Trezor Wallet
Hardware wallets are the most secure option for storing your crypto. In this area, Trezor is a pioneer, and its two wallet models offer many security features. Learn more.
Trezor Wallet Review – 7 Pros & 3 Cons Revealed (Trezor One & Model T Compared)
Trezor introduced its crypto hardware wallet in 2014, and the new star of a generation was born. Since then, they’ve brought the Trezor One and Trezor Model T to over 150 countries, helping thousands securely store their crypto of choice.
Software wallets are convenient, but increasing security concerns always made me sensitive to them. That makes Trezor sound like the perfect place to store my crypto safely. Today I’ll be sharing everything I’ve discovered about both the Trezor One and Model T.
Table of Contents
7 Pros of Trezor Wallet
- Trezors are all cold wallets
- Trezor wallets are ultra-portable
- Security on any Trezor is airtight
- Increase anonymity by routing through Tor
- Trezors are easy to use with a smooth onboarding process
- Over 1,800 crypto types supported
- Trezor displays are surprisingly readable
3 Cons of Trezor Wallet
More Information on Trezor Wallets
Conclusion
Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, Trezor is a brand of hardware-based crypto wallets. The first Trezor Prototype emerged in 2012, a lightweight device no bigger than the key fob for a smart car.
Since then, they’ve also launched the Trezor Model T, which features a touchscreen display. Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at both models.
Trezor cold wallets offer many advantages, but the key distinguishing features are:
- Top-notch security
Compared to other hardware crypto wallets, Trezor dials security up by several notches. From offline private keys to Trusted Display technology, there’s so much to cover. It isn’t possible to summarize everything, but I’ll cover it comprehensively in the review, so read on! - Support for over 1,800 cryptos
You’ll commonly find hardware and software-based crypto wallets that support mainstream cryptocurrencies and even some that handle more obscure ones. Trezor blows the competition away by allowing you to manage over 1,800 of them.
Note
- Prices shown are based on an exchange rate of 1 EUR to 1.15 USD.
- Prices shown in this article were based on the time of writing. Click on our product links to see current prices.
7 Reasons Trezor’s Cold Wallets Are Fantastic
1. Trezors are all cold wallets
Most crypto wallets you’ll find in the market are software-based. It removes the need for service providers to manufacture and hold inventory. That means less capital expenditure and risk on their part.
For users, hardware wallets offer a degree of security that isn’t in the same league as software wallets. Unless you somehow hook a hardware wallet up to a connected source, it’s not going to get hacked.
2. Trezor Wallets are ultra-portable
Both the Trezor One and Model T are tiny and will easily fit into the palm of your hand. The lightweight construction doesn’t seem exceptionally durable, but it’ll ensure portability no matter how you carry it.
The smaller model is a mere 60mm x 30mm x 6mm (2.4in x 1.2in x 0.2in) and weighs a mere 12 g (0.42 oz). The Model T is larger at 64 mm x 39 mm x 10 mm (2.52 in x 1.54 in x 0.39 in) and ups the weight to 22 g (0.77 oz).
3. Security on Any Trezor is airtight
Aside from them being hardware wallets, Trezor puts a tremendous focus on the security of their wallet. It starts with the Trezor Core, a custom-designed operating system (OS) that runs on their devices.
That’s only the beginning, though. Security on Trezors is so comprehensive that the following offers just a taste of what they do to help protect your crypto;
- Trezor Trusted Display
The Trezor Trusted Display is hard-baked to show only the exact details of ongoing transactions. If your PC or phone is somehow compromised, you’ll be able to tell by the mismatching information. That gives you enough time to cancel any transactions. - On-device security
The Trezor Model T’s touchscreen display gives it the advantage of supporting on-device passphrase and PIN. This capability increases the security of the connection between your Trezor and the device to which it’s connected.
