Here is a similar problem where a user experienced problems with powering on their Coldcard. According to him, support asked him to send several photos and videos of his hardware wallet not working and eventually sent him a free replacement device. I would suggest to follow the support's instructions and be patient. Don't enter your seed into a hot wallet out of paranoia or "just to see if it works". You'll only lower the security of your bitcoin.

Yeah that issue does sound quite similar. Bummer that it happened on a Friday, hah. I'll wait to hear back from them on Monday I guess. Cheers.

[BitMaxz]

It seems like the program becomes corrupted after you flash the Coldcard Q and then it works just fine then suddenly the screen stuck on the black screen it looks like the bootloader issue it can't start because of the corrupted program.

The documentation from Cold Card seems does not have any way to hard reset this wallet and according to them there's no way to reset the pin meaning we can't reprogram this hardware wallet(Their docs doesn't have enough information) after a deep research I found a guide where you need to burn the recovery image for this unit I think this will help to revive this unit.

Check this guide from their github here https://github.com/Coldcard/recovery-images
Take note of recovery images you can download them from this link https://coldcard.com/downloads/recovery

[Solo6R]

It seems like the program becomes corrupted after you flash the Coldcard Q and then it works just fine then suddenly the screen stuck on the black screen it looks like the bootloader issue it can't start because of the corrupted program.

The documentation from Cold Card seems does not have any way to hard reset this wallet and according to them there's no way to reset the pin meaning we can't reprogram this hardware wallet(Their docs doesn't have enough information) after a deep research I found a guide where you need to burn the recovery image for this unit I think this will help to revive this unit.

Check this guide from their github here https://github.com/Coldcard/recovery-images
Take note of recovery images you can download them from this link https://coldcard.com/downloads/recovery

Great, I'm giving it a shot now, although not convinced it's even doing anything. I've imaged it to an SD card and turned the device on with the SD card inserted. It still just does the "verifying...." bit and goes back to black screen with the greenlight in the top left still on. But maybe it's doing something behind that black screen? Also worth mentioning is that the activity light next to the SD card slot (A) does not light up either, suggesting it's not even being accessed when I power it on. Here is a video of the behavior: https://streamable.com/eq53hc

UPDATE: I've let it sit there powered on with the imaged SD card in for about 45mins and no sign of life. Green light in the top left remains on, but screen never came back. I don't think it even attempted to read the SD card, and thus never attempted a flash

[Pmalek]

I wouldn't play around with my Coldcard too much if that happened to me and try all kinds of official and unofficial solutions to fix it. Your coins aren't going anywhere. Keep that in mind. Talk it out with their support first. They will point you to potential solutions. You aren't the first person who has experienced something like that. Don't do anything that might be against your warranty.

I am not very familiar with Coldcard's, do they operate in a stateless manner? @Solo6R Is your seed saved in the wallet's memory or do you have to load it upon every reboot?
I am asking because if you need to return it, it might be worrisome to have to send back a device that holds your seed in it.       

[satscraper]

Green light in the top left remains on, but screen never came back.

Then, it looks like that problem is relevant to MCU/display_controller ^{(I'm not sure whether the devece's display is controlled by MCU or has the build in controller)} and I'm afraid  that  there will be a need to send device to manufacturer to replace it according to their  warranty statements.  If this will happen I would advocate to move (somehow) your stash  to  new addresses not related with your  SEED on Cold Card Q ^{(before sending device to manufacturer).}

[DaveF]

I'm assuming you have done it, but did you try new batteries?

Not HW wallet related but I have seen similar things with a marginal battery in some test equipment.
Would power up get a boot screen then just the power on LED was lit but the unit was dead.

Was a somewhat expensive network scanner and I tried everything to get it to 'reboot' before I got a reply from their support who said yeah, just get a new set of batteries and you will be fine....

-Dave

[Solo6R]

Green light in the top left remains on, but screen never came back.

Then, it looks like that problem is relevant to MCU/display_controller ^{(I'm not sure whether the devece's display is controlled by MCU or has the build in controller)} and I'm afraid  that  there will be a need to send device to manufacturer to replace it according to their  warranty statements.  If this will happen I would advocate to move (somehow) your stash  to  new addresses not related with your  SEED on Cold Card Q ^{(before sending device to manufacturer).}

Yeah I'm ot sure how I'll do that. Would have to buy another hardware wallet just to get this one replaced. I do have a Tangem wallet laying around here but it only gives you (access to) 1 address, and my BTC isn't stored on the first available address, so restoring on that wouldn't help either as it would just show a 0 BTC($0) balance on the first address. What a PITA this is.

