Coldcard Q Bitcoin Hardware Wallet (Unboxing, Setup & Review) Air-Gapped QR Codes + Password Manager

[@spark8005]

You are an excellent teacher! Great work!

[@CryptoGuide]

Thanks

[@formetoknow540]

Thank for the upload. Your great at what u do making it easy for us plebs to understand self custody for beginners like me

[@CryptoGuide]

Thanks :)

[@martinlutherkingjr.5582]

Apart from micro SD backups is there any reason to use a micro SD card on the ColdCard Q? Can you do everything else through QR codes so it's completely air gapped apart from firmware updates? If everything else can be done with QR codes that seems pretty comforting since it reduces your level of paranoia about inserting a micro sd card into your hardware wallet that was previously inserted into a computer (or having to use a brand new micro sd card each time, if you're that paranoid).

[@CryptoGuide]

As long as you are only fling relatively simple transactions then QR is fine. If you do consolidation transactions that have tonnes of inputs and stuff then you will start to have a bad experience due to needing to scan so many QR codes, at which point SD cards make it easier.

[@rydmerlin]

Your comment re batteries and long term storage. Does that apply with eneloops as well?

[@CryptoGuide]

NiMH batteries don't leak, but probably won't retain their charge either. If you intend to store it unattended for years then I would just take the batteries out first.

[@TheHonestFoodTeller]

You just put batteries when you use it. No lithium, no Nimh, just 3 normal cheap batteries.

[@CryptoGuide]

This is the simplest solution :)

[@Cidjei1v9]

Great review! It seems to me to be a very complete device.

[@CryptoGuide]

It certainly has just about every feature you could want if you are an advanced user. (And I suspect most of the issues in the firmware side will be resolved over the next 12 months)

[@glauciahelena791]

Excellent video. I have a question (maybe it’s a crazy one) : is it possible to use multisig using this temporary seed functionality?

[@CryptoGuide]

Temp seed can be used for everything a normal seed can be used for.

[@Forwardever.]

Great review! How many transactions can be done on one of these?

[@CryptoGuide]

What do you mean by this?

[@Forwardever.]

@@CryptoGuide sorry I'm new to this stuff. But I mean I would like to buy Bitcoin at different intervals throughout the year. Do I need multiple wallets, or would one of these suffice? If I can do multiple transactions, does it generate new seed phrases for each transaction?

[@CryptoGuide]

You would just use the same wallet to receive all the transaction. This is the same for all decent wallets, both software and hardware.

[@jpp_vh]

Thank you for your great review. I hope they will upgrade to support standard qrcode UR2 used by everyone else. Bbr lack the fountains error correction meaning if 1 frame is missed it needs to roll over one more time all frames.... Also no way to import paper wallet?

[@CryptoGuide]

Thanks. Yea that would be nice if they just supported the same standards as everyone else QR wise, but the rantings of NVK on twitter make me doubt that it will be added any time soon... In terms of paper wallets, while you can scan a raw WIF private key it and it will detect that it is a WIF key, it doesn't actually let you do anything useful with it. (So doesn't allow you to derive the possible addresses, import it to sign transactions, etc)

[@jpp_vh]

​@@CryptoGuide You can't import pub key in sparrow and have it signed on the cold card?

[@CryptoGuide]

The coldcard only lets you import extended private keys (xprv) and seeds, not individual loose private keys. (I just checked and Sparrow doesn't even support loose private keys) Electrum does do this, so is still the preferred option if you want a FOSS approach for securely sweeping paper wallets using two laptops or phones. (Or Ellipal can work for folk who aren't tech savvy)

[@mrprfct7069]

The passphrase setup on the q is different. Seems a space must be added when using bip39 words.

[@CryptoGuide]

You certainly don't need a space, though on the Q it uses more of an auto-complete type function for adding BIP39 words.

[@formetoknow540]

Off topic sorry but I have to ask. how did u get in to this space back in 2012 so early before everyone else....2013 2104 must have been hard I hear

[@CryptoGuide]

Someone told me about it and I was basically captivated by the technical side of things. It was a pain in the ass to get and it wasn't obvious that it wasn't all over after the slow-crash after the ~1K peak in late 2013... But here we are :)

[@formetoknow540]

@CryptoGuide you've seen a fair few cycle then. and have a solid understanding of the actual bitcoin network it. " It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on.” - Satoshi Nakamoto on Bitcoin in 2009

[@CryptoGuide]

Basically yea

[@formetoknow540]

@CryptoGuide As an amusing thought experiment, imagine that Bitcoin is successful and becomes the dominant payment system in use throughout the world. Then the total value of the currency should be equal to the total value of all the wealth in the world. Current estimates of total worldwide household wealth that I have found range from $100 trillion to $300 trillion. With 20 million coins, that gives each coin a value of about $10 million. So the possibility of generating coins today with a few cents of compute time may be quite a good bet, with a payoff of something like 100 million to 1! Even if the odds of Bitcoin succeeding to this degree are slim, are they really 100 million to one against? Something to think about... Hal finny

[@formetoknow540]

@@CryptoGuide you've seen a fair few cycle then. and have a solid understanding of the actual bitcoin network it.

