This guide demonstrates how to set up a new Samourai wallet on Android and protect the seed phrase in a robust stainless steel backup called Kiboruto, made by @Crazyk_031 Y @stackbitme. You can find the Kiboruto and more at crazyk3d.com.
Introduction
If you’ve taken custody of your bitcoin, congratulations on taking the first steps toward living a permissionless life. Now, you need to make sure that your bitcoin is safe and secure from environmental hazards like fire and flood. Writing down your backup information in a notebook is a good start, but at some point, you may find that this no longer feels secure enough when you take environmental hazards into account.
When you take radical responsibility for the self-custody of your bitcoin, you and only you are responsible for those funds. There is no chargeback feature or 1-800 helpline with Bitcoin, so make sure you take every precaution to protect your funds. Since Kiboruto is tailor-made for the Samourai wallet, that wallet will be the focus of this guide. With the Samourai Wallet, there are three key pieces of information you want to protect:
1. Seed words
When you set up the Samourai Wallet, you will be given a list of 12 words known as your “seed words”, sometimes also referred to as a “seed phrase” or “mnemonic phrase”. These 12 keywords are key information that allows you to restore your Bitcoin wallet in case your phone is lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair, for example. Keywords should always be saved in the same order that your wallet presents them to you. If you get even one word in the wrong order, it could render your bitcoin backup useless. Be prepared for the worst and secure your seed words like gold or jewels.
2. Passphrase
You will also set a passphrase when generating your Samourai Wallet. The passphrase is something unique that you set, Samourai Wallet does not generate it. Your Samourai wallet has no way of knowing which passphrase you set, and furthermore, any passphrase you enter will generate a valid wallet. Whether or not that is the wallet that contains your bitcoin depends on your ability to enter the same passphrase that you originally set up when you first set up your wallet. Unlike seed words, which come from a predefined list of 2,048 English wordsA passphrase, on the other hand, can include any combination of lowercase/uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters that you want to use.
3. PayNym
Last but not least is their PayNym. PayNym is a unique name and avatar associated with your wallet. You can use this PayNym to verify that you have indeed restored the correct wallet. However, your PayNym is capable of much more: you can display a static payment code to receive funds without revealing your previous transaction history to anyone. Use your PayNym to connect with other Samourai Wallet users so you can create collaborative CoinJoin transactions like Stowaway or StonewallX2. Verify usecahoots.com Learn more.
The next section will walk you through exactly how to get these three pieces of information from a new Samourai wallet.
Samourai Wallet Settings
Kiboruto’s stainless steel back was designed specifically for your Samourai wallet. Stainless steel backs like this can withstand extreme environmental conditions, such as a house fire or severe flooding. Often people will use pencil and paper to write their opening sentences; This is a good start, and if you want to use pen and paper, download the Samourai Wallet Recovery Template. here. But your paper backup may not withstand a fire or flood, so consider using both methods for a fail-safe. Keep in mind, however, that anyone who gains access to this information will technically be able to gain access to your bitcoin, so keep them safe.
Here is a video on how to set up your Samourai wallet for the first time and get the keywords that you will then stamp on your Kiboruto. Please note that the wallet version (0.99.96g) used in this video has been updated to a newer version with a detailed explanatory introduction. The new version will be shown later in the guide when I demonstrate how to retrieve your keywords.
The next section will walk you through how to seal your Samourai wallet backup information on your Kiboruto. You can download Samourai Wallet for your Android device directly from the Samurai Wallet website or use the F-Droid repository option or the Google Play Store option listed on the website as well.
Stamping the Kiboruto
Once you’ve set up your wallet and identified your PayNym, you can navigate the menu again to display your initial words and then stamp them onto the Kiboruto, as shown in the video below.
- From the Samourai Wallet home page, navigate to the three-dot menu in the top right corner and select “settings,” then “wallet,” then “show mnemonic.” A dialog box will appear with your 12 keywords. These are the words you want to stamp on the Kiboruto in order.