EDIT: I guess I could import my 24 words + passphrase into Sparrow just long enough to sign a transaction back to an exchange right? I know entering your seed directly onto Sparrow probably isn't the safest thing to do, but if the plan is just to instantly send it off to an exchange to hold it until I get a new HW wallet then it's probably safe enough right?

[DireWolfM14]

EDIT: I guess I could import my 24 words + passphrase into Sparrow just long enough to sign a transaction back to an exchange right? I know entering your seed directly onto Sparrow probably isn't the safest thing to do, but if the plan is just to instantly send it off to an exchange to hold it until I get a new HW wallet then it's probably safe enough right?

Or, just use Sparrow on an offline machine to create a cold wallet and send your bitcoin there.  Personally I would rather do that than trust a non-custodial exchange wallet, especially if we're talking about a significant amount.  When you get your Cold Card back you can use that same seed to restore your Cold Card, and all your bitcoin will be accessible in your new hardware wallet.  Since you created the new seed offline it'll be as safe and secure as if you had created a it with hardware wallet, and it'll save you a transaction.

Also, if you're sending the bitcoin from it's current location to a new seed, there's really no reason not to import the current seed into Sparrow.  You would basically be turning your current seed into a hot wallet, but again, that will save you one transaction.

[Solo6R]

EDIT: I guess I could import my 24 words + passphrase into Sparrow just long enough to sign a transaction back to an exchange right? I know entering your seed directly onto Sparrow probably isn't the safest thing to do, but if the plan is just to instantly send it off to an exchange to hold it until I get a new HW wallet then it's probably safe enough right?

Or, just use Sparrow on an offline machine to create a cold wallet and send your bitcoin there.  Personally I would rather do that than trust a non-custodial exchange wallet, especially if we're talking about a significant amount.  When you get your Cold Card back you can use that same seed to restore your Cold Card, and all your bitcoin will be accessible in your new hardware wallet.  Since you created the new seed offline it'll be as safe and secure as if you had created a it with hardware wallet, and it'll save you a transaction.

Also, if you're sending the bitcoin from it's current location to a new seed, there's really no reason not to import the current seed into Sparrow.  You would basically be turning your current seed into a hot wallet, but again, that will save you one transaction.

But how would I send from my current wallet to a new wallet if I don't have access to the cold card to sign the transaction? That's why I suggested importing the seed into sparrow to get access to it. If I just make a new wallet I can't send to it from my current cold card wallet to sign the transaction....

[DireWolfM14]

EDIT: I guess I could import my 24 words + passphrase into Sparrow just long enough to sign a transaction back to an exchange right? I know entering your seed directly onto Sparrow probably isn't the safest thing to do, but if the plan is just to instantly send it off to an exchange to hold it until I get a new HW wallet then it's probably safe enough right?

Or, just use Sparrow on an offline machine to create a cold wallet and send your bitcoin there.  Personally I would rather do that than trust a non-custodial exchange wallet, especially if we're talking about a significant amount.  When you get your Cold Card back you can use that same seed to restore your Cold Card, and all your bitcoin will be accessible in your new hardware wallet.  Since you created the new seed offline it'll be as safe and secure as if you had created a it with hardware wallet, and it'll save you a transaction.

Also, if you're sending the bitcoin from it's current location to a new seed, there's really no reason not to import the current seed into Sparrow.  You would basically be turning your current seed into a hot wallet, but again, that will save you one transaction.

But how would I send from my current wallet to a new wallet if I don't have access to the cold card to sign the transaction? That's why I suggested importing the seed into sparrow to get access to it. If I just make a new wallet I can't send to it from my current cold card wallet to sign the transaction....

You would import the current Cold Card wallet's back up seed into a Sparrow hot wallet (i.e. Sparrow on a machine that's connected to the internet.)  Then you'll be able to sign a transaction right from Sparrow.  Again, you would essentially turn your current Cold Card seed into a hot wallet, but since you're not going to use it again in the future, it's not a big deal.

And just be clear; if you send your Cold Card back to the manufacturer without the ability to purge the seed, you should consider that seed compromised and never use it again.

