SafePal and Tangem · Modern hardware
SafePal and Tangem: what can be done if you lose access
With hardware devices there is one rule that never fails and settles almost every question: the PIN protects the device, the phrase protects the money. Losing the PIN is annoying; losing the phrase without having the device is final.
SafePal
SafePal works with a standard recovery phrase. If you have it written down, it doesn’t matter what happens to the device: you can restore your wallet on another device or in a compatible app. If you forget the device PIN, the way out is to reset it and restore with the phrase; without the phrase, that reset wipes the wallet forever.
Tangem
Tangem takes a different approach: its cards can be set up without a recovery phrase, in which case the cards themselves are each other’s backup. That is why they are sold in sets of two or three. If you set up a set of three cards and still have one, you have access. If you set up a single card with no phrase and lose it, nothing can be done: no copy exists anywhere.
| What you have | Way out |
|---|---|
| The recovery phrase written down | Restore anywhere. Case closed |
| Working device, forgotten PIN, with phrase | Reset and restore |
| Working device, forgotten PIN, no phrase | Depends on the model; often no way out |
| One Tangem card from the set | You have access |
| No card and no phrase | No case |
What no service can do
Nobody forces open a modern hardware device to extract your phrase. Not me, and not the companies advertising it. If someone offers that, either they will charge you for nothing or they will ask you to mail them the device and disappear with it. I explain it in can a Ledger or a Trezor be hacked?.