- To test your passphrase before you stamp it, from your Samourai Wallet home page, navigate to the three-dot menu in the top right corner and select “settings,” then “troubleshoot,” then “password test/copy of security”. From there, you can enter your passphrase and Samourai Wallet will confirm if it’s correct. Once you know you have it correct, you can seal it in the Kiboruto.
- To view your PayNym from your Samourai Wallet home page, navigate to the blue “+” sign in the bottom right corner, then select the purple PayNym icon. Your PayNym short name will be displayed directly below your PayNym bot avatar.
Be sure to use a solid surface on which to stamp your Kiboruto, such as a concrete floor. A heavy hammer, such as a four-pound mini sledge, works well to get a crisp seal. You will stamp the 12 keywords in order on the large Kiboruto badge and then you will stamp your passphrase and PayNym on the small Kiboruto badge. This way, you can store the two pieces of information separately if you want. You will need both pieces (seed words and passphrase) to recover your bitcoin in case you lose access to your wallet.
You should now have your keywords, unique PayNym, and your passphrase metal-secured on the Kiboruto. This way, you have the information you need to restore your Samourai wallet and recover your bitcoin if your phone is lost, damaged or stolen or if your backup is exposed to fire or flood.
The next section will demonstrate a litmus test of Kiboruto to verify that backup data is recoverable in the event of extreme environmental conditions.
Kiboruto Fire Corps
Any stainless steel backing must be able to withstand fire or flood. But testing these backups is important to verify that the information contained within is recoverable. You may not want or have the necessary tools/skills to conduct your own litmus test, so here is an example of the Kiboruto rising to just below the melting point, 1,500 degrees Celsius.
The Kiboruto successfully secured vital information needed to restore the Samourai wallet and regain access to bitcoin. The seed phrase is 100% recoverable and even most of the engraving survived.
The next section will demonstrate how to restore your Samourai wallet using only your Kiboruto backup information.
Restoration from Kiboruto
The good thing about seed words is that they follow the popular BIP39 standard. This means that you can use a variety of Bitcoin wallets to recover your funds from this type of backup. For example, if you lost your mobile phone and bought a new one, you could to download Samourai Wallet app again and then follow these recovery steps using your Kiboruto to regain access to your bitcoin.
Once you launch Samourai Wallet, you will have the recommended options to connect to Tor and connect to your account Ronin Dojo. You will then have the option to restore from the backup. Simply enter your initial words in order from your Kiboruto and then add your passphrase from your Kiboruto and then you will be presented with the same PayNym as your original and have access to your bitcoin once again.
Conclution
That should be all you need to restore your Samourai wallet after a catastrophic event where you lose your phone and need to restore access to your bitcoin. If you ever have questions about the wallet bypass route, WalletsRecovery.org has compiled most of the Bitcoin wallets in one list.
Here are the Samourai Wallet bypass paths, for example:
- Deposit: m/44’|49’|84’|47’/0’/0′
- Bad bank: m/84’/0’/2147483644′
- Premix: m/84’/0’/2147483645′
- Back Mix: m/84’/0’/2147483646′
- Rebound: m/44’|49’|84’/0’/2147483647′
When restoring a Samourai wallet to another Samourai wallet client, you won’t have to worry about these bypass paths. This would only be a consideration if doing a cross-platform restore to another wallet.
Some final considerations are how many copies of the Kiboruto you want, where to store them, and whether or not to store the passphrase separately. Each person’s threat model, situation, and circumstances are unique, so each individual will need to make these decisions on their own. Just keep in mind that an adversary could restore your wallet if he finds your keywords and passphrase.
using a Ronin Dojo it is the most private way to use Samourai Wallet. @BitcoinQ_A wrote a great guide on how to get started with it and there are full instructions kept in the ronin wiki page. There is also a guide from Bitcoin Magazine on how to set up the new plug-and-play RoninDojo Tanto. If you ever have questions please reach out. Both developer teams maintain nifty community support channels on Telegram:
This is a guest post by Econoalchemist. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
