Ledger Nano S Plus Review: Good for Beginners

Krisztian Sandor is simply a newsman connected the Crypto Explainer+ team. He has written for Forbes and Reuters. He holds BTC and ETH.

• Minimalistic, no-frills design

• Supports NFTs and 5,500 cryptocurrencies

• Buying crypto straight from the wallet is tedious

• Sole work to safely store the acold storage

The Ledger Nano S Plus is simply a hardware wallet designed for securely storing your cryptocurrency offline, including non-fungible tokens (NFT). It is simply a long-awaited upgrade of the brand’s crypto wallet for beginners aimed for those who privation to unafraid their integer assets themselves.

To backmost up a bit, determination are 2 types of wallets: blistery wallets and acold wallets. Hot wallets are connected to the net and are typically disposable online oregon connected your smartphone. Cold wallets cannot beryllium accessed done the net and are astir often carnal devices wherever cryptocurrencies tin beryllium stored securely offline. Cold wallets fto you person implicit power of your cryptocurrencies acknowledgment to self-custody. It means that you clasp the keys to the wallet and negociate entree to it, contrary to a wallet connected an exchange, wherever the institution holds your keys.

The Ledger Nano S Plus’ predecessor, the Nano S, casts a agelong shadow. Launched backmost successful 2016, it was a bestseller among hardware wallets, with the institution reportedly selling implicit 4.5 cardinal devices. However, astir of the fashionable cryptocurrencies contiguous were not astir erstwhile the Nano S archetypal came to market, and fewer radical were funny successful NFTs astatine the time.

Fast guardant to the present: The caller Nano S Plus seems to person caught up with the times. As crypto has moved adjacent farther into the mainstream, the marketplace has grown to see caller wallets for users of each levels, from implicit beginners to institutional-grade investors.

In today’s market, the Nano S Plus volition not lone vie with myriad different hardware wallets but each the self-custodial, blistery wallet solutions offered by exchanges and bundle providers, too.

The marque caller Ledger comes successful a matte achromatic container with a metallic silver sleeve. Opening it, you volition find:

• The Ledger Nano S Plus hardware

• A USB cablegram to link the Ledger to the machine (USB connected 1 end, Type-C connected the other)

• A agleam orangish container with 3 notepads for the Secret Recovery Phrase (also known arsenic effect phrase)

• A pastel purple container with the manual instructions

• A key-holder concatenation with a Ledger logo

The hardware wallet looks similar a fancy, elegant thumb thrust covered by a signature polished metallic wing. The matte, rounded ammunition sports a small, monochrome surface of 128 x 64 pixels, which is perfectly ample capable for the job.

The instrumentality has 2 buttons connected the broadside for navigation. They are casual to usage and close but consciousness wobbly and clunky, which botches the different premium impression. On its top, you find the Type-C plug to link the wallet to the computer.

The USB cablegram that comes wrong the container stays steadfast successful the device, and the textile, shoelace-like screen keeps the cord untangled.

Overall, I loved the no-frills, less-is-more design. I tin spot however keeping it elemental would assistance beginners and first-time owners debar immoderate disorder erstwhile navigating the wallet and its buttons.

One of my worries astir utilizing acold retention anterior to this proceedings was however analyzable and intimidating it would beryllium to get up to speed. That fearfulness ended up being unfounded, astatine slightest with this device.

Setting up the hardware wallet was reasonably casual and took little than 30 minutes. The instructions for each measurement successful the process were wide to travel and the full acquisition felt rather seamless.

First, you request to download and instal Ledger’s app, called Ledger Live, from the company’s website oregon a mobile app store. It is disposable successful desktop mentation (Windows, Mac) and mobile mentation (Android, iOS).

Once you’ve installed the app, you link the thumb thrust to the machine with the cablegram it came with. The Ledger has a Type-C socket and the different extremity of the cablegram is simply a modular USB plug. (A USB-to-Type-C converter would travel successful useful for connecting to a smartphone.)

At this constituent you’re going to privation to drawback a pen and a harmless spot to constitute immoderate important accusation down.

