What is Recovery Phrase?
- Your "mnemonics" can also be referred to as: seed, seed phrase, recovery phrase, BIP-39 phrase (or various combinations of these terms).
- It is an ordered list of words that contains all the information needed to recover your wallet (i.e., access your Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency funds on the blockchain).
- A set of recovery phrases provides full access to the associated wallet (private keys are mathematically derived from the recovery phrases) — this is why you must ensure its security.
Recovery phrases / Mnemonics were introduced as a user-friendly wallet backup method as part of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 39 (commonly known as "BIP-39"). Your recovery mnemonic is a representation of a random number, from which all your keys and addresses are mathematically derived.
- Your recovery mnemonic is an ordered sequence of 12, 18, or 24 words chosen from this list of 2048 words.
- When backing up your mnemonic, the words must be transcribed in the order they appear.
- Ensuring the privacy and security of your mnemonic is crucial so that your cryptocurrency is never at risk.
- Having a secure backup of your recovery mnemonic means you can recover your cryptocurrency in case of hardware failure or device loss.
Please note:
- The OneKey team will never ask for your mnemonic!
- Scammers may impersonate OneKey team members on social media to trick you into sharing your recovery phrases, aiming to steal your sensitive information (mnemonic, PIN, password, etc.).
Record and store your recovery phrases
The physical security of your mnemonic backup is even more important than that of your device.
Your OneKey hardware wallet comes with several blank mnemonic cards, on which you should back up your mnemonic when initializing the wallet and store it carefully—this is a necessary step when setting up your OneKey device.
If your OneKey is lost or stolen, don't worry! Without your PIN, it is highly unlikely that anyone can access it. However, if someone steals your mnemonic, they can easily access your cryptocurrency assets using a different device or wallet.
When backing up your OneKey device, you should:
- Ensure the spelling and order of all words are correct.
- Never create digital copies of your recovery mnemonic card (this includes backups via Dropbox, email, encrypted files, or photographs).
- Protect your recovery mnemonic card from theft and damage.