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DocumentationDesktop ApplicationSetup ScreensCreating Your Wallet

Creating Your Wallet

“Follow the prompts on your KeepKey device screen. Write down the seed words carefully — they are your backup.”

Write down the seed phrase

The desktop application is now a spectator. Everything real happens on the device screen, and the app is telling you to look at it.

Write down every word

“Your recovery phrase is showing on the device screen. Write each word on paper. This is your ONLY backup — you will NOT see these words again.”

That warning is literal. The words are shown once, during this step, and the device will not display them again afterward. There is no “show my seed” feature — by design, because a device that can be asked to reveal its seed is a device that an attacker can ask too.

While the words are on screen:

  • Write them in order, numbered. Order is part of the secret.
  • Check each word’s spelling against the device as you write it.
  • Do not photograph the screen. Not “just until I write it down later.”
  • Do not walk away and leave the device displaying the phrase.

If you’re recovering instead

“Follow the prompts on your KeepKey device screen. Enter your recovery seed phrase using the device.”

You’ll be entering words through the scrambled cipher grid. See Scrambled Recovery Entry for how the grid works and what to do when a word won’t take.

Recovering wallet

You will also set a PIN here

Partway through, the device asks for a PIN and then asks you to confirm it — entered through the scrambled 3×3 grid. See Your PIN is Scrambled if the grid is confusing, and pick something you will actually remember.

Confirm the PIN

If something goes wrong

“Device disconnected. Plug it back in to continue, or go back to try again.”

The USB connection dropped mid-flow. Plug the device back in — the wizard is watching for it and will pick up where it can. If it can’t, use Go Back to return to the setup choice and start the flow over.

A cable that only powers, a loose port, or a USB hub is the usual cause. Try a different cable and a port directly on the machine.

“Failed to create wallet” / “Failed to recover wallet”

Return to the setup choice and retry. Nothing partial was written that a fresh attempt can’t replace. If it fails repeatedly:

  • Confirm the device is on current firmware — see Firmware Updates
  • On Linux, check your udev rules — see Linux Tips
  • Try a different cable and port before assuming a hardware fault

Recovery specifically fails at the end: the phrase was accepted word-by-word but the checksum didn’t validate. That means a word is wrong or out of order. Recheck your written backup against the BIP39 wordlist and try again — the phrase itself is almost always the problem, not the device.

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