The adjacent measurement is to acceptable the PIN code, which is 4 to 8 digits long. It functions successful a akin manner arsenic the unlock codification for a phone. You volition request it each clip to crook connected the hardware wallet and validate each transaction, truthful this is the archetypal happening you’ll request to constitute down connected paper. Do NOT instrumentality a photograph of it oregon marque immoderate integer transcript – this creates an avenue for hackers to bargain your crypto (provided they find and summation entree to your carnal Ledger device).

Next comes the Secret Recovery Phrase: 24 randomly generated words, besides called a effect phrase. This is the 2nd happening you’re going to request to constitute down, and marque definite you get each 24 words precisely right. The app volition inquire you to corroborate the effect operation by choosing the close 1 from 4 choices. Repeat for each the 24 words.

The effect operation is your past edifice if thing happens with the device, truthful it’s important to store this accusation determination harmless and private. If you suffer oregon harm your hardware ledger, you tin retrieve your funds by purchasing a caller Ledger instrumentality and importing your relationship by entering the 24 effect phrases. Lose the effect phrase, however, and your funds volition beryllium gone forever.

When this is each set, the bundle runs a information cheque connected the hardware to spot whether it has been compromised oregon not. This is much commonly a occupation with second-hand hardware wallets, which is mostly not recommended.

To negociate your assets with the Ledger Nano S Plus, you request 2 things:

• A machine oregon a smartphone to link to the wallet

• The Ledger Live application

The Ledger Nano S Plus ever needs to beryllium connected to a instrumentality similar a laptop oregon tablet to beryllium used. More precocious (and expensive) acold wallets tin enactment by themselves for most, utilizing a instrumentality to negociate the wallet won’t beryllium an issue, positive you person the vantage of utilizing a bigger surface than the Ledger’s display.

The illustration gadget I tested had a constricted enactment of coins but Ledger says the wallet volition enactment implicit 5,500 antithetic cryptocurrencies erstwhile it goes connected merchantability April 5, 2022.

The Ledger has an operating strategy called BOLOS (Blockchain Open Ledger Operating System). You tin download plentifulness of further applications from Ledger's ain app store, Discover, via Ledger Live.

The retention of Nano S Plus has been upgraded to 1.5 megabytes, which offers plentifulness of abstraction for its purpose, much than capable to instal 100 applications.

If you privation to clasp a circumstantial cryptocurrency connected the wallet, you person to download and instal its exertion connected the Ledger Live app. These apps assistance you entree to the blockchain of your chosen coin. Let’s say, you privation to clasp bitcoin connected your Ledger. Here’s however you tin bash that:

1. Click connected “Manager” connected the near paper barroom successful the Ledger Live app connected your machine oregon smartphone.

2. Unlock your Ledger with your PIN code.

3. The App Catalog volition look showing each the imaginable cryptocurrencies you tin store successful the wallet. Select the 1 you would similar to store and click connected install.

4. Then click “Add account” for that cryptocurrency.

5. A model pops up connected your Ledger Live app and a motion connected the Ledger’s surface to “Open app” for the chosen cryptocurrency. Push the 2 broadside buttons astatine the aforesaid clip to proceed.

6. After a fewer seconds, you tin sanction the relationship and you’re done.

Most of the bigger cryptocurrencies and their blockchains are supported by the Ledger Live app. It gets trickier erstwhile you delve deeper into lesser known coins, due to the fact that they often necessitate third-party wallets. If you are funny successful them, it’s champion to cheque Ledger’s website however you tin store them.

Moving assets from an speech to acold retention is the astir important relation you volition usage a hardware wallet for.

These are the steps you’ll request to travel to execute this utilizing the Ledger Nano S Plus:

1. Connect the instrumentality and unfastened the Ledger Live app.

2. Select “Receive” connected the paper connected the near and transcript the code connected your screen.

3. Log successful to your speech relationship and prime retreat funds (it varies by exchanges).

4. Paste the wallet code you copied from the Ledger Live and acceptable the magnitude of tokens to withdraw.

This was the archetypal clip I’d ever moved integer assets from an speech to acold storage, and the full process was really overmuch faster and easier than I expected. Even making definite to get the code close was little intimidating than I thought.

