Help with Trezor Safe 5

[BernyJB]

Ok, last March 4^th. was my birthday, and after some deliberation (with myself) I decided to make the jump and finally gift me a Trezor.
Got a Safe 5.
Initially, my experience both with Satoshi Labs and DHL couldn't have been more perfect. Everything, from the packaging to the delivery time was absolutely flawless.
And this is when the good part ends.

First, the wallet came packaged with a USB-C to USB-C cable, and as far as I could tell there was no option in the page to choose a different one. Seems  the people at Satoshi Labs are not aware computers used to have USB-A connectors. But, whatever, not a big deal. Tried a couple of cables I already had, and when they didn't work bought a new one, being careful that it was a data cable.
But it didn't work. The computer just doesn't recognize it. Nor did (obviously) the suite.
So I tried contacting Trezor support, just to end up wasting my time with their stupid bot ("Hal"), which offered no help whatsoever, and finally I found (somewhere) a link to their forum, so I signed up and started a thread. So far it's been 4 days, 19 people read it, and NOBODY replied to it. Not a peep.
So I'm posting here, see if I have better luck.

My computer is 8 years old. I'm running MX Linux 21, with Openbox, Tint2, Thunar and Terminator.
Initially, MX-21 has proven to be a very unfriendly distribution, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this whole problem is just another one of the distro’s many quirks, or my inability to deal with them. To put it plainly, I hate it. I can’t wait to be able to afford a new computer and go back to Fedora.
That said, I installed the suite and later the UDEV files, however, the UDEV files didn't install anything other than an empty directory in my Downloads one.
The cable is brand new. But the wallet is not recognized. Even in /mnt and /media, nothing shows.

Incidentally, even if, by any miracle, I'm able to make this wallet work, people at Satoshi Labs can rest assured these were the last $129 they will ever get from me. 
Thank you all for reading. Sorry for the rant.

[(BTC)]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=261.0

Bitcoin Forum > Bitcoin > Development & Technical Discussion > Wallet software > Hardware wallets

You should move this topic there. Lot's of Trezor related threads and it's suprisingly active despite being one of those nested boards that take three clicks to get to. I'm sure you'll find the support you need.

Good luck!

[BernyJB]

Thank you. I will!

[tenant48]

I don't know if my instructions will work for your particular Linux distribution, but to get Trezor working with Ubuntu, I use the following instructions:

Open Terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T).

Add the following commands for Trezor one by one:
sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt install libfuse2

Download the Trezor Suite Linux version (file with the AppImage extension)

Open the Downloads folder.

Right-click on the downloaded Trezor Suite AppImage and select Properties.

Open the Permissions tab

From the Execute menu, select Allow executing file as program.

Launch AppImage by double-clicking on the icon

[DireWolfM14]

Have you tried installing the communication library from the package manager?

root@debianome:~# apt search trezor
python3-trezor/stable 0.13.10-2 all
  library for communicating with TREZOR Bitcoin HW wallet (Python 3)

trezor/stable 0.13.10-2 all
  utilities for communicating with TREZOR Bitcoin HW wallet

Try this:

Code:

sudo apt update

And this:

Code:

sudo apt install trezor python3-trezor -y

Incidentally, even if, by any miracle, I'm able to make this wallet work, people at Satoshi Labs can rest assured these were the last $129 they will ever get from me.

I understand you're frustrated, but you can't blame Trezor for your OS not having the required communication protocols pre-installed.  You shouldn't even blame your OS for that, either.  Linux is a great OS, and one of the reasons I believe that is because it comes bare-bones.  You need to install the packages and libraries for your specific uses.

[joniboini]

Out of curiosity, have you looked for reviews on your specific OS before you buy this? Or do you have a plan to move to another distro quickly, so you don't think it would be a big deal if you need to troubleshoot the packages to run the app themselves? I assumed you followed their guide to install the suite[1].

[1] https://trezor.io/guides/trezor-suite/installing-trezor-suite-on-linux

[dkbit98]

OP you can literally connect your Trezor Safe 5 device with your smartphone, or just purchase $1 USB to Type-C adapter.
Even 10 years old laptops already started adding Type-C connections, and they have advantages compared to old USB.
As for using Trezor on MX Linux, you can simply use any web browser and use web version of Trezor Suite, or download .AppImage:

Code:

https://suite.trezor.io/web/

Code:

https://github.com/trezor/trezor-suite/releases

[BernyJB]

Have you tried installing the communication library from the package manager?

root@debianome:~# apt search trezor
python3-trezor/stable 0.13.10-2 all
  library for communicating with TREZOR Bitcoin HW wallet (Python 3)

trezor/stable 0.13.10-2 all
  utilities for communicating with TREZOR Bitcoin HW wallet

Try this:

Code:

sudo apt update

And this:

Code:

sudo apt install trezor python3-trezor -y

Incidentally, even if, by any miracle, I'm able to make this wallet work, people at Satoshi Labs can rest assured these were the last $129 they will ever get from me.

