Hardware wallet setup mistakes

Most hardware wallet losses start at setup: a used or pre-set device, a seed phrase that came in the box, or a skipped check.

What it means

A real device starts empty and shows new words only on its own screen, so any device or seed phrase someone else prepared may already be known to them.

What to watch

A broken box seal, a device that is already set up, a printed recovery card with words filled in, a skipped backup check, and a receive address you only checked in the app.

How Compass-Alpha uses it

The Wallets page lists hardware wallets and only needs a public address; it never asks for a seed phrase.