Welcome to my Ledger Nano S review and setup guide.
With cryptocurrency becoming more popular, people are investing more into cryptocurrency and looking for more security than a software wallet.
Luckily, there is a hardware wallet called the Ledger Nano S that offers a secure and affordable solution for storing your coins.
This article will cover what the Ledger Nano S is, key features of owning it, best features of owning it, how to use it and some security advice.
I will also talk about why you should buy one.
What Is Ledger Nano S?
The Ledger Nano S is a cryptocurrency hardware wallet that people purchase for its ease of use and the high security it offers.
It stores digital assets with chip-based technology and built-in PIN security.
It supports 26 cryptocurrency coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, and it also supports over 1500 tokens.
The Ledger Nano S supports the following cryptocurrencies:
- BTC : Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Dogecoin
- ETH : Ethereum, Ethereum Classic
- DOGE : Dogecoin
- Ripple : Ripple, Stellar, Dogecoin, Stellar
- Zcash : Zcash, Zcash Testnet
- Stable Coins: USDC, USDT
- and many others…
How Does Ledger Nano S Work?
Ledger Nano S works by giving you the ability to store your cryptocurrency coins on a hardware wallet that you have full control over.
You can send, receive and even swap your coins through the Ledger Live application that you can use on your desktop or on an app that you can install on your smartphone or tablet.
The first thing you are going to have to do to get started is to purchase the device through the Ledger store or participating retailers.
When you receive the device, there will be a few things that come with your purchase like:
- The Ledger Nano S USB device
- An Instruction Card manual
- A Key Chain to put your Ledger Nano S
- A Lanyard to clip to your Ledger Nano S and hang it around your neck
- A Recovery Card
- And a USB Cable that will connect your Ledger Nano S to your computer or laptop
Now, you are going to want to set up your device.
Here are some simple steps to help get you started.
Remember, the Ledger Nano S will come with an instruction manual, and I would highly advise you to refer to those instructions for the most updated directions.
The setup process hasn’t changed for the most part, so these instructions will be suitable for you to get it all set up.
Step 1. Hook It Up
With the USB cord that came with your purchase, you are going to want to connect it to your Ledger Nano S hardware wallet and then to your USB devices like your computer or laptop.
Additionally, make sure you are connected to the internet!
Another great guide: How To Earn and Use Crypto Using the Brave Browser – All in One Step
Step 2. Connect Your Device
Once you have your Ledger Nano S connected to your USB device, you should see a message on your Nano S that says, “Configure as new device?”.
There will be an “X” and a checkmark on both sides of the message.
On the right side of the message is the checkmark and what is what you will select.
The way to do this is to push the button on top of your Ledger device right on top of the checkmark to select it.
3. Install Drivers
Once you click on the button over the checkmark, this will start the process of installing your drivers. (make sure that you’re connected to the internet!)
4. Choose Your Pin Number
Once the drivers updated on your device, you will get a prompt to select your pin #.
Use the top 2 buttons to select your pin # and it will have to be 4 to 8 numbers in length.
MAKE SURE to remember this pin number because this is what you are going to use to log in to your Ledger X Nano device.
Once you selected your pin number the prompt on the screen will tell you to enter it again, the device does this to verify your pin number which is like your login password but with numbers.
5. Backup Recovery Phrase
The next step is going to consist of 24 different words that you will have to remember in case you forget your pin # or unable to login for some reason.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT so make sure you write down each of the 24 words IN SEQUENCE from #1 to #24 and keep that file in a safe and secure place!
Additionally, the device will re-prompt you to enter part or all of the word in some instances to I guess make sure you remembered it or written it down.
6. You’re Almost Done!
Once you have written down all 24 of your password recovery phrases, and completed all of the prompts that the system gives you, you will see a message on the screen that says “Your Device Is Now Ready To Use”.
Another great guide: The Top 10 Biggest Bitcoin Transactions In History
Next Step: Installing Ledger Live
Now that you setup your Ledger Nano S, I imagine that you now want to send some crypto to it.
At this time, you can disconnect your device from the USB cord at this time because you are going to plug it in for the next step to connect to your dashboard.
The way that you can do this is by using either an app or on your desktop with their “Ledger Live” utility that connects to your Ledger Nano S device.
You can get the app on the Google Play Store or on Apple App Store depending on the phone that you are using.
The desktop utility can be downloaded from the Ledger website as well.
