The recovery seed is an essential element of your and your TREZOR’s security. You may also argue that it could be the most important part because as much as it can be helpful as your device backup, if misused, it could be exploited to your detriment.

For this reason, it is necessary to follow a set of security precautions. By doing so, you are ensuring that your seed and therefore your funds, passwords and all your data associated with it will be safe from third parties. We understand that the concept of a recovery seed might be relatively new, and thus it might be difficult to know how it works. However, once you get used to is and learn enough about it, you have nothing to be afraid of.

First, let’s see what the recovery seed is. Skip to Tips ⟶

Understanding the recovery seed.

The recovery seed is a crucial element for the security of your TREZOR hardware wallet. If your device is lost, damaged or stolen, you can use your recovery seed to restore access to your entire wallet, passwords and other data associated with it. The process is simple; you only have to enter the words of your seed into your new TREZOR device. (You may also use any other wallets or applications that use the same standard as the TREZOR.)

How is this possible? The The recovery seed is the representation of your “master access key” in simple and rememberable 12 to 24 words. After all, it is much easier to write down a set of generic English words, compared to a complex string of numbers and letters.

As this is the master key, anyone with access to it can access your data. There are two implications: if you lose your recovery seed, you lose your backup. Moreover, if someone steals your recovery seed, they gain access to all your funds and data, even without needing your TREZOR device.

Therefore, it is important to keep your recovery seed safe — offline.

TREZOR device comes with a handy recovery seed booklet suitable for this purpose.

Writing down the recovery seed.

All sensitive data is generated by your device, all operations are processes by its processor, without leaking any information to the host device. The recovery seed, as well as all operations with it, is protected by this principle.

There is only one occasion when your TREZOR will divulge your recovery seed, and that is during the backup procedure. Keep in mind that you can just run the backup process once.

When you first set up your device, the TREZOR Wallet will prompt you to run the backup process. Be extremely careful during this procedure, and make sure you copy the words from the device display carefully. Make sure the words are spelled correctly and are in the right order.

Please run the backup process alone. Be aware of the environment around you; mind the various recording devices in your vicinity. Please note that there might be a camera or a microphone on your computer or your phone.

Protecting your recovery seed.

Now that you have your recovery seed backed up offline, it is time to think about physical protection. Different points of failure might apply here, like environmental threats. Sunlight, fire or water might damage your backup, depending on the material it is recorded into. For instance, we have reports of accidents, during which a house burned down, or the recovery seed was incidentally thrown out.

For this reason, we strongly recommend storing your recovery seed in a safe place with limited access. These are the essential points to consider: