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Sep 10, 2020

Rekeying with Ledger Nano X Tutorial

By: Ian Cross

After the latest release of Algorand’s new Rekeying Feature, Algorand Wallet users now have more control and flexibility when it comes to how transactions are signed and how accounts are managed. This provides for 2 additional workflows within the Algorand Wallet:

  1. Add a Ledger Device to an existing Algorand account - You now have the ability to take an existing account that is backed by a locally-stored passphrase and change it so that it is backed by a Ledger Nano X device. In this scenario, all signing power is transferred over to that Ledger device, and the old passphrase can be deprecated/discarded.
  2. Swap Ledger Devices - You now have the ability to take an account that is backed by a Nano X device and swap to a new Ledger device. Similar to the previous scenario, your old Ledger device will not be able to sign transactions for this account and your new Ledger device will now back that account.

Not only do these new workflows allow you to change account configurations while not impacting your balances, public addresses, etc. they also enable users to have several Algorand accounts being signed by the same Ledger device.

In this tutorial, I’ll take you through an explanation of both workflows.

Add a Ledger Device to an existing Algorand account

In order to go through this tutorial, you must meeting the following requirements:

  • You must have an existing account in the Algorand Wallet. If not, please create or recover an account before beginning.
  • You must have a Ledger Nano X device.

In this tutorial, I’m going to rekey my account called “Ian’s Account” to my Ledger Nano X device.

1. On your Accounts homepage, find the account you’d like to rekey. In this case, I’ll be rekeying “Ian’s account”

2. Next, tap the 3 dots next to your account name, you’ll see an option for “Rekey Account.” Tap that option.

3. You’ll see an overview of what to expect with this rekeying process. Hit “Start Process”

4. You’ll now be prompted to pair your Ledger device. If it’s your first time pairing a ledger device, tap on the “Troubleshoot” button which will give you some tips on how to connect.

5. Once you’ve turned on your Ledger device and opened the Algorand app, you should see your Ledger device show up at the top. Tap “Connect” to continue

6. Finally, you’ll see a confirmation page showing you that you’re about to change from using a passphrase to using a Ledger device. To finalize this process, tap “Finalize Rekeying”

That’s it! Now your account is backed by this Ledger device! You’ll need to connect to this Ledger device to sign transactions coming from this account.

Swap Ledger Devices

In order to go through this second workflow, you must meet the following requirements:

  • have an existing account in the Algorand Wallet that is backed by a Ledger device. Either pair a Ledger backed account or scroll back up to the first tutorial which starts with a passphrase-backed account.
  • have your old Ledger Nano X device that signs transactions for this account.
  • have your new Ledger Nano X device that will become the backing device for this account.

Since this workflow is almost identical to the workflow described in detail above, we’ll start from step 6. from above. You see that your Old Ledger device will be swapped with your New Ledger device. Tap “Finalize Rekeying.”

7. Once you hit “Finalize Rekeying,” you’ll be prompted to connect your Old Ledger device. Since we need to send a transaction to the network to complete this rekeying process, your Old Ledger will need to sign this final transaction. Connect to your Old Ledger device and when prompted on the device’s screen, confirm the transaction.

That’s it! Now your account is backed by this new Ledger device! You’ll need to connect to this Ledger device for transactions coming from this account.

Disclaimers:

  • Rekeying within Algorand Wallet is advanced functionality that requires changing of private keys or potentially juggling multiple Ledger devices. Please only utilize this functionality if you understand the workflows.
  • Use caution when Rekeying an account multiple times. There is no limit to the number of times you can rekey an account. If you wanted to cycle through 365 Ledger devices, 1 for each day, you can do so. Please understand that Rekeying to old devices or to re-used devices may become tricky to manage. While it can be done, it requires careful organization.

Learn more about Algorand's latest Wallet upgrades here, and for any feedback, please reach out to [email protected]

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