Ledger Hardware Wallet Review and User Guide
Ledger Review: Overview
In this Ledger review we cover Ledger hardware wallets, their security, customer service, additional products and more. You will also find out how to set up your Ledger wallet and transfer funds onto it.
Ledger have their pros and cons. However they produce the most popular cryptocurrency hardware wallets. They are the Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Nano X.
Moreover Ledger are growing to include more services. For example crypto credit cards and support for NFTs. As a result they are going to make the experience of using and transacting with your cryptocurrency much easier.
Ledger Review: Ledger Hardware Wallets
Ledger wallets are consistently rated as one of the best hardware wallets on the market. Here is why:
Ledger Nano S & Nano X
Independently certified security
Most popular wallet – 4 million+ customers
Ledger also provide a downloadable application called Ledger Live which is available on both desktop and mobile. It works in sync with your Ledger hardware wallet.
Ledger Live allows you to have full control of your cryptocurrency. Moreover the Ledger hardware wallet will provide the best form of protection to safe guard your funds.
The hardware wallet paired with Ledger Live works similarly to your bank account. Except it has some added functions. It makes sending, receiving, buying, exchanging, staking and lending crypto easier and hence faster.
Ledger Review: What coins are supported
Ledger Nano hardware wallets support more than 1,800 coins and tokens. Of course they support the main coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum. They also have support for popular cryptos like Polkadot, Dash and Solana among many others.
Moreover more coins are continually added to the list of supported coins by Ledger.
How to Set Up Your Ledger
Once you receive your Ledger in the mail you should check that the seal is still intact. If it is not – don’t use it. Make sure you get in touch with Ledger and ask for it to be exchanged. This is for security reasons, otherwise if someone tampered with it you could lose your funds.
When you unbox your hardware wallet you will find instructions inside on how to set it up. Alternatively you can watch how to set up your wallet by following these videos here below.
How to Transfer Your Crypto Onto Your Hardware Wallet
To transfer your cryptos you will need to access your hardware wallet to find your wallet address. Note that you have to make sure you use the right wallet address. If you use the wrong wallet address you could lose your funds.
So if you bought a large amount of crypto it is best to transfer only a small amount to make sure you have the correct address. Once the initial funds have transferred successfully then you can transfer the rest of the funds using the same address.
Firstly you will need to login to your Ledger. Then you may need to download the relevant cryptocurrency application if it is not already installed. If it is not installed you can have a look at the video here below to see how it is done. Although this is showing the mobile application for Ledger Live, you will have the same options on the desktop version.
Once you have your application loaded onto your Ledger you can then move onto transferring the funds.
Ledger Review: Security
Wallet security
The French Network and Information Security Agency (ANSSI) are an independent body. They are hired by companies to evaluate their information technology products. To clarify ANSSI have a reputation to uphold and only certify products of highest level. Only if a product meets industry security standards will they provide third party certification.
ANSSI evaluated the Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X hardware wallets. They awarded them with the highest level of certification that can be attained on products made by French companies.
The reason why Ledger wallets are not susceptible to being hacked is because they are basic devices. They are ‘dumbed down’ and have very little functionality. They just receive crypto, store and send.
As a result there is so little code to check that it is impossible for hackers to find vulnerabilities. Additionally the wallet stores the crypto in what is known as cold storage.
This is the best form of security you can get for your cryptocurrency. The Ledger wallet will only release funds when you authorise it to do so.
Site security
The Ledger Nano S and X hardware wallet security is top notch. However Ledger’s website was hacked on 25th June 2020 as mentioned on Bitcoin.com news.
To clarify the hacker only got hold of information database information. It affected anyone that bought Ledger devices. The hacker got hold of client names, emails, phone numbers and physical addresses. As a result clients ended up getting spammed via email by hackers.
However this was an information breach. It did not affect any Ledger Nano device or Ledger Live. As mentioned this is hard to virtually impossible to hack the Ledger device.