I understand you're frustrated, but you can't blame Trezor for your OS not having the required communication protocols pre-installed.  You shouldn't even blame your OS for that, either.  Linux is a great OS, and one of the reasons I believe that is because it comes bare-bones.  You need to install the packages and libraries for your specific uses.

Aaaand YES! It's working! Thank you DireWolfM14!
@tenant48: yeah, MX is Ubuntu based. You could actually think of it as "Ubuntu from hell".
Either way, I had already done that, and the suite was working. It just didn't recognize the wallet. Now everything is perfect again.

@DireWolfM14: ohhh, yes, I can blame Trezor, and I do. Let me tell you why:

• They are selling a product in which privacy is paramount, yet provide no customer service whatsoever, ultimately prompting the user to tell everybody and their dog they have a wallet. If it wasn't because I was lucky enough to be a member here, I'd still be asking around.
  And they say they care about security.
• They provide a forum (the trezor forum) that's absolutely useless.
• Ever since the AI revolution I've seen some really useless CS bots, but the one at trezor elevates the idiocy level infinitely.
• They say their device is "compatible with Linux". It's not. And they don't even provide instructions on how to make it compatible.

So, no, that will be it for me. I'm sure the wallet is a great device, but the company lacks professionalism.

[m2017]

First, the wallet came packaged with a USB-C to USB-C cable, and as far as I could tell there was no option in the page to choose a different one. Seems  the people at Satoshi Labs are not aware computers used to have USB-A connectors.

You won't find obsolete formats (technologies) included in the package with any manufacturer these days, as everyone has switched to the new USB-C standard. So, this isn't a specific problem for trezor, but a global trend.

Incidentally, even if, by any miracle, I'm able to make this wallet work, people at Satoshi Labs can rest assured these were the last $129 they will ever get from me. 

And you'll be depriving yourself of products from one of the best HW manufacturers on the market.

By the way, trezor isn't obligated to teach you how to use Linux OS distributions, and in fact, the problems you're experiencing merely demonstrate your lack of skill as a Linux user. No offense intended.

• They are selling a product in which privacy is paramount, yet provide no customer service whatsoever, ultimately prompting the user to tell everybody and their dog they have a wallet. If it wasn't because I was lucky enough to be a member here, I'd still be asking around.
  And they say they care about security.

What kind of support would you like in this case? Would a trezor employee give you a lecture on using Linux OS?

The main security that any hardware wallet manufacturer should be concerned with is the security of wallet contents (and the personal data of buyers). No one is forcing you (or encouraging you) to tell everyone you own a HW, right?

I'm sure trezor support would have responded to your complaints more quickly if it concerned delivery or a device malfunction \ defect, so your accusations of insufficient support seem unfounded (I'm taking into account your emotional state).

• They provide a forum (the trezor forum) that's absolutely useless.

A forum is a place where users communicate and share information. I think you're confusing the forum with customer support.

And also, the forum format on the Internet has long been dead (with rare exceptions).

• Ever since the AI revolution I've seen some really useless CS bots, but the one at trezor elevates the idiocy level infinitely.

This is the reality of our time. We can only tolerate these bots.

• They say their device is "compatible with Linux". It's not. And they don't even provide instructions on how to make it compatible.

Have you looked at this section on their website: https://trezor.io/guides/trezor-suite/installing-trezor-suite-on-linux ?

So, no, that will be it for me. I'm sure the wallet is a great device, but the company lacks professionalism.

I think you should describe your story in full and send your feedback to their quality department. If we don't voice our dissatisfaction (in the right direction), this world will never change.

[Pmalek]

To sum up:
- It's Trezor's fault that you don't know how to use your computer's OS properly.
- It's Trezor's fault that you can't navigate to their 'Guides' section to find instructions on how to install the software on Linux.
- It's Trezor's fault that you couldn't instruct Hal to open a support ticket, provide the information that is needed, and wait for an official support agent to contact you.

Don't you see that all of this is on you?

