Trezor wallet firmware update question

[jayman5]

Some people have problems updating the Trezor firmware which then messes things up.

The advice given is enter your seed phrase to recover your wallet.

Wouldn't this then make the device potentially compromised? the whole point of hardware wallets is the seed never travels across the internet, so once its entered for recovery that is no longer the case, would it then be best to replace the Trezor?

[OmegaStarScream]

If the firmware update doesn't go through and your device gets wiped out (I'm  assuming that's what you meant here) you should restore your wallet with the seedphrase using the device still. That's not going to compromise your wallet and it would be the same as if you bought another device and tried to restore it.

I don't believe I have seen Trezor suggesting using the seedphrase on a software wallet on an online device before. But assuming you do that, and restore your trezor on let's say... Trustwallet. There is no need to buy a new device, you can setup a new wallet on your old trezor with a newly generated seed and then send the funds from trustwallet to it.

[Zaguru12]

Some people have problems updating the Trezor firmware which then messes things up.

The advice given is enter your seed phrase to recover your wallet.

Wouldn't this then make the device potentially compromised? the whole point of hardware wallets is the seed never travels across the internet, so once its entered for recovery that is no longer the case, would it then be best to replace the Trezor?

I think I understand your fear which is the support asking for seed phrase which we all know is not the right thing to do. But this time around it is actually telling to restore the wallet which is different from what you’re looking at. What Trezor does when updating firmware is when the connection from this encounter any problems it clears all data and there it requires you to actually re enter the seed phrase again. It is same thing as someone who factory reset the wallet. That’s why it is adviced to always have a seed phrase back up before any firmware updates

[Meuserna]

The advice given is enter your seed phrase to recover your wallet.

ON THE DEVICE.  Only ever on the device.

Every now and then, a firmware update for any hardware wallet will have an issue that causes the device to get wiped out.  Maybe it's a bug.  Maybe it's because the firmware update is incompatible with the previous version (such as if it's a major update vs a minor one).

A good rule of thumb is: never update your firmware unless you are confident that you have your seed words written down, because there's always a chance something will go wrong and the device will get wiped out.  That being said, you should always have your seed words written down on paper and backed up on metal.

[DireWolfM14]

Some people have problems updating the Trezor firmware which then messes things up.

The advice given is enter your seed phrase to recover your wallet.

Wouldn't this then make the device potentially compromised? the whole point of hardware wallets is the seed never travels across the internet, so once its entered for recovery that is no longer the case, would it then be best to replace the Trezor?

I've never had any issues upgrading firmware on any of my hardware wallets, Trezor One and Trezor T included.  Nonetheless, just incase something goes wrong you should make sure you have the seed phrase backed up on a piece of paper before attempting a firmware update.

Should the necessity for restoration arise you'll be prompted to enter the seed phrase on the device, not on the computer.

[Forsyth Jones]

Some people have problems updating the Trezor firmware which then messes things up.

The advice given is enter your seed phrase to recover your wallet.

Wouldn't this then make the device potentially compromised? the whole point of hardware wallets is the seed never travels across the internet, so once its entered for recovery that is no longer the case, would it then be best to replace the Trezor?

If the update is unsuccessful or interrupted, the device may have its memory erased and a reset is required.

Even if the Trezor is factory reset, it will never ask you to enter the recovery seed online, it will always ask you to enter it on the device itself via the touchscreen.

Entering it directly on the device will not compromise your seed, so you should be fine.

This can also happen on devices from other manufacturers.

[dkbit98]

Some people have problems updating the Trezor firmware which then messes things up.

I never heard anyone complaining about problems with updating firmware, and if that happens you can always reset and start again.
Anything similar you receive with email, telegram, etc is a scam, and has nothing to do with Trezor.

The advice given is enter your seed phrase to recover your wallet.

This sounds like someone trying to scam you.
Trezor is not going to ask you to enter seed phrase anywhere, but they are giving the option of checking if your seed phrase is correct.

Wouldn't this then make the device potentially compromised? the whole point of hardware wallets is the seed never travels across the internet, so once its entered for recovery that is no longer the case, would it then be best to replace the Trezor?

No.

[bitmover]

Some people have problems updating the Trezor firmware which then messes things up.