Ledger do have a bug bounty program to find any bugs or vulnerabilities on their site. So they do make their best effort to keep their house in order. Unfortunately this vulnerability went under the radar.
The only way to compromise your cryptocurrency on your Ledger is if you respond to scammers. Do not provide any information to anyone via email. Additionally do not click any links in any emails to update or sign in to anything.
Manage Your Crypto With Ledger Live
For this Ledger review we need to go through Ledger Live. Like this you will be able to get a better idea of how the whole thing works. Most importantly so that you feel more familiar and comfortable with the transition to owning crypto.
Once you receive your device at home you can begin setting up your Ledger Nano device. To clarify inside the Ledger Nano box is a note that will direct you to hop online onto ledger.com/start. You will need to follow the step by step instructions to set it up.
One of the things you will need to do is download Ledger Live. When you pair your Ledger Nano with Ledger Live you can easily and safely send, receive and store your cryptocurrency. Moreover Ledger Live will allow you to execute many more functions which we will cover shortly.
Ledger Live has the look and feel of an online banking account. For example here are a couple of screen shots for you to view the interface:
The interface of Ledger Live is clean, well-organised and easy to understand. You can have a look at the interface on mobile and how it works on this short video.
As you can see from the screen shots there are several menu options in Ledger Live. They are: Portfolio, Accounts, Send, Receive, Buy / Sell, Swap and Manager.
Portfolio
Here you will see the overall value of all your crypto assets in real time. Additionally you can set the fiat currency you would like to view your portfolio in. Whether that’s EUR, GBP or USD or anything else.
You can change the currency displayed by going to settings. Settings can be changed by using the cog icon at the top right.
Accounts
Under the accounts section you will be able to add the different cryptocurrency accounts. You can add all the cryptos you own or the ones you would like to monitor.
When you add an account Ledger Live will display how much of each crypto you have. Additionally how much each is worth in real time.
When you go to add an account you have to make sure the crypto app is currently on your Ledger. You will need to go to “Manager” to do add or remove apps as needed. Any accounts that are added will contribute to the value of your overall portfolio.
Send
Use the send option when you want to send coins from your Ledger. You will have to pick the cryptocurrency.
If you want to make a payment or transfer coins from your Ledger you go to ‘send’ in the menu. You will have to pick the cryptocurrency you want to send. After that simply input the address of the wallet you want to send it to.
You will need to confirm you want to send the coins. Hence Ledger Live will ask you to plug in your Ledger into the desktop computer. Or connect it with Bluetooth to your mobile. This is for security reasons.
To clarify Ledger Live does not hold your coins. Additionally the Ledger Nano device interacts with the blockchain of the crypto. It tells it what to do with the coins or tokens. However only if you approve it by using the Ledger Nano device. This makes it highly secure.
Receive
If you want to receive coins into your account you will need to go to ‘receive’ in the menu. After that you will be prompted to select the crypto you want to receive. Ledger Live will give you the address you will need to send it to.
Note that it is safe to share this address with third parties for them to send you crypto. However you may not necessarily want to share the address publicly.
Manager
You can add and remove crypto apps on the Ledger as you need from the Manager.
To clarify just because you delete an application it does not mean that you lose your coins. If you reinstall the app you can have access to your crypto again.
Swap
Here you are able to exchange one crypto with another. Ledger Live will ask you to login to your Ledger device to do this.
Ledger Review: Additional services
Crypto Debit Card
Ledger partnered with Baanx to create a cryptocurrency debit card. It is called Crypto Life or CL. It will be available in the first quarter of 2022 in the UK, Germany and France. In the second quarter it will be available in the US.
The Ledger hardware wallet enables you to manage your funds easily. However with the CL card you have even more flexibility. You will be able to spend your cryptocurrency anywhere at any time. That means not just in places online that accept only cryptocurrency.
