Trezor.io/Start | Starting Up Your Device® | Trezor®

Overview

This presentation-style document is designed to be both a live walkthrough and a printable reference for initializing and operating a Trezor hardware wallet. It covers the practical "how-to" steps, the security reasons behind each step, governance and sharing patterns, incident response, and templates. The language uses new wording and a few new terms — custodial hygiene, seed sovereignty, and social hardening — to make the ideas easier to teach and remember.

Goals

• Provide a clear linear quick-start for first-time setups
• Explain security trade-offs and recommended practices
• Offer organizational patterns for multi-user or high-value custody
• Offer an incident playbook and templates for audits and recovery

Who should use this guide?

This guide is aimed at individual users, hobbyists, and small teams managing cryptocurrencies. Institutional readers will find the governance and multi-signature patterns useful as a starting point for policy drafting.

How to read

Use the table of contents at right, or search the page for the anchored keywords. Each major keyword — Firmware Update, Recovery Seed, Trezor Suite, and Passphrase — appears in a dedicated section and is also referenced where relevant.

Quick Start — Minimal Safe Path

Follow these concise steps for a secure and reliable initial setup. This section is crafted to be read aloud during a live demo or followed step-by-step while unboxing.

Firmware Update — Integrity and Timing

Why firmware matters: Firmware is the device's operating code. Trusted firmware keeps the device secure against known vulnerabilities. However, updating firmware introduces operational risk if not done carefully — always verify the source and integrity of updates.

When to update

Update when the vendor publishes a security patch or critical fix. Non-critical feature updates can be scheduled during maintenance windows if you manage multiple devices.

How to verify

1. Only install firmware from the official vendor site.
2. Verify signatures or hashes when provided — the vendor often publishes checksums or signed installers.
3. Keep a record of firmware versions in your device log for auditing.

Rollback and recovery considerations

Not all devices support firmware rollback. If an update fails, use the vendor's recommended recovery tools, and preserve logs and device serial for support escalation.

Security Principles — New Terms, Practical Actions

This section introduces new vocabulary and practical rules to make security concepts memorable and operationally useful.

Custodial Hygiene

Custodial hygiene consists of pre-setup checks, documented logging, and backup routines designed to reduce human error. Examples: unboxing checklist, labeled backups, and a non-networked log of serials/firmware.

Seed Sovereignty

Seed sovereignty emphasizes that the recovery phrase confers ultimate control. Whoever can access the seed can reconstruct the wallet — treat seed custody as the highest trust boundary.

Practical hygiene checklist

• Two physical backups in separate locations
• One hardened metal backup (for durability)
• Documented recovery plan with an appointed emergency custodian
• Quarterly inventory checks of device states and firmware versions

Social Hardening

Social hardening reduces the chance that social engineering or coercion can compromise credentials. Methods include role separation, limited knowledge distribution, and sealed legal exhibits for estate planning.

Recovery Playbook — Restore with Confidence

Recovery should be treated as an incident and executed in a controlled environment. The procedure below minimizes exposure and preserves forensic information useful for audits or investigations.

Pre-recovery checklist

1. Choose an isolated, secure room with no cameras.
2. Use a freshly factory-reset device for recovery.
3. Prepare paper log to record every step (personnel, time, anomalies).

Recovery steps

1. Enter the Recovery Seed words verbatim.
2. If you used a Passphrase, enter it exactly (case-sensitive).
3. Verify that derived addresses match known addresses — do not move funds until verified.
4. After confirming balances, create new backups and retire old ones if compromise is suspected.

After recovery

Document the event (time, personnel, device serials). If compromise is suspected, consider migrating funds to a fresh wallet created on a different device and with a newly generated seed.

Passphrase — Optional Layer, High Consequence

A passphrase (sometimes thought of as a 25th word) adds a secret on top of the recovery seed. It can be used to create hidden wallets but must be used with extreme caution: if the passphrase is lost, the wallet is permanently unrecoverable.

Pros and cons

• Pros: additional security, plausible deniability, hidden wallets
• Cons: operational complexity, irreversible if lost, difficult to share for inheritance

Best practices

1. Use passphrases only if you have a disciplined backup and legal custodian plan.
2. Store passphrase hints separately and securely; avoid writing the full passphrase near the seed.
3. Test recovery with passphrase using a safe, low-value wallet before relying on it for high-value funds.

Legal & inheritance note

If using passphrases in a long-term custody plan (estate, trust), consult legal counsel and consider sealed exhibits rather than exposing secrets in wills or open legal documents.

Governance Patterns & Multi-user Models

For groups or small organizations, consider governance models that balance security and availability. The simplest pattern uses role separation and redundancy, while advanced models employ multi-signature schemes.

Simple role model

Define roles: Key Custodian, Backup Custodian, Approver, Auditor. Document responsibilities, access windows and escalation contacts.

Multi-signature vaults

Multi-signature (multisig) requires a threshold of independent signers to move funds. This reduces single-point-of-failure risk and enables enforced policy controls.

Operational checklist for multisig

1. Maintain separate devices for each signer
2. Schedule regular signing drills with small test transactions
3. Document signing policies and rotation schedules

Audit and compliance

Keep signed logs, periodic reconciliations, and independent audits to ensure the multisig process matches policy and hasn't been tampered with.

Incident Response — If You Suspect Compromise

Timely, methodical response preserves funds and forensic data. The response below is ordered by priority: stop the bleeding, preserve evidence, remediate, and learn.

Immediate actions

1. Stop using any possibly compromised device
2. Document suspicious transactions and collect transaction IDs
3. Use a new, secure device to create a new wallet and migrate unaffected funds

Evidence collection

Preserve device serials, firmware versions, screen photos (if safe), and any suspicious support emails. Log timestamps for all actions.

Communication

Notify stakeholders, legal counsel (if high-value), and the vendor support team with sanitized logs. Avoid sharing private keys or recovery phrases during communication.

Post-incident review

Conduct a root-cause analysis, identify gaps in custodial hygiene, and update procedures to prevent recurrence.

Appendices & Templates

Below are practical templates you can adapt to your needs: unboxing checklist, recovery log, custody policy, and sample audit script.

Unboxing Checklist (sample)

1) Verify tamper seals and box condition
2) Record device serial and model in offline log
3) Photograph the sealed box for records (store photos offline)
4) Open with supervisor present; note time and observers
5) Confirm factory splash screen at first boot
          

Recovery Log Template

Date: ____________
Device Serial: ____________
Personnel Present: ____________
Action: ____________
Anomalies/Notes: ____________
Signatures: ____________
          

Custody Policy (brief)

Objective: Maintain availability and confidentiality of cryptographic assets through redundant backups, role separation, and periodic audits.
Roles: Key Custodian, Backup Custodian, Approver, Auditor
Backups: 2 physical + 1 hardened offsite (rotate annually)
Audits: Quarterly verification of device status and firmware
Incident Response: Documented playbook and escalation path