[@jithagoat]

Can you chose which derivation path you want to use (taproot, segwit, others)

[@CryptoGuide]

You can choose legacy, p2sh-segwith or native segwit. Coldcard still doesn't support taproot on their stable releases.

[@recongraves]

What would that opp me out of. ​@@CryptoGuide

[@CryptoGuide]

I don't understand the question? Are you asking if you need taproot? (The answer in 2024 is still no...)

[@recongraves]

@@CryptoGuide thank you for your hard work is there any other cold wallet that you would recommend above this one. Currently in the market

[@CryptoGuide]

Coldcard is fine if you are an advanced user. If you are after the same functionality in an easier to use format then the foundation passport is very good too.

[@eddcz3856]

please can somebody tell me if i can check my account IN the ColdcardQ???? or i need always the sparrow??

[@CryptoGuide]

You can just use the address explorer on the Coldcard

[@mrvincefox]

Arrergh that damn flute 2:24 😭

[@CryptoGuide]

;)

[@pierrefitch]

Is this safe for my bitcoin i have trezor safe 5

[@CryptoGuide]

Either the Trezor or Coldcard are fine

[@pierrefitch]

@@CryptoGuideis coldcard easy to operate

[@CryptoGuide]

But also easy to screw up

[@TheHonestFoodTeller]

Trezor 5 is one of the best. First Trezor with really good security.

[@CryptoGuide]

The Safe 3 is basically the same but without the touchscreen UI, but yea, a big improvement over the original Trezor One and Trezor T :)

[@LusioCata]

Why would anyone want to connect one’s coldcard air-gap device to one’s computer in order to only transfer saved passwords?

[@CryptoGuide]

Because they want to use it as a password manager :)

[@LusioCata]

But - honest question - doesn’t that expose the device to unnecessary risk?

[@CryptoGuide]

The risks of being connected over USB are theoretical and often overstated for marketing reasons...

[@CryptoGuide]

The risks of being connected over USB are theoretical and often overstated for marketing reasons... (I would also add that if running airgapped means you aren't verifying receiving addresses due to the extra friction involved vs USB, then your airgapped setup is actually less secure overall...)

[@kameeklucastaitt]

Solid review. Would love to hear your thoughts on the bitkey from Block.

[@CryptoGuide]

It seems extremely basic for the price tag, so haven't found a reason to pick one up at this time.

[@Btree33]

@@CryptoGuidedo it for the thousands of views you’ll rack up. Your voice is needed ok things like this

[@CryptoGuide]

I may look at it at some point

[@kameeklucastaitt]

@@CryptoGuide It’s definitely worth a look, I believe it’s an overall benefit to less tech savvy people feeling confident about taking self custody and getting their funds off the exchange.

[@CryptoGuide]

Perhaps... Or they could just get a Ledger ;)

[@steverushe5175]

Great video, set mine up last night but wasn't aware of all those extra features!

[@CryptoGuide]

Glad it helped. There are certainly a bunch of extra features that aren't immediately obvious :)

[@ryanretirement6662]

I choose Ledger Flex over this Coldcard Q big calculator hardware wallet.

[@CryptoGuide]

Yea they are really totally different devices for completely different types of uses.

[@eddcz3856]

i am having a BIG PROBLEM i just bought one of this and the PIN i am using keep telling me it is the wrong one and it is not, i do not what to do, how can be it possible? i am 100% sure i am using the right one

[@CryptoGuide]

Unfortunately if you don't have the right pin for a Coldcard then it will be bricked

[@asteriskesque]

Is there something wrong with the screen on your ColdCard Q, or are they really that dim? I really don't understand why so many hardware wallets use such terrible and usually tiny screens. This device is huge, yet the screen isn't very big and the text is really small. I don't get it. ColdCard offers some features that I really like, but wow, those screens are so bad.

[@CryptoGuide]

I don't think it's faulty, as the white QR codes and text are really bright, I just think it's the "burnt orange" colour that they went with to match their branding, as Coinkite do spend a lot of time reinforcing a very specific aesthetic for all of their stuff... You will notice that I turn the brightness boost off when the QR codes are on screen and they are perfectly clear. The viewing angle of the LCD is also very poor, that isn't the issue here. I took it to a meetup the other night and a few folks tried to turn the brightness up and were very surprised to see that it was already at 100%... If you have it next to something like a Jade, or Krux, even when they are using an orange/black colour scheme, it's a night and day comparison. I actually have a second here that I haven't opened up, so could bust it out if there are a bunch of questions about whether it's just a faulty screen.