That is to say you would be able to spend your crypto instore or online where crypto is not accepted. That is because with the card account you will have the ability to exchange crypto to fiat.
As a result you will be able to spend your card anywhere that accept credit card payments. That would mean over 50 million places worldwide.
NFTs
Since NFTs are stored on the blockchain you can also control them using Ledger hardware wallet. With you Ledger hardware wallet you will be able to secure and enjoy full ownership of your NFTs. Additionally you will be able to manage and view them. It is not only the Ethereum blockchain that supports NFT’s, other blockchain support them as well and Ledger supports a lot of the most popular ones.
Comparing Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X
Ledger currently has two models of hardware wallets it sells – the Ledger Nono S and Ledger Nano X. The devices looks almost the same, but they are priced differently and where built to serve different needs.
The Ledger Nano S is more of an entry level device for beginners. Those that would like to try a Ledger hardware wallet device without spending that much money.
On the other hand the Ledger Nano X is for anyone that would like to have access to their crypto. This means at anytime and anywhere on the go which is rather handy. This is because the Ledger Nano X can connect to your mobile phone’s Ledger Live app via Bluetooth.
Here is detailed information of the differences between one and the other. Details and features that are the same on both wallets have been left out to make things simpler:
| Ledger Nano S | Ledger Nano X |
| €59 including VAT | €119 including VAT |
| Securely holds crypto assets Stores between 3-20 crypto apps at any given time | Securely trade on-the-go Stores up to 100 apps |
| Manage 1800+ coins and tokens | Manage 1800+ coins and tokens |
| Bluetooth: N/A | Bluetooth: enabled compatibility with Ledger Live for Mobile |
| Certified by ANSSI | Certified by ANSSI |
| Pin code and 24 word recovery phrase for security | Pin code and 24 word recovery phrase for security |
| Screen: 128×32 | Screen: 128×64 |
| Size: 57 x 17.4 x 9.1 mm | Size: 72 x 18.6 x 11.75 mm |
| Weight: 16.2g | Weight: 34g |
| USB type micro-B connector (supplied in the box) | USB type C connector (supplied in the box) |
| Battery: N/A | Battery: 8 hours in standby mode |
What are people saying about Ledger?
There have been a lot of positive reviews about the Ledger hardware wallets and Ledger in general. Here are some of the most notable comments that have been made publicly by prominent media outlets.
Ledger makes sure private keys never become accessible to thieves, online or anywhere else
Bloomberg
Combines high-end security with ease of use
Coindesk
Ledger Review: Customer Service
Ledger devices usually work well without a hitch. It is as a result of the device being quite basic which is expected. However there are times when they do not work.
There are some complaints online about the device not working. Albeit there are not that many. For the millions of Ledger Nano units sold there are barely any complaints.
On the other hand there are more complaints about customer service. Unfortunately mediocre of bad customer service seems to be a feature within the cryptocurrency space. This is until the space grows and improves.
People online feel that Ledger is not at all responsive. You may need to chase them. This is something I experienced myself personally also.
If your device is faulty and stuck without access to your funds you should reorder a new Ledger device. Perhaps it would be better to have a spare device just in case.
Ledger Review Conclusion
To conclude we feel Ledger Nano devices are great devices overall. Most importantly because they are secure while at the same time allowing you to manage your assets easily. That is whether coins or tokens or NFTs.
It is not a surprise why Ledger devices are the most popular hardware wallet devices. Especially considering that Ledger are expanding their services and making crypto much more user friendly.
Certainly there is always room for improvement. Certain things still need to become even more user friendly. Ledger already makes crypto easier to use, but there are some aspects that still need some improvement. Additionally Ledgers customer service also needs improvement.
However weighing out the pros and cons we definitely recommend Ledger. In fact I have owned a Ledger device for years and love the device. In my case it has been a hassle free device.
If you would like to buy a Ledger hardware wallet device you can go to the Ledger store.
