Setting up a mobile wallet, step by step

Setting up a mobile wallet takes about fifteen minutes. Most of that time should go on one thing: recording the seed phrase properly. This lesson walks through the whole process.

Before you start

Have a pen and paper ready. Not a notes app.
Be somewhere private, away from cameras and other people.
Allow enough time to finish without rushing.

Step 1: Prepare the phone

Install any pending system updates. Make sure the phone has a screen lock with a PIN or biometric. A wallet on an unlocked, out-of-date phone is poorly protected.

Step 2: Install the real app

Go to the wallet's official website and follow its link to the app store, as Lesson 26 described. Check the developer's name before you install.

Step 3: Create a new wallet

Open the app and choose "create new wallet". Do not choose "import" or "restore" unless you are deliberately recovering an old wallet.

Step 4: Write down the seed phrase

The app will show 12 or 24 words.

Write each word on paper, numbered, in order.
Do not take a screenshot or a photo.
Do not copy the words to the clipboard or type them anywhere.
Check each word against the screen when you finish.

The app will usually ask you to confirm some of the words. This is the one moment it is normal to enter them.

Step 5: Lock the app

Set the app's own PIN or biometric lock. This stops someone who picks up your unlocked phone from opening the wallet. It does not protect the seed phrase, which works without the phone.

Step 6: Store the paper

Put the paper somewhere safe and private now, not later. Lesson 30 covers storage in detail.

Step 7: Receive a small amount

Tap "receive" to see your address. Send a small amount to it from your exchange, choosing the matching network. Lesson 35 walks through a withdrawal. Wait for it to appear.

Step 8: Test the backup

This is the step most people skip. It is the one that tells you whether the backup works.

Delete the wallet from the app, or uninstall the app.
Reinstall it and choose "restore".
Enter the words from your paper.
Check that the same address and balance appear.

If they do, your backup works. If they do not, you have found out while only a small amount is at stake.

Step 9: Use it sensibly

Keep only modest amounts on a phone wallet.
Keep the app and the phone updated.
Never enter the seed phrase again unless you are restoring.

If you get stuck

Do not ask for help in a way that exposes you. People who message you privately offering support, or ask you to share your screen, are scammers. Use the wallet's official documentation.

No real helper will ever need your seed phrase.