[Solo6R]

You would import the current Cold Card wallet's back up seed into a Sparrow hot wallet (i.e. Sparrow on a machine that's connected to the internet.)  Then you'll be able to sign a transaction right from Sparrow.  Again, you would essentially turn your current Cold Card seed into a hot wallet, but since you're not going to use it again in the future, it's not a big deal.

Right, that's what I was suggesting to begin with. I thought for some reason you were saying not to do that. Instead you're saying make a new wallet in Sparrow after I recover this one, rather than sending it to an exchange. Gotcha. Alright I may do that. Thanks

[Pmalek]

Don't send your coins to a shitty centralized exchange that might find faults with them and say they are "dirty" and that they need to keep them for everyone's sake. Or you could get them back if you do everything they tell you to and send all kinds of documents. If you must move the BTC from your Coldcard, keep them on Sparrow.

Are you confident enough that your computer is safe and malware-free? Do you use if for any purposes where it might catch malware, keyloggers, etc.?

[Solo6R]

Don't send your coins to a shitty centralized exchange that might find faults with them and say they are "dirty" and that they need to keep them for everyone's sake. Or you could get them back if you do everything they tell you to and send all kinds of documents. If you must move the BTC from your Coldcard, keep them on Sparrow.

Are you confident enough that your computer is safe and malware-free? Do you use if for any purposes where it might catch malware, keyloggers, etc.?

Nah, I just play (legal, bought) games, run a MWB and BitDefender scan daily. I'm pretty certain the system is clean and secure. That being said I've since learned that ColdCard policy states that they don't make customers send their devices back, so I'll just wait for the new one to arrive and just restore my backup to it. No need to move my BTC anywhere.

[Pmalek]

That being said I've since learned that ColdCard policy states that they don't make customers send their devices back, so I'll just wait for the new one to arrive and just restore my backup to it. No need to move my BTC anywhere.

That's even better, and it's a good policy. It's safer for the end-user than being forced to send the hardware wallet back, not knowing who will look at it and what could happen. Your problem occurred on Friday. It's now evening hours on Monday. Did someone reply to you from Coldcard's support and what did they say? 

[Solo6R]

That being said I've since learned that ColdCard policy states that they don't make customers send their devices back, so I'll just wait for the new one to arrive and just restore my backup to it. No need to move my BTC anywhere.

That's even better, and it's a good policy. It's safer for the end-user than being forced to send the hardware wallet back, not knowing who will look at it and what could happen. Your problem occurred on Friday. It's now evening hours on Monday. Did someone reply to you from Coldcard's support and what did they say?  

I have not received a response yet. Support email went out on Friday and they say 1-3 business days for a response. So between today and Wednesday I should hear something. From what I've read from other users in the past, a new unit is shipped out and issues resolved. Not one of them when asked (these are mostly reddit posts I'm reading), has said they were told to ship their broken wallet back, most stating they were told NOT to. Being that it's under warranty still I imagine this process will play out similar, if not identical. I will update here however.

BTW here is a video showing the behavior. Just goes to "Verifying..." then blank screen, but unit remains on with the green light. https://streamable.com/eq53hc

[Solo6R]

And just now received confirmation that my replacement was on the way. No questions asked. I will say that's some top notch support for the industry.

[BitMaxz]

Then, it looks like that problem is relevant to MCU/display_controller ^{(I'm not sure whether the devece's display is controlled by MCU or has the build in controller)} and I'm afraid  that  there will be a need to send device to manufacturer to replace it according to their  warranty statements.  If this will happen I would advocate to move (somehow) your stash  to  new addresses not related with your  SEED on Cold Card Q ^{(before sending device to manufacturer).}

I don't think the issue is MCU or display controller or LCD at first boot it shows verifying..... and then suddenly black screen and stuck without any signs of reading the SD card and the red light is not blinking and it quickly turn to green light it stucks on verifying there's something on that part corrupted.

What I suspected it was just a software issue related to flash memory that needed to be cleaned and flashed with clean firmware but Coldcard support or documentation does not have a clear method to fully flash the unit. I'm sure coldcard devs have a unique flashing method they don't just want it public. Look at those repair center for devices like phones they have a software tools that is not open for public but can able to fix most of the software issues.

And just now received confirmation that my replacement was on the way. No questions asked. I will say that's some top notch support for the industry.

I'm glad they sent you a replacement I saw someone on reddit have the same issue and receive a replacement.