As a test, I withdrew 10 MATIC from my speech relationship to the Ledger Nano S Plus device. The tokens (minus the 0.1 MATIC transportation fee) appeared successful the Ledger Live app wrong 5 minutes.

Processing clip and fees beryllium connected the blockchain you usage for the transfer.

Hardware wallets are a blockchain-only solution, truthful you cannot deposit and support fiat currencies connected it. This surely makes them little convenient than blistery wallets oregon exchanges but remember, what you suffer connected convenience you summation connected security.

The Ledger lets you bargain and merchantability cryptocurrencies straight connected the instrumentality with a mates of third-party applications specified arsenic Banxa, Coinify and Moonpay. They enactment arsenic intermediaries betwixt the fiat and crypto satellite and fto you usage your dollars (or euros, pounds, pesos, etc.) to put successful cryptocurrencies.

These fiat-to-crypto on-ramps are cardinal for making crypto accessible for mundane people. Unfortunately, though, astir providers necessitate extended recognition checks, complaint outsized fees oregon don't service definite regions oregon states. I spent an full greeting trying to find an on-ramp that could marque a transaction.

The shortcoming of on-ramps are not Ledger’s responsibility but it points retired a important obstacle for the crypto manufacture to solve. It is simply a missing portion of the puzzle that easy scares the little experienced users away. I urge utilizing exchanges for acquisition and sales, and keeping the Ledger for storage.

The Nano S Plus is perfect for radical who person already made their archetypal steps successful crypto, are reasoning astir holding (or HODLing) integer assets arsenic a semipermanent concern and privation to instrumentality afloat power implicit the ownership of their integer assets.

For those who are conscionable starting their travel successful crypto, opening with a hardware wallet is possibly excessively large of a measurement – unless, of course, you’re investing ample sums of wealth and request the further information that comes with collet wallet storage.

The other information comes astatine the disbursal of being wholly liable for your assets.

If you suffer your carnal instrumentality oregon misplace the written-down transcript of your effect phrase, determination is nary mode to retrieve entree to your coins. The aforesaid happens with transactions. If you privation to nonstop crypto and marque a mistake typing the receiver’s wallet address, determination is nary cardinal authorization astatine manus to reverse the transaction.

While hacking a hardware wallet is importantly much hard than a software-based wallet solution connected to the internet, it’s not impossible. It conscionable means idiosyncratic has to instrumentality the added measurement of getting entree to your carnal instrumentality and your phrases successful bid to get astatine the assets.

If you are looking to commencement your travel with acold storage, the caller Ledger Nano S Plus volition not disappoint. With a $79 terms tag, it's an inexpensive enactment for a first-time idiosyncratic to effort it out.

Sure, determination are wallets retired determination with much precocious specs. The Ledger Nano X, for example, has a larger screen, much representation to store coins, enables connecting with Bluetooth to your machine oregon usage the hardware wallet without immoderate transportation for $149. Ultimately, I don’t spot immoderate crushed wherefore the mean capitalist would request much than what the Nano S Plus offers.

The Nano S Plus does a reasonably bully occupation of keeping it elemental and accessible for the crypto funny who privation to instrumentality ownership of integer assets successful their ain hands. Navigating done the idiosyncratic interface was comfortable, and I ne'er felt overwhelmed by the options.

All successful all, the caller Ledger Nano S Plus is simply a large enactment for modern crypto holders of each levels.

One caveat I would adhd for radical holding tiny sums of crypto is that they should inquire themselves: Is an other furniture of information indispensable and worthy the other effort astatine their existent level of investment? If the reply is inactive yes – oregon astatine slightest not a categorical nary – the Ledger Nano S Plus is good worthy your money.

One of the astir breathtaking frontiers successful self-custody is to marque it arsenic user-friendly and foolproof arsenic imaginable without sacrificing information and ownership and I deliberation the Ledger Nano S Plus succeeds successful delivering that experience.