Recovery Seed Backup: Protect Your Assets via Trezor.io/start

Trezor.io/start emphasizes the critical importance of your recovery seed. This 12 or 24-word backup phrase is your ultimate insurance policy for your cryptocurrency.

What is a Recovery Seed?

When you complete setup at Trezor.io/start, your Trezor device generates a unique recovery seed—a sequence of 12 or 24 random English words. This seed can restore your entire wallet and access all your funds if:

  • Your Trezor device is lost or damaged
  • Your device malfunctions
  • You need to migrate to a new device
  • You want to verify ownership in any situation

The Golden Rule: Protect Your Recovery Seed

Your recovery seed is as valuable as your cryptocurrency. Anyone who has your seed can steal everything.

⚠️ NEVER Do This:

  • ❌ Share your seed with anyone (not even Trezor support)
  • ❌ Photograph or screenshot your seed
  • ❌ Store it in cloud storage, email, or password managers
  • ❌ Type it on any internet-connected device
  • ❌ Post it on social media or forums
  • ❌ Store it digitally in any form

✅ ALWAYS Follow These Steps:

1. Write It Down Immediately

When Trezor.io/start setup displays your seed, write every word on paper using the official Trezor seed sheet or high-quality paper.

2. Verify Your Writing

Double-check each word for accuracy. A single misspelling could prevent recovery.

3. Store Multiple Copies

Create 2-3 backup copies of your written seed and store them in separate secure locations:

  • Home safe
  • Bank deposit box
  • Family member's safe (trusted)
  • Fireproof safe

4. Store Away from Your Device

Keep your seed backup separate from your Trezor device. If both are lost together, you've lost everything.

Testing Your Recovery Process

After Trezor.io/start setup, consider testing recovery on a test device (optional but recommended):

  1. Restore a test wallet using your backup seed
  2. Verify all accounts are restored
  3. Confirm access to all funds
  4. If successful, destroy the test backup
  5. Your primary backups remain secure

This test proves your recovery process works before you ever need it.

Advanced: BIP39 Seed Concepts

Trezor uses the BIP39 standard for recovery seeds. This means:

  • Your seed is universally compatible (works on other BIP39 wallets)
  • Word order is critical
  • Capitalization doesn't matter
  • Spaces between words are standard

Pro Tip: The BIP39 standard ensures that even if Trezor disappears, your funds remain accessible via any BIP39-compatible wallet.