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Prove your seed backup with a restore test first
Words on a card are not a backup until you have restored them once on a spare device and seen the same addresses.
Written by John AlewineReviewed by the Crypto Guidance team
Published ยท Updated
A seed phrase written on a card is a guess until you prove it opens something. I want that proof before serious money moves into the wallet.
What the test proves
- The backup is readable.
- Those words, on a device you control, produce the same addresses you already use.
- You can wipe the test device afterward.
How I have people do it
- Use a spare device you can factory reset. Do not use your daily phone.
- Enter the words from the backup, not from memory. If a letter is wrong, you want to learn it now.
- Match the derivation path. A zero balance usually means the wrong path, not a theft.
- Confirm one receive address you have used before. Then stop.
- Wipe the spare and confirm it no longer shows the accounts.
Do not photograph the card to make the test easier. Do not paste the words into a website that promises to validate them. Do not skip the wipe. The leftover copy becomes the weakest link.
The full walkthrough is in the restore test guide. If you want a second set of eyes, that is consulting, and I will never ask for your seed phrase.