Switching to a passphrase wallet

A passphrase is an additional “word” added to the 12- or 24-word seed phrase. In addition to the seed phrase that you write down on paper or metal as a physical backup (something you must do because your hardware wallet could fail), many Bitcoin users also use a passphrase that they memorize.

If a burglar finds the seed phrase backup, they would still need the passphrase to access the funds. Guessing it could take significant time, especially if the passphrase is sufficiently complex and not something simple like “batman” or “1234”.

However, memorizing a passphrase that you do not use on a daily basis for 5–10 years is very difficult. Furthermore, if something happens to you and your loved ones find the seed phrase backup, they will still not be able to access the Bitcoin without the passphrase.

A PIN code on Trezor is just a code that needs to be entered when the Trezor hardware device initiates, and has nothing to do with the Bitcoin related cryptography beyond this point. If someone found your 12/24 words seedphrase, they can access your Bitcoin from a different hardware wallets, even if they don't have your specific Trezor hardware device.

1

Switching to a passphrase wallet

To switch to a passphrase wallet, connect the Trezor to your Android phone and click the arrows at the top right:

2

Opening passphrase wallet

Select "Open Passphrase":

3

Entering passphrase

And enter your passphrase (either in the app, or for extra-safety enter it only in the Trezor device itself):

4

Accessing passphrase wallet

Now you can access your secret passphrase wallet. If you don't see any balance or history, you may have mistyped your passphrase.