Verlorene und gestohlene Ledger-Geräte: Sind meine Krypto sicher?

If you have a Ledger signer, you likely take care of it, either keeping it in a safe drawer, amongst your favorite possessions, or on your person at all times.

But hey – we’re all human, and mistakes are a part of life. So what happens if you lose your Ledger signer? Or worse, what if it is stolen? You might think your crypto disappears with the device or that someone else could access your private keys.

While it’s an understandable concern, there’s no need to fret: your crypto is just fine.

But you may be wondering, what do I do next? In this article, Ledger Academy explains exactly what happens if you ever lose your Ledger  signer, some steps you can take to mitigate any potential catastrophe and how to stay secure no matter what.

What Happens If I Lose My Ledger signer?

If you have just lost your Ledger signer, you might be worried your crypto is lost with it. But let us put you at ease: your crypto is not stored on or in your Ledger signer. 

Your signer simply stores the private keys that let you control the funds stored with the associated addresses on the blockchain. That means your crypto still exists safely on the blockchain! Losing access to your signer doesn’t change that. However, if you want to regain access to your accounts you will need your Secret Recovery Phrase (seed phrase). Your secret recovery phrase lets you recover your accounts using any wallet, any device and any provider. It’s like the master key to your accounts. That’s why protecting it is extremely important….but more on that later.

What if my Ledger signer is Stolen, Can the Thief Access My Crypto?

No, even if your Ledger signer is stolen, the thief can’t access your accounts. This is due to a few key reasons:

Ledger-Geräte haben einen PIN-Code

The first barrier for a thief is your Ledger signer’s PIN code. 

When you initiate your Ledger signer’s onboarding process, it prompts you to set up a PIN code. The PIN code is between 4 to 8 digits, and all Ledger signers require users to enter it before taking any action such as sending transactions, connecting to Ledger Wallet™ or installing apps. Simply, it stops any thief accessing your device—even if they physically get hold of it.

Your signer will wipe itself after 3 unsuccessful PIN code attempts

If an attacker were to try and guess your PIN code they would only have three attempts. Following the third attempt, the signer resets automatically, wiping all existing data. Besides, do you have any idea how difficult it is to guess an 8-digit code correctly? The chances are roughly 1 in 100 million. 

To understand more, check out this tutorial on how to change your Ledger PIN. Put simply, if you lose your Ledger, this PIN code will keep access to your crypto safeguarded.

Ledger-Geräte enthalten einen Secure Element-Chip

Even if you’re dealing with a sophisticated hacker, don’t fret. Ledger signers use a tamper-resistant Secure Element chip to store your private keys. These are the same chips you’ll find across biometric passports, bank cards, and other industries that require data to be protected thoroughly. Their in-built security features make it extremely difficult for hackers to extract useful information or make the signer act unexpectedly, offering protection against countless physical hacks such as side-channel attacks and glitching. 

Just like if it is lost, a stolen Ledger signer is nothing to worry about. You can recover your accounts on a new signer using your Secret Recovery Phrase (seed phrase).

Restoring Lost or Stolen Accounts with a Secret Recovery Phrase (Seed Phrase)

When you first set up a Ledger signer, it will prompt you to write down a list of 24 words. This is known as a Secret Recovery Phrase or seed phrase. These words are important to note down accurately and in order. They act as the master keys for your account, allowing you to restore all the accounts you have ever created (and will create) with a single set of words.

As long as you have stored your secret recovery phrase safely, you can restore your accounts without the original signer.

However, if you don’t have the seed phrase corresponding to your lost or stolen signer, your crypto really is gone.

That’s why looking after that seed phrase is imperative. Without proper seed phrase storage, your crypto is at risk.

How to Ensure You don’t lose access to your accounts through loss or theft

So now you know, that losing your signer is no big deal. The real threat is not protecting your seed phrase effectively. To make sure you’re never in that situation, there are a few different ways you can protect yourself:

Ein Gerät als Sicherheitskopie nutzen

The first method of protecting your accounts is creating a backup signer. This is usually the easiest and most effective way of insuring yourself against loss and theft. 

All you have to do is import the seed phrase of your existing signer on a second Ledger signer, essentially creating a duplicate. That way, you can leave one of them in a safe place, and if the original device is lost or stolen, you still have access to your accounts on another.

Just choose “restore” while initializing the signer, and input your existing wallet’s secret recovery phrase. This will recover all of your existing crypto accounts on the second signer. 

However, it’s important to note that this method is limited, since you can only create more duplicate devices if you have access to your secret recovery phrase. If you lose your secret recovery phrase, you will rely entirely on your access to these devices.

Ledger Recovery Key

Ledger Recovery Key is a PIN-protected physical card offering secure storage of your 24-word Secret Recovery Phrase (SRP) in a Secure Element chip. Complementing the standard Recovery Sheet, it provides a secure, offline storage method for recovering access to your cryptocurrency wallet if your Ledger signer is lost or stolen.

Put simply, it allows you to restore your accounts on a new Ledger signer with a simple tap. 

The Ledger Recovery Key is available for free with the latest Ledger Stax or Ledger Flex signer. With it, you take full control of your digital value, and ease the burden of handling a written down, eligible seed phrase, with peace of mind and a tech-forward future-proof backup plan for your seed phrase.

Ledger Recover ausprobieren

Another option for accessing your crypto without your signer is Ledger Recover provided by Coincover. Ledger Recover is a paid optional service that offers a way to back up your wallet access. That way, you can access your wallet, anytime, anywhere without compromising ownership of your assets.

Ledger Recover lets you regain access to your accounts by generating a digital spare key securely in the secure element chip, encrypting it and fragmenting it into three separate parts—still within the secure environment of the secure element. At this point, the encrypted fragments can be sent through secure encrypted channels to three Hardware Security Models (HSMs) managed by independent backup providers in 3 separate countries for safekeeping.

When a Ledger Recover user wants to regain access to their accounts, they can initiate the recovery process on a new Ledger signer and follow an ID verification process which simply checks if the person recovering the account is the same person who signed up to Ledger Recover—and no more than that. 

This  allows you to enjoy all the benefits of self-custody without the burden of protecting your seed phrase—such as those that want to access their accounts overseas after leaving their main device at home, or those that don’t have a safe place to store their secret recovery phrase at home at all.

Wenn du dein Ledger-Gerät verlierst, bedeutet das nicht, dass deine Krypto weg sind

So there you have it – did you lose your Ledger device? No problem! Losing your Ledger device does not mean losing your crypto! Your PIN code prevents anyone else from using the device, and your Secret Recovery Phrase allows you to recover your accounts on a new device. Nobody can access your crypto and you still can, because that’s what self-custody is all about.