KeepKey

KeepKey works with KeepKey Desktop on a Windows, macOS or Linux computer. Connect it with a USB data cable, which also supplies operating power. The app prepares transactions and shows your accounts; the hardware provides the screen and button for checking and approving requests.

The current app requires Windows 10 or later, 64-bit; macOS 13 or later; or Linux x86_64 with glibc 2.35 or newer. On a Mac, choose the arm64 installer for Apple Silicon or x64 for Intel. Installer files may still say KeepKey Vault: that is the current companion app.

KeepKey’s phone app can show your accounts. Its current instructions leave it unclear how to get a transaction from the phone to the device for approval. Use the computer USB setup described here, or compare Flex below for Bluetooth signing from your phone.

The Classic-finish store offer includes the KeepKey device, a USB cable, two recovery cards and a quick-start guide. The cards give you a place to record your own new recovery words during setup.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are supported in the documented KeepKey Desktop computer routine. To receive, choose Receive on the intended asset card. Compare the complete address shown in Desktop with the address on KeepKey before sharing it with the sender.

Bitcoin receiving choices include Legacy, SegWit and Native SegWit accounts. Choose the account type you intend to fund; these use different address paths. When withdrawing from an exchange, select the supported coin or token you want to receive and a withdrawal network matching the receiving account’s network. A name such as USDT alone does not determine that network.

The address QR in Desktop helps the sender copy the receiving details. It is not a QR signing connection. Once the checked address is shared, KeepKey does not need to stay connected while the incoming transfer arrives on the blockchain.

For a new wallet, choose Create New Wallet in Desktop. Expand Seed length to choose 12, 18 or 24 words. KeepKey recommends 12 as the default. The device generates and displays the words for you to write down in order. This is a BIP39 recovery phrase: one ordered word list used to restore the wallet if the device is lost or replaced.

For an existing backup, choose Recover Existing Wallet on a new or wiped KeepKey and select 12, 18 or 24 to match the phrase exactly. KeepKey uses the English BIP39 wordlist. During recovery, the device’s scrambled alphabet tells you which mapped letters to enter in Desktop. Follow the dedicated cipher procedure below; the real words are not entered in an ordinary text field.

Restoring the words and finding the original accounts are separate parts of the task. Use the original assets, networks and supported account/address paths, then compare the receiving addresses with the originals. If you used a hidden-wallet passphrase, you need that exact passphrase too.

Use Verify Now during setup, or the backup check under Settings → Device later. Read from your written record and follow the device-guided check. The result tells you whether that record matches the recovery phrase held by KeepKey; this is a check, not a new-wallet creation or restoration.

If the check does not match, keep a funded device intact while you review the written order and retry the documented check. Do not wipe it to test recovery.

A passphrase is an optional additional recovery password. KeepKey combines it with your recovery words to open a separate wallet with its own addresses and accounts. Enable BIP-39 Passphrase under Desktop’s Settings → Security; the app then asks you to enter it whenever you unlock. Different spelling, capitalization or spaces open a different wallet rather than producing a wrong-password error.

To restore those accounts, retain the original words and exactly the same passphrase. Before funding a hidden wallet, note its receiving address, disconnect and reconnect KeepKey, enter the passphrase again and check that the same address returns. This checks that you can reproduce the hidden wallet; it is separate from checking the written recovery words.

KeepKey Desktop is the computer app; firmware is the software on KeepKey. The device’s bootloader provides its update mode. Each has its own version number. For the app, use Settings → Application → App Version → Check for Updates and follow the update or installer prompts for your computer. KeepKey Desktop also handles device updates, replacing the retired KeepKey Client and KeepKey Updater.

Update the device

1. Before a device update, confirm your written backup with the check described above.
2. When the current KeepKey Desktop app offers a device update in the portfolio, follow that prompt’s instructions. To enter bootloader mode when asked, unplug KeepKey, hold its button and reconnect while holding it.
3. If Desktop flags an outdated bootloader, complete its guided bootloader update before proceeding to device firmware.
4. Read the selected published firmware version in Desktop, choose Install Official Firmware and compare the version displayed on KeepKey with the app’s selection. Confirm on the device only if the versions match, and wait with KeepKey connected until installation finishes.
5. When Desktop asks you to reconnect afterward, plug KeepKey in normally without holding the button; holding it would return to bootloader mode.

A retired ShapeShift-era app also used the KeepKey Desktop name and can hold the USB connection; quit old software if the current app cannot open the device.