On-device security is an essential element for protecting your private key as well. No matter what you’re doing, confirmation via a PIN on your Trezor will be mandatory. Unless you lose both the Trezor and your PIN, that’s not likely going to happen. - Solid cryptography
Trezors support various high cryptography standards that help increase the security of your transactions. For example, their BIP-39 passphrase adds extra length to seeds, further increasing resilience.
The Model T takes this even further with SLIP-39 Shamir. This seed method allows the creation of split recovery seeds that comprise 20 words. In case of loss, you can use word combinations to recover the wallet.
It’s configurable enough to add high complexity, so even some missing words aren’t enough to compromise security. At the same time, you can split and the seeds on multiple devices to make things even more difficult to compromise. - Trezors protect themselves
One common way that hackers attempt security breaches is by infiltrating devices. For example, they might access a device and overwrite or modify specific code such as the OS or firmware.
Trezors safeguard against this with firmware signature verification. Only signed firmware will run, and tampering will display warning messages. At the same time, nobody can replace Trezor bootloaders as they’re write-only.
4. Increase anonymity by routing through Tor
Trezor offers communications that can be routed via the Tor network, potentially increasing the anonymity of your transactions. This capability requires special server configurations on their infrastructure, but to us, it just takes the toggle of a switch in the Trezor Suite.
Aside from enabling Tor communication, you can also set a unique IP address and port number. In addition, you can also opt to open the .onion version of any Trezor links.
5. Trezors Are Easy to Use With a Smooth Onboarding Process
I received both the Trezor One and Model T in original sealed packaging. Inside, there were the devices, some accessories, and tiny documentation slips. You can junk the documentation and simply head to https://suite.trezor.io/start/.
From there, download the Trezor Suite and install it. The suite will guide you through the entire setup process. It’s fast and painless, even for the greenest of newbies. The process took me just a few minutes.
6. Over 1,800 Crypto Types Supported
Trezor supports over 1,800 types of crypto, from the mainstream to the obscure. I’m not going to list them here but if you want to check if your crypto of choice is supported, simply head to the list of crypto supported on the Trezor website.
Do note, though, that this number refers to the cryptos supported. At any time, your Trezor only allows you to handle ten crypto accounts of your choice. For mine, I opted for Bitcoin, ETH, and Dogecoin. It’s a limitation enforced by Trezor to keep their server loads more manageable.
Aside from the main crypto list, you can also handle several testnet coins on your Trezor. These aren’t “real” crypto but are useful for testing.
7. Trezor displays are surprisingly readable
When I first glanced at the Trezor wallets, I was a little concerned about the seemingly tiny displays. The Trezor One has an OLED display of only 128×64 pixels. The Trezor Model T display is slightly larger at 240×240 pixels and uses LCD instead.
When connected, I was pretty impressed with the quality and legibility of the text. The Trezor One offered slightly fuzzier text, but it was undoubtedly readable. The Model T is the big shocker, though; it was like reading a smartphone display. Even more impressive was the inclusion of touchscreen technology.
Despite the tiny dimensions, the buttons and numbers on the Model T display were sensitive and accurate, even for my fat fingers. In weeks of use, I haven’t pressed the wrong button yet.
3 Cons To Keep In Mind About Trezor Wallets
1. Overall quality isn’t ideal
While I agree that the motivation behind getting a Trezor is mainly for secure crypto storage, the build quality surprised me – and not in a good way. The cheap, plasticky feel was the last thing I expected from them.
While they might have gotten away with it on the $68 Trezor One, the build on the Trezor Model T isn’t much better – and that comes at a price tag of $217.
It isn’t just the build quality but the overall feeling of the entire package. For example, removing the seal over the Model T’s USB port left lots of glue residue. It took generous amounts of Goo Gone to get rid of the stickiness, leaving me with a Trezor that smells like engine oil.
2. No smartphone app
Honestly, not having a smartphone app is merely an annoyance since everything is mobile nowadays. Instead, you’ll need to rely on Android’s WebUSB to connect your Trezor directly to your smartphone.
