Independent setup guide

Ledger.com/start — the calm route into self-custody

A plain-English walkthrough of the first sit-down with a hardware wallet: install Ledger Live, initialise the device, protect your recovery phrase, and verify every address before a single coin moves.

Start with step 01 Read the 200-word guide

This page never asks for a recovery phrase. Neither should any other.

Hardware wallet device photographed next to its packaging on a wooden desk
Step 01 · Ledger Live Install
Step 02 · Device Initialise
Step 03 · Recovery phrase Offline only
Step 04 · Address check On screen
Time needed ≈ 15 minutes
Core steps 4
Words to back up 24
Keys stored on device 100%
The reading · 200 words

Getting started with Ledger.com/start

The short version of the whole journey — the part worth reading before you open a box, plug anything in, or type an address anywhere.

On this page

Before you begin

  • A quiet room and an hour without interruptions
  • The device bought from an official source
  • Pen and paper — or a metal backup plate
  • No one else's eyes on the screen

Entry 01 · Ledger.com/start · Self-custody

Getting started with Ledger.com/start

Ledger.com/start is the entry point for anyone setting up a Ledger hardware wallet. The journey begins with the official Ledger Live application, which acts as the dashboard for your device and your accounts. Install Ledger Live on a computer or phone, then connect your device with the supplied cable or Bluetooth, depending on the model.

During first setup the device generates a recovery phrase — a sequence of words that restores your assets if the hardware is lost, stolen, or damaged. Write those words on the supplied sheet, keep them offline, and never type them into a website, chat or email. Store the sheet somewhere a fire or a flood is unlikely to reach, in private. Legitimate setup pages never ask for them.

Once initialised, you install apps for the coins you hold, create accounts, and receive funds to addresses shown and confirmed on the device screen. Verifying every address and transaction on the hardware screen is what makes self-custody meaningful: the private keys never leave the device.

From there, Ledger.com/start covers device management, firmware updates, portfolio tracking and recovery protection. Treat the process as a security habit rather than a one-time task, and your digital assets stay under your control.

Paper Key · independent guide
Not affiliated with Ledger SAS · no seed phrase input, ever

The four steps

Hardware wallet setup, step by step

Tick each one off as you go — your progress is saved in this browser so you can come back to it later.

0 of 4 steps complete
01

Install Ledger Live and connect the device

Download Ledger Live only from the official Ledger website or an official app store listing, then connect the device with the cable it shipped with. Search results and sponsored adverts are a common place for fake download pages.

Official download onlyDesktop & mobile
02

Initialise the device and write down the recovery phrase

Choose "set up as new device" and let the device generate the phrase itself. Write the words on paper in order, in private, and store them somewhere only you can reach. Never accept a phrase that arrives pre-filled.

Generated on deviceOffline backup
03

Install coin apps and add your accounts

Ledger Live asks the device to install the app for each cryptocurrency you hold. Add the accounts, give them clear names, then confirm the public address on the device screen before it is ever used.

One app per networkVerify on screen
04

Receive, then verify every transaction on the device

Send a small test amount first. For every transfer, read the address and amount on the hardware screen and approve it there — that single habit defeats address swapping and clipboard malware.

Test transferApprove on hardware
What each part protects

Cryptocurrency security, feature by feature

Six pieces of the setup, and the risk each one quietly removes from your week.

Device management

Firmware updates, app installs and screen checks all run through the device, so your computer only ever sends requests — never keys.

Recovery protection

Your recovery phrase is the only true backup. Keep it offline on paper or stamped metal, in one private place, never photographed.

Self custody

No custodian, no login, no counterparty risk. Whoever holds the keys holds the coins — which is exactly the trade you are signing up for.

Transaction verification

Every address and amount is shown on the device's own screen. Trusting the display over the computer is what stops clipboard swaps.

Firmware hygiene

Update only through Ledger Live, and only when the device is plugged in and asking for it. Skip firmware links sent by email or chat.

Responsible ownership

Small test transfers, a written record of what you own, and a plan for who can recover it if something happens to you.

Scam safety ledger

Four habits that protect everything

Hardware wallets are rarely broken by technology. They are lost to a message that looked official at the wrong moment.

Always

Type the official address yourself instead of clicking links in emails, adverts or direct messages.
Confirm every receiving address and transfer on the device screen before approving.
Test a small amount first whenever you use a new address or app.
Keep the recovery phrase offline, in one private place, and check it once a year.

Never

Type your recovery phrase into a website, chat, email, form or "wallet migration" page. Ever.
Photograph the phrase, save it in cloud notes, or keep it in a password manager.
Use a device that arrived with a phrase already written down, or with a damaged seal.
Trust anyone who DMs first with "support", a giveaway, or an urgent security warning.
The one rule that covers the rest

Anyone with your recovery phrase has your funds, instantly and permanently — no support team, exchange or wallet provider can reverse it. No genuine service will ever ask for those words, so a request for them is the scam itself. Close the page, block the sender, and carry on.

Beginner questions

Ledger.com/start, answered plainly

What exactly is Ledger.com/start?

It is the starting point of hardware wallet onboarding: install Ledger Live, initialise the device, back up the recovery phrase offline, then install coin apps and receive funds once the address has been verified on the device screen.

How long does setup take?

Most people complete the four core steps in around fifteen minutes. Budget longer if you are backing the phrase onto metal, and never rush the part where you write the words down.

Where should the recovery phrase be kept?

Offline, in one private place you can find without help — on paper in a sealed envelope or stamped into a metal plate that survives fire and water. Not in a screenshot, cloud note, email draft, password manager or chat thread.

Does the device hold my crypto?

No. Your assets live on the blockchain. The device stores the private keys that authorise transfers and keeps them away from your computer and phone, which is the whole point of a hardware wallet.

What happens if I lose the device?

You restore your accounts on a replacement device using the recovery phrase, and the funds are reachable again. Lose the phrase as well and the assets are gone for good — that is the one scenario with no recovery path.

Will support ever ask for my phrase?

No. No wallet provider, exchange or genuine support agent ever asks for a recovery phrase or private key. Treat any such request — however official it looks, however urgent it sounds — as fraud.

Ready when you are

Set up once, carefully — then it is just habit.

Install from the official source, back up offline, verify on the device, and test with a small amount before anything larger moves.

Walk through the steps