KeepKey PIN Recovery: What To Do If You Forgot Your PIN

While the KeepKey hardware wallet’s PIN protects against unauthorized access, it creates significant barriers if you’re blocked from your account. For instance, say you forgot your KeepKey PIN. Without this series of numbers, you can’t log in to your KeepKey wallet. But that doesn't mean there's no hope. Even if you've forgotten the PIN to your KeepKey wallet, you're not out of recovery options.

Let's walk through the standard protocols for KeepKey recovery if you've lost your PIN and explain a few key risk factors. We'll also share how to seek professional help if you need expert guidance.

In most hardware wallets like KeepKey, the PIN serves as your crypto's first line of defense. KeepKey lets you create a set of up to nine digits for your PIN, and you'll need to enter them every time you plug in your device before accessing your digital assets. Even if someone gets hold of your physical KeepKey wallet, they won't be able to open the account without first entering the correct PIN.

When entering your KeepKey PIN, you have three attempts to put in the correct number. If you don't get your PIN right after each of these attempts, you'll have to deal with a delay mechanism in-between future PIN entries. Eventually, too many wrong attempts will trigger a factory reset, meaning it will erase all the data in your KeepKey.

Since a factory reset wipes your KeepKey clean, you'll need your recovery seed phrase to restore access afterward. Without the seed, your funds could be lost permanently.

It's critical to distinguish between the PIN and recovery phrase in the KeepKey wallet. Unlike the PIN, the recovery phrase (or "seed phrase") is the essential backup for the crypto stored in the wallet. This set of 12 words corresponds to the wallet's private key, which lets users recover the crypto on this wallet account on any compatible device. For this reason, a lost KeepKey seed phrase is far more severe than losing a PIN.

So, if you've lost your PIN but still have your recovery phrase, you're in good shape. With the seed phrase, you can restore your crypto and create a new PIN on your KeepKey or any other wallet that recognizes the BIP39 standard.

If you forgot your KeepKey PIN but still have your recovery phrase, there's a safe and relatively straightforward way to regain access to the crypto on your KeepKey:

You'll need to erase the device before setting it up again. Here's how:

1. Open the KeepKey Desktop software on your PC and connect the KeepKey wallet.
2. Go to Device Settings > Factory Reset.
3. Confirm the action on your device.

After resetting:

1. Choose "Recover Wallet" during your KeepKey wallet setup.
2. Enter your recovery phrase in the proper order.
3. Your wallet and funds will be restored — along with any balances and transaction history.

KeepKey has an optional passphrase feature that lets you add an extra word or phrase to the end of your seed to create an extra security buffer. You'll enter the same 12-word recovery phrase as mentioned above, but you need to add the extra passphrase every time you want to see the crypto stored in this "hidden wallet."

On the positive side, the secret passphrase prevents thieves from getting into a KeepKey wallet account even if they have the entire 12-word recovery phrase. However, this also means wallet owners must be extra cautious about storing or remembering this passphrase — otherwise, they won't be able to restore the crypto in their account.

Here's where things get tough — but not impossible.

When you forget your PIN and lose your recovery phrase, DIY recovery is no longer an option. However, it's technically possible to extract sensitive information directly from a KeepKey device, even without the PIN or seed phrase. This involves "hacking" the device at the hardware level, something only highly qualified professionals with the state-of-the-art tools can perform.

Recovering a KeepKey at this stage is a job for experts since it requires advanced skills, expertise, and technologies. This often includes hardware-level data extraction, years of experience with crypto wallets, and specialized tools in secure environments. Reach out to ReWallet so we can assess your case and let you know whether recovery is still possible.

Being locked out of your crypto wallet is stressful, but with ReWallet, you're not facing it alone. Whether you've lost your KeepKey PIN and/or seed phrase, our recovery team has the expertise and experience that could help.

Contact ReWallet today to start your KeepKey recovery.