The advice given is enter your seed phrase to recover your wallet.

Wouldn't this then make the device potentially compromised? the whole point of hardware wallets is the seed never travels across the internet, so once its entered for recovery that is no longer the case, would it then be best to replace the Trezor?

I have a ledger which once reset after a firmware update. This is possible to happen in trezor as well.

As long as you enter the seed in your trezor device just to recover your wallet, you are fine. Just don`t enter your seed anywhere else.


Remember to keep your device and software updated. But always verify if you are downloading from original sources.

[Cricktor]

That being said, you should always have your seed words written down on paper and backed up on metal.

I would highly recommend to anybody with a hardware wallet to practice and verify that they can successfully restore their wallet with their analog mnemonic recovery words backup. I don't know how many users do and practice this actually. Of course you can practice wallet recovery with any wallet you use, it's not limited to hardware wallets.

To avoid risking your stash, practice recovery before you move your coins to your new wallet. Or get some Testnet coins and extend your practice to all sorts of actions with your wallet. Potentially losing Testnet coins doesn't hurt. Well, maybe your pride...

Any hardware wallet or any Trezor getting wiped for whatever reason shouldn't make you uncomfortable when you know the drill and have practiced recovery.

[Husna QA]

That being said, you should always have your seed words written down on paper and backed up on metal.

I would highly recommend to anybody with a hardware wallet to practice and verify that they can successfully restore their wallet with their analog mnemonic recovery words backup. I don't know how many users do and practice this actually. Of course you can practice wallet recovery with any wallet you use, it's not limited to hardware wallets.
-snip-

As o_e_l_e_o has suggested in several of his posts,

-snip- You can create multiple wallets, practice writing down seed phrases and restoring from them, practice making transactions between your wallets, notice the difference in size between legacy transactions and segwit transactions. -snip-

-snip-
double check everything, and practice restoring your wallet from your back ups to ensure they are correct.

it's best to do a simulation to practice restoring the wallet using the seed phrase/private key that was previously backed up before actually storing assets in a wallet.

I myself have experienced getting stuck while updating the Trezor T firmware and managed to restore it using the backup seed phrase.

[Pmalek]

Don't forget that your Trezor already stores your seed and private keys in its memory. If it didn't, you wouldn't be able to sign transactions and send bitcoin. If a firmware upgrade fails and the device resets itself to factory settings, the memory gets wiped and the keys get deleted. So, if you want to gain access to your coins again and sign transactions, you have to recover your wallet from seed. The same seed that was already stored in your Trezor. That's how it works and it's completely normal for these types of hardware wallets.

[satscraper]

Don't forget that your Trezor already stores your seed and private keys in its memory. If it didn't, you wouldn't be able to sign transactions and

I never didn't think anything of "Trezor" meaning until this morning. In Czech it means "safe"!

Relevant absorbing tale from the real life "I Forgot My PIN’: An Epic Tale of Losing $30,000 in Bitcoin" ^{reading in the same breath}.

The story is old ^{in fact} but teaches how important to keep your PIN and SEED safe.  ^{Happy end, thanks to Saleem who was put on too modest air, in my view}.

[dkbit98]

I never didn't think anything of "Trezor" meaning until this morning. In Czech it means "safe"!

This is not only used in Czech language, but in many other languages, especially Slavic.
If you want to go to the source, word Trezor also have origins in ancient Latin (and Greek word) Thesaurus, that literally means treasure, safe or vault.

[Husna QA]

I never didn't think anything of "Trezor" meaning until this morning. In Czech it means "safe"!

This is not only used in Czech language, but in many other languages, especially Slavic.
If you want to go to the source, word Trezor also have origins in ancient Latin (and Greek word) Thesaurus, that literally means treasure, safe or vault.

I just realized that Trezor has its meaning in several different languages ​​and is not just the name of a brand for a hardware wallet product.
I tried to find the origin of the name Trezor, even in several articles about the history of the Trezor hardware wallet, but I couldn't find the meaning of the name.

https://satoshilabs.com/our-story
https://blog.trezor.io/7-years-of-hardware-wallets-the-success-story-of-czech-crypto-enthusiasts-creating-a-brand-new-6648769d373a