Setting up a PIN

A great security feature of the COLDCARD is that it can be used completely air-gapped. Meaning that you never have to connect it to a computer, although that option is there if you choose to use it. You can use a standard USB outlet transformer or even a 9v battery with the COLDPOWER adaptor, which Coinkite offers here. To power on the COLDCARD simply connect a USB to micro-USB cable to the port on top of the COLDCARD and the other end to the USB port on your COLDPOWER adaptor & 9v battery.

Once powered on, first read and accept the terms of sale & use. Then you will be asked to confirm the bag number. If there are any discrepancies, contact support@coinkite.com.

Make careful considerations with your PIN number. You don't want to use one that is easy to guess. Your PIN will have two parts, a prefix and suffix. The way the PIN works after you set it all up is that once you enter the prefix, you will be presented with two anti-phishing words. If the words are the same as the original words presented to you at initial setup, then you know that your COLDCARD has not been tampered with since the last time you accessed it. After confirming the anti-phishing words, you then enter the PIN suffix and if all is correct you will be permitted access to the COLDCARD.

First, select Choose PIN Code, then you will see a brief description of how the PIN code works. Each part of your PIN code can be between 2 and 6 digits. There is absolutely no way to access a forgotten or lost PIN. Also, if you enter a PIN incorrectly too many times, it will brick your COLDCARD as a security feature.

After hitting OK you will get one more warning about the risk of losing or forgetting your PIN. After reading that, you can enter your PIN prefix. Use the included notecard to write down your PIN prefix then hit OK.

Next you will be presented with your two anti-phishing words. Write these down on your notecard.

Next, enter your PIN suffix, then write it down on the notecard and hit OK.

Then you will be asked to re-enter your PIN prefix, confirm the two anti-phishing words, and enter your PIN suffix. The COLDCARD will save that information and then open up the wallet where you can generate your seed phrase.