by 
Product Name: Ledger Nano S
Summary
The ledger team has stopped production of Ledger Nano S and released a new refined model called Ledger Nano S Plus for $79. It offers all the existing features of Ledger Nano S + more colors and some extra features.Â
Pros
- Budget-friendly
- Multi crypto wallet
Cons
The product is about to be discontinued. You should better buy Ledger Nano S plus , which is the new version by the Ledger team.
- Where should I store bitcoins for maximum safety?
- Is a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano S worth buying?
- Is Ledger Nano S Safe?
- How does Ledger Nano S work?
- Why can’t I leave my bitcoins on an exchange?
December 2022 update: Ledger Nano S Plus has replaced Ledger Nano S. Alternatively you can order a Ledger Nano X. Read a detailed Ledger Nano X review here.
These are just some of the many questions that we all go through when deciding to purchase a hardware wallet. Last year, I was also facing the same dilemma, and I wasn’t sure if I should be investing close to $69 to buy the Ledger Nano S.
This detailed and extensive review is designed so you can answer the very important question: “Should I buy the Ledger Nano S?”
But before anything else…
The backstory of how I evolved as a Bitcoin wallet user:
I always liked Bitcoin as a piece of technology, but I never intended to invest in or purchase any bitcoins. However, later on, after I discovered a few Bitcoin exchanges and became even more interested in technology, I finally decided to buy my first bitcoins. Initially, I stored them on exchanges.
But later, I learned that this is risky as there is no guarantee that they will still be there when I want to use them.
At that time, I started using the MyCelium mobile wallet to store these bitcoins. However, we all know how easy it is to hack a mobile phone. Being from the information technology field and having a keen interest in information security, I knew it was not wise to trust my mobile phone for holding large amounts of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
That is when I discovered paper wallets, which sounded like the best option for holding Bitcoin for a long period of time, but it still seemed a little too inconvenient.
After spending countless nights learning about different types of crypto wallets and which methods would keep my Bitcoin most secure, I discovered a simple hardware wallet: The Ledger Nano S.
Based on my research, this sounded like a solid wallet, but I didn’t want to believe in another’s words until I saw it being valuable myself. By that time, I held 2 bitcoins (each worth of $1200 at the time), and my investment on that Bitcoin had already doubled, so spending $59 was no problem at all.
I was like, “What the heck… Let me order this. In the worst-case scenario, I will be sharing a review and telling the world not to waste their money.” But oh boy, I was so far away from that worst-case scenario…
One fine day, I received my Ledger Nano S.
That same day, I transferred all of my bitcoins onto this newly purchased wallet.
It was very easy.
Within an hour, I was able to secure all of my bitcoins on my brand new Ledger Nano S.
- “Hey, Harsh! Should I buy Ledger Nano S?”
My answer is: Definitely.
Go ahead and order it right now.
While this wallet gives you complete security, it also gives you something even more priceless: Peace of mind.
Page Contents
Surprising Things About The Ledger Nano S
So what’s so special about the Ledger Nano S?
Aren’t all hardware wallets secure in an offline environment?
Well, here’s the difference:
- You can use the Ledger Nano S to store ETH, ETC, Dash, Ripple, Stratis, ZCash, Litecoin, NEO, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, Viacoin and a few other alt currencies (including BTC). You can see a complete list here.
- Because it’s an HD wallet, you control many accounts for all supported cryptocurrencies. This means that all cryptos stored here will be secure with the same backup key. So let’s say you are storing Bitcoin for your friends or family, you can label those account for them and keep them safe as if they were your own.
- Ledger supports all ERC tokens when used with MyEtherWallet. I have already tested this.
- Ledger is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS. It can also connect to your Android device using an OTG cable.
- To receive Bitcoin, your Ledger Nano S doesn’t need to be connected to a computer. You can receive Bitcoin even if your Ledger is offline.
Fine points based on our reader’s questions:
- You can store unlimited coins.
- When you update your wallet, you don’t need to transfer coins to anywhere. After updating and restoring, all the coins will reappear automatically.
- Ledger Nano S works with Windows, Linux, Mac, Android phone.
The simple act of being able to store other cryptocurrencies on this wallet has, for me, made the whole purchase completely worthwhile.
They keep adding in support for newer cryptos for their customers, including the new Bitcoin Cash. This shows that they really do put their customer’s interests first and are not just looking to sell you things.
How About The Security Of The Ledger Nano S?
Now, let’s talk about the security of the Ledger Nano S and why it is so trustworthy. Note: For even more security options, check out its more sophisticated counterpart- Ledger Blue.
How Does The Ledger Nano S Ensure Security?
Your computer and mobile can be hacked easily. When hackers can hack multi-million dollar servers (essentially big computers), then our smaller systems should also be seen as equally vulnerable.
