Back up your wallet so loss and theft are both covered

The backup can recreate access to the wallet

For a wallet with recovery words, those words are enough to restore its signing keys when used with the correct wallet format and any required passphrase. Replacing a broken device is usually possible. Replacing a lost backup is not, unless you still have another functioning way to access the wallet.

Treat a complete backup as a bearer credential. Anyone who obtains it may spend the funds without your original device or its PIN. An exchange password reset cannot recover a self-custody wallet.

Choose storage for the risks in your home

Paper is inexpensive and readable, but vulnerable to water, fire, fading, and accidental disposal. A suitable metal backup can improve resistance to physical damage. It does not provide secrecy: someone who can read it can use it.

For ordinary word-based hardware-wallet setups, keep the backup offline. Photos, email drafts, shared notes, and cloud drives create copies you may not remember making. A digital copy can also outlive a deleted file through synchronization or backups.

More copies improve recovery and increase exposure

Decide how many backups you can protect and place them where one incident will not destroy all of them. A second secure location can help with a fire or local flood, but only if access and physical security are appropriate.

Do not apply a generic “3-2-1” rule by creating uncontrolled copies. Do not cut a phrase into improvised halves and assume it is a sound secret-sharing scheme. Use a supported multi-share backup only when you understand its threshold, compatibility, and recovery procedure.

Make the backup verifiable

Check the recorded word order, then use the device’s official backup-check procedure if available. Perform the verification in private through the manufacturer’s trusted workflow. A website offering to “validate” the words is not a place to type them.

• Confirm the complete backup before you depend on the wallet for meaningful funds.
• Note the backup standard and whether an additional passphrase is in use.
• Use a supported backup check rather than wiping your only working device.
• Review physical condition and access arrangements periodically, especially after moving home.

A passphrase is a separate recovery requirement

On compatible wallets, an additional passphrase derives a different wallet. A misspelling may open another, empty wallet rather than produce a clear error. The recovery words alone will not restore the wallet protected by the missing passphrase.

If you choose this feature, make a plan for exact spelling, case, storage, and future access. Keeping it separately from the recovery words can reduce the impact of a stolen backup, but separation also creates another way to lose access.

Leave instructions without publishing the keys

A trusted person should be able to discover that the wallet exists and understand the recovery process if you are unavailable. Keep general instructions separate from the secrets. Avoid including a readable phrase in documents that many people or service providers will see.

If you think a complete backup has been exposed, creating another paper copy does not fix the problem. Create a fresh wallet through a trusted process and move the remaining assets after verifying the destination. A PIN change alone does not invalidate the exposed words.

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