The steps in this guide are the same for the Ledger Nano X and the Ledger Nano S Plus. The walkthrough uses the Ledger Nano X.
Before you start: what has changed since 2023
The screenshots were taken in July 2023. Three things have changed since:
- The app's name. Ledger Live has been renamed Ledger Wallet. It is the same app and the steps are the same, but the screens look different.
- The devices. The Nano S Plus and Nano X are reported to be out of production and sold while stocks last. The newer Nano Gen5, Flex and Stax have touchscreens, so where this guide says "press both buttons" you simply tap the screen.
- Ledger Recover. During setup you may be offered this paid subscription. It is optional. The standard setup keeps your 24 words entirely offline.
Always buy from the official store or an authorised reseller, never a second-hand device. More on that in our Ledger review.
What is in the box
The Ledger Nano X box contains the items below.
Installing the app
Download the Ledger Live app (Ledger Wallet today) for your computer, on Windows, Mac or Linux. Be very careful to visit the right website, ledger.com, because there are a lot of scams out there.
Once you have installed and opened the app, click Get started and choose which cold wallet you want to set up.
Then choose SETUP A NEW NANO X, which leads you through the rest of the instructions for setting up your wallet.
The five screens of basics
Next you go through 5 screens of useful information about hardware wallets. Click Continue on each one. They are worth reading: in five sentences they explain the whole logic of a hardware wallet.
Then take a pen and paper and get ready to write down the 24 words your hardware wallet will give you. Click OK, I'm ready to continue.
Setting up as a new device
First, turn your device on by pressing one of its 2 buttons, and scroll through the menu until you find Set up as new device. To select it, press both buttons on the device at the same time.
Setting the PIN
Next the device asks you to choose a unique PIN code, which secures the device itself from now on. Then it asks you to confirm the PIN you have just entered.
Once you have entered your PIN, click Next step in the app. It shows you advice on what kind of PIN is best: not your date of birth and not 1, 2, 3. Note the rule that three wrong attempts in a row reset the device. Click Get started.
The 24 recovery words
Next, confirm that you understand that if you lose your recovery phrase you will lose your crypto for good, and click the Recovery phrase button. The app will tell you it is time for the device to generate the 24 words, which you must write down in order.
Write the words only on paper, on the sheet in the box. Do not photograph them, do not type them anywhere, and do not store them on a computer or a phone. Ledger will never ask you for these words, not by email, not by phone and not by letter. Anyone who asks for them is a scammer.
Checking the words
Once you have written your words down, it is time to confirm them. The device asks for the words one at a time. To be more precise, it asks which word is the first, but does not show it to you. You scroll through the words the device displays until you find the first word it gave you, and confirm it by pressing both buttons at the same time. You do the same for all 24 words, which makes sure they are correct and written in the right order.
When you finish this step, your device is set up and ready. Congratulations.
The three-question quiz
You are not quite done, though. The last step is to connect your device to the computer and answer a three-question quiz. The questions are simple, but the right answers are worth remembering.
The app's first screen
Finally, you disconnect and reconnect the device to the computer and enter your PIN again. This is the app's final screen, where you will manage all the crypto on your device.
To hold a coin, you first install its app on the device from the My Ledger section, and then add an account with the Add account button.
Sources
- Ledger Support, "Set up your Ledger Nano X", support.ledger.com
- Ledger Support, "Set up your Ledger Nano S", support.ledger.com
- Setup videos on YouTube: 44tqG5zacag, uHan0dxgQ4Y
- CRYPTONEA 24, Ledger review 2026, for the current range of devices, the app's new name and Ledger Recover