Block Bitkey

Open the Security hub (the shield icon on the Home screen) after setup and from time to time, even when the shield shows no notification dot: a cleared dot doesn’t mean every recommendation is resolved.

What to check

• Cloud BackupGreen: healthyFlagged: open it and follow the fixCloud Health Check monitors it when you open the app and in the background. Healthy means the backup is available, not that a recovery has been tested.
• Emergency Exit KitGreen: healthyFlagged: open it and follow the fixThe kit you would use if Bitkey’s app or service were unavailable.
• Recovery ContactActive on both phonesOptional at setup, but needed if you lose both your phone and the hardware. Invite from Security hub → Recovery Contacts → Invite, approve with the hardware and share the invitation. Your contact accepts in the Bitkey app: an existing Bitkey user opens the link and approves with their unlocked hardware; a new user installs the app, chooses More options → Enter the invite code and follows its invitation prompts. After they accept, reopen your app and check that you both see each other listed as Active.

You can add up to three contacts; one active contact is enough. They help decrypt your cloud-backed app key during recovery and never get access to your funds. You still need your cloud backup. If an invitation expires, remove it and invite them again.

Keep access to the original cloud account and to the email or other channels you use for critical alerts.

Tap Receive in the app to show your bitcoin address. Receiving needs no hardware approval, but the touchscreen Bitkey lets you check the address on the device first; older screenless devices offer no hardware check.

On the touchscreen model

1. Tap Verify and hold your unlocked Bitkey to the phone.
2. Compare the full address on the device with the one in the app. If they don’t match, stop.
3. Copy or share the address you checked.

If someone else is paying you, ask them to compare the full address entered on their sending screen with the address you supplied and check the network, amount and fees before approving. For a new destination, ask them to use the small-test checks below. Confirm that the test is credited to your intended Bitkey wallet before they send the rest, and ask them to recheck the network, full address, amount and fees. If the address differs or the request is unclear, stop and check it together.

If you are withdrawing from your own exchange or wallet, use its bitcoin sending form and check the network. Enter the checked Bitkey address and compare the full entered address with the one you checked, then review the amount and fees. For a new destination, follow the small-test guide below before approving; it covers the test amount, arrival and recheck before sending the rest.

A broadcast payment appears as pending on the Home screen and changes when confirmed. Use Refresh in the receive screen’s top-right corner to get a new address for the next payment and reduce address reuse.

Transfer without hardware is optional. It lets the app and Bitkey’s service approve payments up to a daily limit you set, without the device. Anyone who can use the Bitkey app on your unlocked phone could spend within that limit.

• Turn it onSettings → Transfers: enable it, choose a daily limit and confirm the limit with your device.
• Within the limitThe app and Bitkey’s service approve eligible payments while the day’s total stays within your limit.
• Above the limitYou need the device if this payment would take the day’s total beyond your limit, or whenever additional approval is required.
• Turn it offReturn to the same Transfers screen and switch it off.

Choose the route by what you still have. Cloud Recovery restores your existing wallet from its encrypted app-key backup; Delay + Notify replaces a lost app or hardware key and moves your funds to a new wallet after a security waiting period. Never choose Set up new wallet to get existing funds back.

After Delay + Notify, Bitkey creates new keys, updates the cloud backup and saves a new Emergency Exit Kit. Give exchanges and other senders a newly generated receiving address, and check the backup statuses again.

Watch your critical alerts during the waiting period. If you did not request a recovery, cancel it using Bitkey’s guidance below.

If Bitkey’s app or service is unavailable, the Emergency Exit Kit moves your funds to another wallet using your existing app and hardware keys. It doesn’t replace lost keys; for that, use the recovery routes above.

What you need

• The current kit PDFIt’s stored in your cloud account. Bitkey updates it after Delay + Notify changes your keys; an older saved copy describes the old keys.
• Your working BitkeyThe hardware is used to decrypt the app key.
• An NFC Android deviceThe standalone utility doesn’t run on iOS. iPhone users can retrieve the PDF from iCloud and use an Android device for this step.
• Internet accessThe utility is installed outside the app store and doesn’t use Bitkey’s servers.

Before you need it, check the kit’s status in the Security hub and make sure you can retrieve the current PDF. When using the kit, follow its instructions to obtain and verify the standalone utility before using your hardware to decrypt the app key and move funds.

Inheritance lets you name one beneficiary in the Bitkey app. They need their own Bitkey wallet—hardware and app—to accept the invitation. They cannot see your balance or access the funds before the six-month security period ends and Bitkey releases the encrypted app key.

Bitkey calls Inheritance a companion to traditional estate planning, and advises consulting an estate-planning professional about local requirements.

Firmware updates and app updates are separate: updating the phone app doesn’t update the device. Check Security hub → Bitkey Device → About for the installed version.

1. When an update is offered, the Security hub shows Update firmware and an orange dot on the device tile. Tap it and choose Update.
2. Approve with the unlocked hardware, including any confirmation on the touchscreen.
3. Keep the phone and Bitkey in NFC contact unless the app tells you to separate them for a step. Return it to the phone when instructed, then check About again for the installed version and any remaining update notice.

Upgrading needs the old and new Bitkey devices and no pending transactions. Before starting, read the official upgrade guide linked below for its requirements and fund transfer steps. Authorising the upgrade with the old device makes it irreversible. Start in Security hub → Bitkey device → Upgrade device and follow the app’s new-device setup prompts. Then authorise with your unlocked old device and complete verification with your unlocked new device as the app directs.

After these upgrade approvals, the app checks your wallet. If it has more than 200 UTXOs (unspent parts of your current bitcoin balance), follow its guided consolidation to fewer than 200; wait for those transactions to confirm, then return to the upgrade flow. If the app offers a fund transfer, review the network fee and approve with your old device. If the balance is too low to cover that fee, the upgrade and cloud-backup update can still finish with funds in the previous wallet. Check the result and follow the official guide’s steps for it.