The Trezor Model T (also dubbed ‘Trezor T’) was released in May 2018 by SatoshiLabs. It’s the successor to the original Trezor (aka Trezor One) and features a full-colour touchscreen, faster processor, and superior cryptocurrency support.

It looks great. But is it worth the cost? Is it the best hardware wallet available?

In this Trezor Model T review, we’ll dive in and find out.

Here’s what we’ll be covering:

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages

The easiest way to securely store your cryptocurrencies.

Supports Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), Ripple (XRP), and over 1000 other cryptocurrencies.

Lightweight and simple design, with a great full-colour touchscreen.

Includes excellent password manager and U2F compatibility.

Disadvantages

It’s one of the most expensive hardware wallets available.

Looks and feels a little cheap compared to alternatives.

What is a Trezor?

The Trezor One was originally launched in 2014 by Satoshi Labs. This was the first hardware wallet on the market. Their follow-up to this, the Trezor Model T, was released in May 2018.

Hardware wallets allow you to securely make transactions. They achieve this by holding and signing transactions on this external device. This means that your private keys never need to be transmitted to your computer (which could be infected).

Even if the Trezor was connected to an infected computer, your hard-earned cryptocurrency would still be safe.

Hardware wallets are popular and well-recommended as they’re easy to setup and use even for non-technical users.



Supported Cryptocurrencies

The Trezor Model T supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Monero (XMR), Ripple (XMR), and over 1000 other cryptocurrencies. To double-check that your cryptocurrency is supported, check out this (searchable) list.

Some of these cryptocurrencies aren’t supported on original Trezor devices. This includes cryptocurrencies like Monero (XMR), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and more.

What’s in the Box?

Here’s what’s included:

Trezor Model T (with anti-tamper seal)

45cm (USB to USB C) Cable

2x Recovery Sheets

Getting Started Guide

4x Trezor Stickers

Magnetic Dock

Trezor advises that you should verify that the anti-tamper seal is intact. I think this anti-tamper seal is almost worthless.

Why? This blog post explains it well:

“If an organisation had enough know-how to intercept your package, replace the firmware of your hardware wallet by some rogue software which would allow them to empty your wallet, don’t you think it would be trivial for them to duplicate and replace a piece of coloured tape, giving you a false impression of security?”

Once you’ve removed the anti-tamper sticker, just rub away the leftover gunk with your finger.

This magnetic dock is a nice extra, but a strange inclusion.

Why?

If you’re planning to store all your hard-earned Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency with a Trezor Model T, wouldn’t it be a little silly to have it docked somewhere conveniently?

On the other hand, the magnetic dock does allow you to creatively keep it out of sight.

Some ideas:

Under your desk (or other furniture).

Top of a cupboard/wardrobe.

Behind furniture.

Once stuck down, the dock can be removed with the persuasion of a knife. It didn’t leave any damage (on a painted door) when I tested it.

Trezor Model T Setup

It’s quick and easy to setup and start using your Trezor Model T.

The process:

Plug Trezor Model T into your computer.

The cable should ‘click’ into the Trezor Model T.

Install the Trezor Bridge

Go to: trezor.io/start

Select Trezor Model T

Install the latest firmware.

Done!

While you should backup and set a PIN code ASAP, you aren’t forced to. You can immediately start sending and receiving cryptocurrency with the Trezor Model T if you want.

Backing up and setting a PIN code takes about 5 minutes, so we do recommend it.

This recovery seed is really important. In the event your Trezor is lost or stolen, you can use this recovery seed to access all of the cryptocurrency stored on your old device.

As long as your PIN and recovery seed aren’t compromised, the loss of the device itself isn’t a big deal.

Some tips:

Record your recovery seed on both recovery sheets (with a Sharpie). Copy words down from the device-to-sheet and not from sheet-to-sheet though. If you don’t do this, you might transfer an error from the 1st recovery sheet to the 2nd.

Store each recovery sheet in separate locations so that you’ll still have a backup if one of the recovery sheets is lost or destroyed. Don’t give it to anyone you don’t trust 100% though.

You can create a PIN code which is 9-digits long. Make sure you don’t use a sequence or repeating numbers.

Design

Like the Trezor One, I think the Trezor Model T looks and feels a little cheap.

However, the full-colour LCD touchscreen (240 x 240 px) does redeem it. I had no problems using this either. It felt responsive and accurate.

It’s also lightweight (16g) and about the size of my car keys (64mm x 39mm x 10mm). Compact enough to shove in my pockets or lose at the bottom of a bag.

Let’s be honest: it’s not that important what the Trezor looks like. It’s not like you’re going to be flashing it around. The core functionality is more important, and it absolutely excels on that front.



Wallet Interface

The wallet interface is clean, intuitive, and easy to use.