Trezor recommends you use Trezor Bridge instead as it’ll help smoothen the communication process. Honestly, I found it a little unnecessary since it isn’t something I plan to do often. Depending on your needs, though, an exploration into this area may be helpful.
3. Cashing out to FIAT is a clunky process
Trezor Wallets don’t natively support the withdrawal of assets to bank accounts. While some exchanges do, the core of Trezor lies in security. To “cash-out” any crypto, you’ll need to move it to an Exchange capable of handling bank withdrawals and then trade your crypto for fiat.
Honestly, this is just an annoyance, and you can’t fault Trezor for wanting better security.
Which Trezor Wallet should you get?
The Trezor One is the original Trezor, first prototyped almost a decade ago. It’s highly portable with its compact design but still includes a display for better functionality. In most respects, it’s similar to its larger brother, the Model T.
The Model T is newer and boasts a larger and sharper display with touchscreen capability. It also includes a faster microprocessor, but I didn’t notice significant speed differences between the two models.
One area of more significant consideration is that the Trezor One supports slightly fewer cryptos than the Model T. Both can handle ten selected on-board cryptocurrencies.
The Model T offers more comprehensive options, and the touchscreen display also reduces reliance on your desktop device, potentially making it safer. Aside from that, it has more native security options like FIDO2 authentication and the Shamir Backup system.
However, the Model T also comes at more than triple the price.
To make things easier, see the differences between both models at a glance below:
Recommendation: Get the Model T
The Model T is the better option in all areas, with the only advantages of the Trezor One being a lower price and its slightly smaller size. I highly recommend the Model T for its overall better security profile.
How To Set Up Your Trezor Wallet
- Download the Trezor Suite
- Installing the firmware
Once you’ve installed the Trezor Suite, you can plug your Trezor into a USB port on your computer with the provided cable. The software will detect that there’s a device connected. All new Trezors come as blank slates, so the first thing necessary is to install the firmware. - Setting up security
During the initial setup, you’ll need to select a PIN for your device. For the Trezor One, you do that via an on-screen keyboard. The Model T allows you to enter the pin directly on the device’s touchscreen. Trezor scrambles the number placement for better security. When done, you’ll get a list of recovery seed words.
Important: Do not lose these seed words; you’ll need them if you want to perform a device recovery! - Using the Trezor Suite
Trezor offers a highly streamlined setup process that’s hard to get wrong. The most important thing is to start at the correct place; https://suite.trezor.io/start/. That leads to a page where you can download the Trezor Suite.
The Trezor Suite is the central command post of your new hardware wallet. It’ll be the nerve center required to communicate with your Trezor. This piece of software is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Let Trezor perform the installation and confirm this acceptance on your Trezor device. Next, you’ll need to unplug and reconnect your Trezor.
Once the initial setup is complete, you can enter the PIN to use the Trezor Suite. It’s a pretty straightforward application that lets you manage your device, view balances and selected crypto value changes, plus trade crypto via select partners.
Verdict: Should You Get A Trezor Wallet?
Having tested many crypto wallets, I’ve always been impressed by how each tries to outdo everyone else’s features and ease of use. Yet, many often forget how important security is to crypto owners.
Trezor remembers, and it builds hardware wallets with that exact theme in mind. At the same time, the company manages to keep things so user-friendly that you won’t struggle to manage to your crypto even if you’re new to cold wallets.
I highly recommend getting a Trezor if you’re serious about keeping your crypto safe. It may cost more, but losing your crypto will be much more painful.
Key Features
- ✓ Ethereum integration
- ✓ Sign & encrypt with GPG
- ✓ Secure admin SSH
- ✓ Password-less login
- ✓ Sign & verify messages
- ✓ Cross-compatible
Recommended For
- • Crypto newbie
- • Serious crypto holder
- • Security-conscious
Trezor
Wallet Type
Cold Wallet
Overall Rating
From
$68excluding shipping
- • 1,800+ coins & tokens supported
- • Beginner-friendly cold wallet
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