MAKE SURE to ONLY download the Ledger Live utility from the Ledger website because there have been fake apps on these app stores circulating around to try to steal people’s crypto.
The Ledger Live app can be found on Google Play or the Apple app store but ONLY download it using the links on the Ledger website!
**The official download where you can get this utility on either your smartphone or desktop can be found when you click here.
Once you downloaded and setup your Ledger Live application, you are going to want to get follow the directions to connect your device to the utility.
Basically, once you’re on Ledger Live, it will ask you to connect, you do this by plugging in your Ledger Nano S to your device using the USB connection and then entering your pin number (on the device) to unlock your device, and then your device will connect to Ledger Live.
Use the left and right buttons to navigate your Ledger Nano S device. You do this by clicking the right or left button, and by clicking BOTH buttons at the same time to confirm an action.
Once your connected, I would suggest looking around to get familiar with the layout and where everything is located.
Then, update the firmware and then make sure you download each cryptocurrency that you are going to use like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, USDC, etc and set it to auto-update unless that is automatically set by the firmware now.
I would only download the cryptocurrencies that you are going to use because the more you download, the more space it will take up on your Ledger Nano S device.
If you do install a cryptocurrency app that you are not going to use, you can always uninstall it at any time.
IF you uninstall a cryptocurrency on Ledger Live that you have coins with, don’t worry, they are all still there, you just have to re-install that cryptocurrency again.
How To Receive Crypto To Your Ledger Nano S
The next step that you probably want to know is how to receive Bitcoin or another crypto to your device so that you can store it on a more secure hard wallet.
The first thing you want to do is find the wallet address and that is the address for the specific cryptocurrency that you are going to want to store on your device.
If you want to store Bitcoin, then look for Bitcoin and then find your wallet for the “receive” address.
You also have to make sure that you are in the crypto that you want to receive on your Ledger device as well. (if you’re in the wrong crypto, the screen will prompt you that it can’t continue and to quit)
Make sure to follow the promps on the desktop screen that will direct you to push the left or right button or both buttons.
Then, go to the place that you currently have your Bitcoin (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, or wherever you have it…), and then send it to your Ledger Nano S wallet “receive” address.
That’s it, you should receive your Bitcoin within the normal time that it takes for a Bitcoin transaction.
Another great guide: Keepkey Hardware Wallet vs Trezor One: Which Is Better?
How To Send Crypto To An Outside Wallet Using Your Ledger Nano S
Sending funds is really straight forward as well.
All you have to do is locate the “send” button for the specific cryptocurrency that you want to send and then type in (or copy and paste) the wallet address into the “recipient” wallet field along with the amount of cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) you want to send to that address.
Again, make sure to follow the prompts on the screen that will direct you to push the left or right button on your Ledger device, or direct you to push both buttons at the same time to confirm.
How To Swap Coins Within Ledger Live
Swapping one cryptocurrency to another is quite simple to do within the Ledger Live app.
All you have to do is make sure that you have the coin you want to swap downloaded on Ledger Live before the process can happen.
The next thing to take note of is that if you live in the United States or Japan, unfortunately, this feature is NOT available.
Find the swap navigation link and click on it which will then take you to the swap page.
I’ve added some images below to illustrate how this process takes place.
How Safe Is The Ledger Nano S?
Luckily, the Ledger Nano S is very safe and secure because it uses your pin # to access the device and if you get locked out of your device, you can always use your recovery phrase to get access back.
In addition to all of that, you can also have 2-factor authentication with either the Google Authenticator or Authy app that will prompt to enter a pin # and then a 6-digit code that will be provided by an app that is downloaded onto your smartphone.
The more safety features the better in my opinion.
However, it is so safe that if you lose or forget your pin # and recovery phrases, you are completely locked out of your device and there is NO OTHER WAY other than those two methods you have to access your Ledger Nano S!
So, the point is… DON’T LOSE YOUR PIN OR RECOVERY PHRASES!!!
How Much Does The Ledger Nano S Cost?
At the time of writing my review, the cost for the Ledger Nano S is $59.
Conclusion: Is The Best Hardware Wallet Ledger Nano S? Full Review
In my opinion, I believe the Ledger Nano S is the best hardware wallet.
I like all of the updates and improvements that they have made over the years, and the functionality or usability has a bit of a learning curve to understand the navigation of the actual device, but once you get it down, it’s a piece of cake.
If you have any questions about the Ledger Nano S setup or supported coins, or security, feel free to leave them below.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed my Ledger Nano S review.
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