The Ledger has a separate chip and screen to mitigate the potential security flaw of certain apps taking random screenshots of mobile and laptop screens.
When dealing with any Bitcoin wallet, one important thing we all need to do is note down the seed key/recovery phrase. When this recovery phrase is shown on a mobile or computer screen, it becomes susceptible to hacking.
When you are using the Ledger Nano S, the seed word is displayed on the OLED screen which only you can see. And it’s no exaggeration to say that this security feature alone makes your Bitcoin holdings secure.
Moreover, most of the work like checking Bitcoin balances and account management happens through a desktop app while your Ledger Nano S is still connected to the computer via a USB cable.
When you are sending Bitcoins to someone, you need to allow the transaction by tapping certain buttons on your Ledger. So even if your computer is hacked, a hacker won’t be able to transfer those bitcoins because they don’t have physical access to your Ledger Nano S.
More Security Features:
- Your Bitcoin private key is stored in a secured section of the device itself. It doesn’t ever leave the device, and hence, there’s no way for a hacker to get to it.
- The Ledger Nano S is HD wallet. This means that every time you receive funds, you get a new receiving address. This enhances your privacy to a great extent.
- You can also sign a message using the Ledger Nano S to prove your ownership of the address. You may use this feature in the future when you advance in your Bitcoin and cryptocurrency usage.
There are more advantages of using Ledger Nano S that you will discover as you become more comfortable with the device.
If you are deciding between whether or not to buy, recognize that it’s going to enhance the way you interact with cryptos by a large degree.
I highly suggest you get one now.
A few more important things to know before ordering the Ledger Nano S:
- Due to high demand, delivery is not instant. That’s why you should order it ASAP to get ahead in the queue.
- Order Ledger only from the official site over here.
- Ledger offers the Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Nano X, and both are great. Ledger Nano X comes with more memory and offers Bluetooth connectivity features, which works well on mobile phones. If pricing is not an issue, I would always recommend buying the modern version which is Ledger Nano X. However, if you wanna do budget shopping, then Ledger Nano S does the job well.
If possible, you should order two. You can use one as a backup in case you travel a lot. This will also allow you to have even more security when dealing with cryptos.
How Does Ledger Nano S work?
Here is a short video series that will help you learn everything about the Ledger Nano S from scratch. Just watch them and you will know about how to take backups of seed words, connecting to your Android device, sending/receiving coins, etc.
I have been using Ledger the Nano S for the past 4 years, and I can confidently recommend this. Most of my friends are already using this wallet, and they are using it for just one purpose:
Keeping their Bitcoin secure.
If possible, you should order two. You can use one as a backup in case you travel a lot. This will also allow you to have even more security when dealing with cryptos.
FAQs About The Ledger Nano S
Q. What will happen if you lose your Ledger Nano S?
A: You can order a new one and restore your funds using your seed key. You can also restore your seed on any other popular Bitcoin wallet like MyCelium, GreenBits, Electrum, and CoPay.
Q. If Ledger supports a new cryptocurrency token (Ex: Monero), do I need to order a new Ledger?
A. No, you can store newly supported cryptocurrencies on your existing Ledger. This part is easy, and you can learn this from watching the above video playlist.
Q. How many cryptocurrencies do the Ledger Nano S support?
A. Ledger supports BTC, BitcoinCash, ETH, ETC, LTC, Dash, Stratis, Komodo, Ripple, and zCash. They keep adding support for new cryptocurrencies every few months.
Update: Now there more than 700 cryptocurrencies/tokens right now supported by Ledger Nano S.
Q. Will the recovery phrase recover all of the additional cryptocurrencies?
A. Yes. A single recovery phrase supports all cryptocurrencies. You can restore any cryptocurrencies (that you are using on your Ledger device) using the same recovery phrase.
Q. What if you forget the Ledger Nano S pin code?
A. You can reset your Ledger Nano S to its factory settings by entering the wrong pin 3 times. You will then need to restore your wallet using the 24-word backup key.
Q. Ledger Nano S or Ledger Nano X: Which one should I buy?
A. Ledger Nano X is the modern version of the Ledger Nano S, and it is costlier. Both versions are portable and work well to store multi cryptocurrencies. I would any day recommend you to buy Ledger Nano X over Ledger Nano S, as it offers more memory, and let you connect with phone via Bluetooth feature. However, if your purpose is only to store 1-2 coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ledger Nano S works just fine and is cheaper. You can also order both devices and use the same seed key to configure both of them. This way, one device can be used as a backup device.
Ledger Nano S Review: Is It Worth It?
Obviously, you can tell that I’m a huge fan of this little device. It has completely changed the game for me as I no longer have to worry about my coins becoming hacked or stolen.
Unlike a normal wallet that stores cash, even if someone steals this wallet, they won’t be able to get the funds because they won’t know my pin or seed key. This makes it truly secure.