[@formetoknow540]

The trazor safe 5 is available for pre order now. Looking forward for your review of it

[@CryptoGuide]

I have no idea what you are trying to say

[@formetoknow540]

@CryptoGuide oh sorry 😞 Trezor Safe 5 has just been announced. Its available for pre order

[@CryptoGuide]

Yea I saw that, it's a Trezor T with a secure element :) I'll pre-order one, but the odds are I'll have one running DIY before it even arrives ;) (though it seems like it would be a bit rude to push that out before they ship)

[@formetoknow540]

@CryptoGuide guess someone with your advance capabilites could actually do that why not nothing stopping u hehe 😉

[@CryptoGuide]

;)

[@chain_wizard]

Best

[@CryptoGuide]

That was quick ;)

[@stl-xx5rq]

Please note that anyone can access the seed shown.

[@CryptoGuide]

That's right, it was made for this video. (Like all my videos)

[@stl-xx5rq]

@@CryptoGuide Ok.

[@CryptoGuide]

:)

[@bdrpplir]

I upgraded to a Q recently from a MKIV. Using sparrow I can scan a PSBT into the Q fine but I cant get the signed transaction into Sparrow via the QR code from the Q. My camera just isn't picking up the QR code generated by the Q. Is this a problem with my camera is it a problem with the Q? Any thoughts?

[@CryptoGuide]

You may need to re-export the wallet from the Q into Sparrow so that it knows to scan the BBQr QR code type. Have you tried that?

[@bdrpplir]

@@CryptoGuide Ah no I had not considered that option thank you I will try that today.

[@bdrpplir]

@@CryptoGuide I have all the latest firmware installed 1.2.3 240705 The export of my Wallet to Sparrow initiates a new wallet in Sparrow. Does this mean my original Wallet is now invalid? What happens to the multi sig setups that I have that include the previous wallet do they also have to be replaced and therefore I have to recreate the entire MS setup? Every action I seem ready to take produces more questions about the implications of my current set up its very unsettling as it makes progress very slow and tentative. Do you offer 1on 1 on line consultations for training in this product?

[@CryptoGuide]

It doesn't invalidate previous wallets, everything will still work with your mk4 as normal. So is the fingerprint the same as you were expecting with the old wallet? If you want a private session to look at it, you can request one here cryptoguide.tips/recovery-services-consultations/

[@baronsilverbaron757]

So if you use a USB with a Mk 4 or Q the Coldcard is totally unsafe?

[@CryptoGuide]

The opposite, you are most likely safe.

[@n8r79]

Practice air gapped transactions. It’s not hard especially if you have a device that reads/displays QR codes 😃 👍

[@CryptoGuide]

It does generally work well, especially when using a mobile wallet. (Though the scanner on the Q can certainly be very temperamental)

[@TheHonestFoodTeller]

Coldcard is safe no matter how you use it. Air gap is for extremely cautious people.

[@CryptoGuide]

Basically yea :)

[@shameldiesel]

Coldcard Q vs Keystone pro 3?

[@CryptoGuide]

Both are very similar, but the Coldcard isn't really worth the price premium IMO. The large touchscreen interface is also very good on keystone.

[@shameldiesel]

@CryptoGuide thank you! Appreciate it

[@CryptoGuide]

No worries

[@BlowUpDaChr0n]

looks like a blackberry

[@CryptoGuide]

I think that's the intention.

[@BlowUpDaChr0n]

@@CryptoGuide screen aint the best .. i do like how you can run it on double A's

[@CryptoGuide]

Yea the brightness isn't too bad if you are in a dark room, but hopefully they fix it to be able to change the color...

[@BlowUpDaChr0n]

@@CryptoGuide did they fix the rng issue that was on mk4

[@CryptoGuide]

Yea, though you can still create a low entropy seed with dice if you go through the "temporary seed" workflow

[@joeh9009]

so basically this was a terrible tutorial on a complex device, ill stick to Trezor

[@CryptoGuide]

It wasn't a tutorial, it was a demo of the unboxing setup and a review :) But yea, it is a very complicated device, most users are probably better off sticking with something like a Trezor. :)

[@dionbilous3494]

Maybe don't buy it in the first place. The company is not ethical. They lie about what they have in stock and actual shipping times. Bitcoiners should reject these practices as most of us have adopted BTC for ethical reasons

[@CryptoGuide]

I haven't had any issues with the shipping side, but do have issues with the way that everyone just gives them a free pass for not being Open Source...

[@kasper9670]

@@CryptoGuide I thought their source is open for view?

[@CryptoGuide]

Source available isn't the same as open source. The model Coldcard have gone with breaks the incentive model for competent developers to use, expand and build on their code. (Compared to something like Trezor which is used and reviewed by multiple other vendors)

[@kasper9670]

@@CryptoGuide In your opinion whats the safer option the Q or the trezor safe 5 btc only?

[@CryptoGuide]

I think they are roughly equivalent, though Trezor has a longer track record as a company

[@n8r79]

Thank you the video and passing on the great information 💪 Vid idea. Utxo management.