Ledger Live Wallet® — Getting Started

Welcome to the definitive guide for Ledger Live Wallet®. This document walks you through everything from initial download and setup to advanced features like staking, swaps, developer integrations, and best practices for securing your crypto holdings. Designed for individual users, developers, and organizations, the guide aims to be practical, actionable, and aligned with Ledger's non-custodial security model.

Introduction & Security Model

Ledger Live Wallet® is the official application that pairs with Ledger hardware devices (Ledger Nano S Plus and Ledger Nano X) to manage crypto assets. The core security premise is simple but powerful: private keys remain in the hardware secure element, while Ledger Live acts as the user-facing presentation and management layer. Transactions are constructed on the host computer or mobile device but must be reviewed and signed on the hardware device—this separation preserves custody while enabling a modern user experience.

Ledger's ecosystem includes signed firmware, reproducible releases, and verifiable installers. These elements work together to reduce the risk of tampering and to provide verifiable authenticity for critical software components.

Download, Verify & Install

Always download Ledger Live Wallet® from the official Ledger domain. Ledger publishes cryptographic checksums and signatures where applicable; verifying these artifacts is a strong defensive practice, particularly in enterprise environments or on machines you don't fully control.

Supported platforms

  • Windows 10 and newer
  • macOS (latest versions)
  • Linux (AppImage available for many distributions)
  • Mobile: iOS and Android (Ledger Live Mobile companion app)

Verification checklist

  1. Download the installer from ledger.com/ledger-live.
  2. Compare the downloaded file checksum with the value published on Ledger's site.
  3. Where possible, verify the installer signature using provided GPG keys or code-signing certificates.
  4. Install and launch Ledger Live; follow first-run prompts.

Initial Setup & Device Pairing

Ledger Live pairs with your Ledger hardware device to manage accounts. The pairing process is intentionally simple: connect, unlock using your PIN, and allow Ledger Live to detect available apps and accounts. If you are initializing a new device, follow the device's on-screen prompts to create a PIN and write down the recovery phrase.

New device setup

  1. Power on the Ledger device and choose "Set up as new device" on the device screen.
  2. Create a PIN using the physical buttons—choose a non-trivial PIN that you can remember.
  3. Write down the recovery phrase exactly as shown and store it securely offline (paper, metal plate).
  4. Confirm the recovery phrase on the device when asked.
  5. Open Ledger Live, connect the device, and follow the wizard to add accounts.

Important: Never type your recovery phrase on a computer or phone. The phrase should only be recorded physically via the device during initialization.

Restoring & Recovery

If you have an existing recovery phrase from another device or backup, you can restore it during device initialization. Restoring reconstructs your private keys deterministically; after restoration, connect to Ledger Live to resynchronize account balances and transaction history.

Restore steps

  1. Choose "Restore device" on the Ledger device during startup.
  2. Carefully enter each recovery word on the device UI.
  3. After restoring, use Ledger Live to add accounts and verify holdings by checking on-chain balances.

Best practice: If recovering from a seed that may have been exposed, consider generating a fresh seed on a new device and transferring funds once the new wallet is ready.

Accounts & Asset Management

Ledger Live Wallet® supports many chains and tokens. Add multiple accounts per currency to separate funds (e.g., cold savings vs hot trading) or to manage multiple purposes. Ledger Live presents balances, historic transactions, and fiat conversions to help you track portfolio performance.

Adding accounts

  1. Open Ledger Live and go to Accounts > Add account.
  2. Select a cryptocurrency, connect your device, and follow prompts to add the account.
  3. Ledger Live will scan the chain to populate transaction history and balances.