All in all, if you’re looking for the best hardware wallet, there’s nothing better than the Ledger Nano S.
Do you own a Ledger Nano S? Are you satisfied with your experience? What’s your review? Share your experience with me in the comments below!
Know someone who could benefit from a Ledger device? Share this post with them!
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About Harsh Agrawal :
An award-winning blogger with a track record of 15+ years. He has a background in both finance and technology and holds bachelors degree in Information technology and engineering.
An international speaker and author who believes in the future of blockchain and the applications of the crypto world.
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Expertise:
Harsh has 15+ years of experience in Fintech and 7+ years in Blockchain and Bitcoin. He has also moderated the panel of Blockchain experts and attended international blockchain events like BTCMiami, Mainnet Messari, and Token2049.
After I finish using my ledger nano s, how do I turn it off? just pull it out of the computer or what? I am looking for your response.
P/s: Thanks a lot for the useful information.
@Lam
Just unplug it from USB and thats it.
Thanks for your article! I read the comments, and I saw that you can only have 4 apps running at the same time. For extra convenience (instead of uninstalling and reinstalling apps all the time), does it make sense to buy 2 nano’s and have different apps running on both of them to increase it to 8 different types of coins? Or do the same apps need to run on the back-up nano?
@JP
That’s a smart thinking and this is why I use 2 Ledger N nano. It saves time 🙂
If I reset Nano and I chose “New device” – do I get a new set of 24 recovery words?
This is very important to get “clear” device if I buy used Nano device.
@Roman
Yes, you will get a new set of recovery words.
I just got my Ledger Nano S. I had read a review saying that there needed to be a seal on the wallet inside the box. I had received mine, the box wrapped in cellophane plastic, but the wallet inside do not have this sealant. My friend had received the same thing a week before and there was no sealant on his. Should there be on? I have a picture from another site saying it needed to have it and that if it didnt, then it may have been tampered with. Please advise.
Hello Robert Read this from Ledger Team-https://ledger.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005211225-Tamper-proof-seal
In short-Ledger doesn’t attach any tamper proof seal on its boxes anymore as it is not useful.
if I transfer my ripple from say exchange A to Ledger Nano and in future exchange A goes bust. Now, as there is no exchange A, I wish to sell it on some Exchange B then how I can I do it?
Yes, of course, you can do so at any exchange which will be supporting XRP at that moment.
Hello,
Is it possible to directly move ripple from koinex exchange wallet to Ledger NanoS, if yes, can you share a video link to follow.
Or do we need to move them to any other exchanges like Binanace etc and move them from there to ledger nanoS..
You can directly move your ripple from any exchange to your Ledger Nano S. Just get the ripple address from your Ledger Nano S and send the coins to that address from any exchange including koinex exchange. There is no need to move coins from one exchange to another exchange before moving them to your Ledger Nano S.
How am I able to see my currencies on the actual wallet? It doesnt seem to show, for example, how many Ripple I own on the actual hardware itself. I am only able to see when connected to my laptop.
The currencies are not stored in your Ledger Nano S. Only the private keys. The currencies are stored on the Internet using blockchain.
Thanks CHANDRA, really appreciate.
With regards to security:
I understand the 24 word phrase concept and assume it is save to say
nobody can get & misuse my private key
…but in daily usage there´s only the 4 digit PIN required
Does n´t this mean that if I get stolen my Ledger only this PIN prevents
that somebody is accessing and transferring all of my coins?
Means at the end the whole security layer is just a 4-8 digit code with 3 attempts
Am I right ?
Yes, but first calculate the permutations and combinations of 4-8 digit code with 3 attempts and its chance to succeed.
It is daammm safe until you tell your PIN to someone.
today is 1/10/2018. I sent 51 LTC coins to my ledger nano s from jaxx wallet, and they are totally lost. No history on jaxx wallet of them being sent, well, there was at first, and it disappeared, and they never showed up on ledger wallet! wtf. is this a jaxx issue? Jaxx doesn’t know how to resolve??? I am freaking out, I lost 51 LTC coins. anyone have any suggestions? The coins were sent to ledger from jaxx wallet on 1/7/2018.
would love to get any suggestions.
Did you check the Jaxx’s LTC address in the blockchain explorer?
would love to get any suggestions to resolve. thanks Sabine Holton
Has the ability to view your coin balances on the Nano S device been disabled? Is the browser apps the only way you can view them?Forgive me if this was already answered because I didn’t see it.
You can’t see directly on the Ledger Device screen you need to plugin and see it in the browser app.