[DireWolfM14]

Aaaand YES! It's working! Thank you DireWolfM14!

Glad I could help.

yeah, MX is Ubuntu based. You could actually think of it as "Ubuntu from hell".

I've never used MX, and abandoned Ubuntu long ago.  Both are based on Debian which is pretty bare-bones, and my preferred Linux distro.  So, I'm used to having to customize it for my needs.  I still prefer the Gnome GUI which I can customize with Ubuntu-like features, but without all the Ubuntu bloat.

@DireWolfM14: ohhh, yes, I can blame Trezor, and I do. Let me tell you why:

• They are selling a product in which privacy is paramount, yet provide no customer service whatsoever, ultimately prompting the user to tell everybody and their dog they have a wallet. If it wasn't because I was lucky enough to be a member here, I'd still be asking around.
  And they say they care about security.
• They provide a forum (the trezor forum) that's absolutely useless.
• Ever since the AI revolution I've seen some really useless CS bots, but the one at trezor elevates the idiocy level infinitely.
• They say their device is "compatible with Linux". It's not. And they don't even provide instructions on how to make it compatible.

So, no, that will be it for me. I'm sure the wallet is a great device, but the company lacks professionalism.

Slow customer service can be frustrating, but protecting your identity is your job to a large extent.  My frustration with Trezor comes from a customer information leak a few years back, which exposed my email address.  Now I get all kinds of fishing emails pretending to be from Trezor, that's a legit complaint.

Their forum sucks because we are here, not there.  

Their devices are compatible with Linux but as you've witnessed, it requires some customization on the user's part.

Don't you see that all of this is on you?

I wouldn't be too hard on him.  At least he's concerned enough about his privacy to start using Linux and begin the road to independence from the big OS vendors.  It can be a big learning curve for many.  I'm old enough to have used Unix in my professional life years ago, and some of us were brought up with Linux for similar reasons.  For me the switch was just a matter re-learning some things I had forgotten, but not many have that luxury.

[Pmalek]

I wouldn't be too hard on him.  At least he's concerned enough about his privacy to start using Linux and begin the road to independence from the big OS vendors.  It can be a big learning curve for many.

I am not, and I wasn't trying to be neither hard nor mean to him. I am not a Linux user, so I am sure that he knows more about Linux than me. But the fact remains, though: he needs to learn how to navigate and use his OS. It's not Trezor's job to teach him. If I switch to Linux one day, I am not going to claim that the software and hardware manufacturer's I used previously on Windows are guilty because I can't get them to work on my new OS now. And the whole time I was the one who didn't install the needed libraries/packages or provided the needed permissions.

[Knight Hider]

That said, I installed the suite and later the UDEV files, however, the UDEV files didn't install anything other than an empty directory in my Downloads one.

UDEV rules install to /etc/udev/rules.d/

[BernyJB]

@m2017: I won't quote you because the reply would be endless.
 
I just bought (a couple of months ago) a $25ish set of bluetooth earphones. Came with a usb-a to usb-c charging cable.
We're not talking ancient technology here, I'm not expecting the wallet to work off a floppy disk.

I have no illusions as to my skill level as a Linux user. I started using Ubuntu in 2009 (as Wubi, which doesn't exist anymore), so I've been using it for a a long time. However, I am of the crazy idea that an operating system should get out of the way and let you do your work on the computer, so I never made much of an effort to really go deeper into it. I realize I should've, probably, but the fact is I didn't.
Then again, if I had seen in the instructions it said in case of having problems "try on another computer", I would've never bought it.
 
Let's see... How about saying ANYWHERE in the Linux install instructions something crazy like... I don't know... "you need to install this or that library"? Would that be too much to ask?

I may not be all that skilled a Linux user, but this is not my  first rodeo either, and if I could install a vpn without any major problems, I should've been able to install this (given proper instructions).

Security is, first and foremost, about discretion. However secure I may try to be, if I have to ask around the internet to be able to set up a wallet, I'm losing half  the battle right from the start.

True about the forums, but I'm not confused. Forums about a specific product are usually curated (to some extent) by people from the company that produces it. That said, the fact that I got no responses on the Trezor forum and my problem was solved in here immediately upon asking speaks loud enough, both about the uselessness of said forum and about the level of skill and knowledge you can find here.

I agree about voicing my dissatisfaction in the right direction, but I've been looking everywhere and can't find any way to contact them.

[BernyJB]

Their forum sucks because we are here, not there.  

Honestly, I couldn't agree more.