The Bitcoin (BTC) wallet is divided into 4 sections:

Transactions: shows all your recent transactions.

shows all your recent transactions. Receive: shows receiving address (and QR code) which you pass along to others.

shows receiving address (and QR code) which you pass along to others. Send: enter address details (or scan QR code) of someone you want to send money to.

enter address details (or scan QR code) of someone you want to send money to. Sign & Verify: prove and verify ownership of a Bitcoin (BTC) address.

There are some slightly more advanced options hidden in the drop-down box in the ‘Send’ tab:

OP_RETURN: allows you to add 40 bytes of data to the blockchain. This post explains and explores OP_RETURN.

allows you to add 40 bytes of data to the blockchain. This post explains and explores OP_RETURN. Locktime: lock up funds until a defined block height.

lock up funds until a defined block height. Add Recipient: send to multiple addresses with a single transaction (which saves fees).

send to multiple addresses with a single transaction (which saves fees). Import from CSV: allows you to import multiple transactions which need to be sent (which saves fees).

Additional Features

Password Manager

Trezor’s password manager is a nice extra.

It’s intuitive, easy to use, and works smoothly with no issues.

But will you really use this? If the Trezor Model T was your only hardware wallet, wouldn’t you want to keep it tucked away? To make use of this, you’d have to keep it quite accessible.

Two Factor Authentication

You can also use your Trezor device as a 2nd form of authentication (U2F device) when using some services. Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) authentication is like Google Authenticator (2FA), but more secure.

Some popular services already support U2F:

Dropbox

Google Drive

Gmail

Bitfinex

Stripe

More and more services are beginning to support U2F. Browse the full list of services which support U2F here.

Exchange Integration

Some exchanges (e.g. Bitstamp) interact directly with the Trezor Model T. This allows you to deposit from the Trezor to the exchange without manually entering the transaction in the Trezor Wallet app.

It’s just as secure but saves you a few clicks back and forth. Another nice extra.

To find out about other integrations, check out this post.

Change Homescreen

It’s a small touch, but I like that you can customise the device name and picture shown on the homescreen. You can choose from some included defaults or upload your own 144×144 image.

Easy to do:

In the wallet, click on your device. Select ‘Homescreen’ tab. Upload or select an image from the gallery. Select ‘Set as homescreen’. All done!

Trezor Model T Price

The Trezor Model T costs around £165 (incl. VAT and shipping) from the official Trezor website.

That’s about £100 more than the Trezor One and the Ledger Nano S.

Where Can I Buy a Trezor Model T?

You can buy the Trezor Model T from:

We would recommend you purchase hardware wallets from official websites. But contrary to what other Trezor Model T reviews might say, it is safe to buy from authorised resellers.

For those from the UK, you may be charged non-sterling transaction and purchase fees when buying goods online which are priced in euros. For example, NatWest charges 2.75% in fees when purchasing goods/services online with a foreign currency.



Trezor One vs Trezor Model T

Here are the main differences between the Trezor Model T vs Trezor One:

Trezor Model T supports more cryptocurrencies.

Trezor Model T has a full-colour touchscreen.

You enter the PIN on passphrase on the Trezor Model T touchscreen.

If you need to enter your recovery seed, you’ll do so on the Trezor Model T touchscreen.

Trezor Model T has a microSD slot.

The colour touchscreen is a significant upgrade. Unlike with the Trezor One, you can enter your PIN, passphrase, and recovery seed through the touchscreen.

The Trezor Model T also runs on a firmware dubbed ‘Trezor Core’. That’ll make it easier for the Trezor Model T to support more cryptocurrencies and expand its functionality over time.

Alternatives

The most popular and well-recommended Trezor Model T alternatives are the Trezor One and Ledger Nano S.

But honestly? There are two other excellent alternatives you should check out.

Coldcard (super-secure bitcoin hardware wallet).

CoolWallet S (mobile hardware wallet)

Other options include:

Summary: Is the Trezor Model T Worth It?

Even though the Trezor Model T is great, is it really worth the extra £100?

When I started putting together this Trezor Model T review, I didn’t think so. But by the time I’d finished writing this review, I’d changed my mind.

There’s two main reasons I changed my mind:

The touchscreen makes it easier and more intuitive to use.

The Trezor Model T supports popular cryptocurrencies which the Trezor One doesn’t like Monero (XMR) and Ripple (XRP).

If you’re buying your first cryptocurrency hardware wallet, it makes sense to future-proof yourself by buying something like the Trezor Model T. Because it uses a developer-friendly operating system, it seems to get more altcoin support than the Trezor One.

But what if you don’t care about that?

In that case, check out these alternatives:

What Do You Think?

We hope this Trezor Model T review has been helpful.

Have any questions about the Trezor Model T?

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Thanks for reading.