Hi Harsh
Can Indians move btc from indian exchanges like unocoin to poloniex or bittrex – what does it mean in terms of regulatory implications
@Rajesh
Yes, Indians can move Bitcoins from Indian exchanges to International exchanges and at this moment, you don’t have to worry about regulatory implications. It’s an open market 🙂
I have just purchase a Ledger S, once I put my coins on the Ledger what value does the coin work from? i.e I several exchanges value coins differently, so once the coins are stored on the ledger where can I find upto date prices of the value of the coins?
Once you access your ledger wallet from the app UI you will be able to see latest prices.
You can store more than 20 coins right now on the wallet.
Which coins can you? Also, the Ledger Nano S doesnt allow you to see on your physical wallet how much you have stored on your wallet. Would this be accurate?
The values come from coinmarketcap.com
Here’s the address that they use:
https://api.ledgerwallet.com/currencies/all/exchange_rates
I have a big problem with my Ledger nano S wallet . At the begining after 2 months using 3 days before it had a problem with synchronization (now sunchronization is ok) but from this time I cann’t send any Zcash to any markket
How is it now? Did you hear back from Ledger team?
How much to you pay for fees when sending bitcoins to another app like coinbase. How much would it be for the fees that I’m going to pay extra? Please let me know..
Hey Arnold, good question
This write-up on the same will help you understand the fee concept- How Much Bitcoin Transaction Fees Should You Pay For Confirmed Transaction?
It doesn’t work any more. Now I can’t send any Zcash. Before from time to time I could send 0,1 . 🙂 I bought Trezor and send Zcash from my mine to my new wallet and it works 🙂
Which OS is best to use? Ease of use, and security.. Mac or Windows?
Mac anytime.
Early on when first getting familiar with my nano I got locked out by entering wrong PIN 3 times. Instead of recovering with same recovery phrase I mistakenly reformatted the device and could’t reverse course. Now with new recovery phrase and a new address I lost access to the BTC at the old address.
Is there a way to recover access to this address (I know what it is)? Is it possible on a new nano to set it up with the old address and phrase and recover those BTC?
Or, could I transfer the BTC and ETH that are on there now to a different wallet and reset the present nano with the old address.
Or is access to that old address gone forever?
Do you have the old 12-24 word recovery phrase with you?
Yes
How do i move from the ledger wallet to binance? I see everything on how to move to the ledger but none on how to move from ledger to exchange.
Can you help?
Simply make a Binance account first
Then go deposit section Binance and copy from there the BTC address.
Now paste this address while making a send transaction from your Nano S and confirm your transaction on the device.
Your coins should be seen in some time in Binance
Will I have to pay a transaction fee to send my coins from the Ledger Nano to an exchange (eg Binance)? If so, who charges/sets that fee?
Also, are the transaction speeds pretty much equivalent to the transaction speed of an exchange-to-exchange transfer?
1) Yes, the fee will be charged. The fee is taken by the Bitcoin network by the miner community
2) The speed depends upon the network load on the blockchain.
Great article, You said you can store multiple coins on the Ledger Nano S is there a limit to how many different coins? Or a limit to how much you can have stored on there? Will one Ledger do for the whole portfolio or do I need multiple.
20+ coins & all ECR20 tokens +600 you can store on Ledger. One should be good however having two is not bad, here is a narrative for having more than one Ledger-https://coinsutra.com/how-many-hardware-wallet-to-order/
Well I believed the hype and bought myself a brand new Ledger Nano S.
Only to find you cant have more than 4 Crypto Apps installed. I have BTC, LTC, ETH and wanted to put my newly purchased IOTA and ZEC only to be told “You have insufficient Memory” on your device.
Not what I was expecting. I have researched and heard that the only way around this is to delete the Apps from the device after sending over your coin script. A lot of hassle for a simple fix.
Be warned people.
Yes, but deleting apps doesn’t mean your funds are lost.
I am new to crypto and the nano S. When you transfer your coins over to the nano S. does that mean that if I transfer the coins out of the exchange and into my nano that if bitcoin goes up or down I do not lose money or am I still gaining or losing money depending on what it is doing?
You are still gaining or losing, as per the market movement, irrespective of wherever you keep your coins.
hello,
I am holding SKY coin, Ripple, Cardano,Naga, html, EOS and ETN coins. My qns is can I store all these coin in ledger nano if not what are the other options to save my coins off line.
Thanks in advance
Ripple, EOS, ETN are possible for others you should use their official wallets. Cardano will come to Ledger Soon.
Can I use ledger nano with mobile
Yes you can do so, do watch-How to Use Ledger Nano S Bitcoin Wallet with Android Phone
Can I Shape Shift my Lite Coin from Coin Base to my Nano?
Coinbase doesn’t directly link to ShapeShift. Once you take out your coins in a wallet then you may do so.
I have a galaxy tab s3, can i use the ledger nano s with tbis.
Yes you can do so, Using the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet with Android
I never miss reading your articles. So clear & informative. Thanks Harsh gor sharing your imense knowledge.