Coldcard Q Bitcoin Wallet - Air Gapped QR Device for Mobile and Desktop
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- This tutorial teaches you how to set up, use, backup and recover the Coldcard Q from Coinkite to secure your Bitcoin. In the video we focus on something called the “air gapped” method, using the built in QR scanner to do transactions. You can find links to all relevant materials down below.
Get a Coldcard Q (discount link): store.coinkite...
RELEVANT LINKS
Other Coldcard Tutorials:
Plugged In Method • Coldcard Q Bitcoin Wal...
NFC Method • Coldcard Q Bitcoin Wal...
Cloning your MK4 to your new Q • Upgrade Your Coldcard ...
Nunchuk
Website nunchuk.io/
Tutorial • Nunchuk Bitcoin Wallet...
Sparrow
Website sparrowwallet....
Tutorial • SPARROW WALLET: Manage...
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Timestamps:
0:00-2:27 Intro
2:28-9:17 Prerequisites
9:18-23:08 Initial Setup
23:09-27:07 Upgrade Firmware
27:08-35:50 Pairing w/ Nunchuk (Mobile)
35:51-40:34 Receiving Funds from Exchange (Nunchuk)
40:35-46:44 Sending from Coldcard (via Nunchuk)
46:45-47:48 Address Verification
47:49-57:16 Pairing CC with Sparrow (Desktop)
57:17-1:01:36 Receiving Funds on Sparrow
1:01:37-1:05:54 Sending from CC (via Sparrow)
1:05:55-1:12:46 Wallet Recovery
1:12:47-1:16:30 Final Thoughts on Q
1:16:31-1:17:42 Conclusion
Beat me to it haha
@@christopheralaimo6504not even all heroes wear capes! 👏
00:00 💼 Coldcard Q is a top Bitcoin hardware device. Tutorial covers setup, usage, backup, and recovery via airgap QR.
02:38 🛠 Prerequisites include device, batteries, Micro SD card, and apps like Nunchuk Wallet and Sparrow Wallet.
05:23 🌐 Context on wallet types: hot (online), cold (offline), air-gapped (never online).
09:14 🔍 Coldcard Q features LCD, buttons, keypad, SD slots, USB-C, QR scanner, anti-tamper.
13:04 🚀 Setup involves terms, PIN, anti-phishing words, seed generation, and verification.
17:37 🕵♂ Anti-phishing words detect tampering or incorrect PIN entries.
20:06 🎲 Add randomness to seed generation with dice; verify in randomized order.
22:04 ⚙ Coldcard Q disables USB, NFC, virtual disk for security; can enable if needed.
23:16 📲 Firmware upgrades from official site, transfer to SD card for installation.
24:38 Verify PIN and seed after firmware upgrade.
29:32 📥 Import air-gapped key to Nunchuk wallet.
32:33 🛍 Create wallet in Nunchuk; select Coldcard Q key, configure wallet.
39:38 📥 Receive funds in Nunchuk; provide address to sender.
42:12 📤 Export transaction to Coldcard Q for sending.
47:11 🔍 Verify destination address with Coldcard Q before sending.
48:08 Set up new wallet in Sparrow; connect to Coldcard Q.
49:19 Integrate Coldcard Q with Sparrow; select Coldcard option.
50:54 Import Coldcard info into Sparrow by scanning.
52:26 Navigate Sparrow; view transactions, send/receive, settings.
56:09 💸 UTXOs represent Bitcoin chunks; view details, balance.
57:23 Initiate transactions in Sparrow; select wallet, set details.
59:24 Send transactions from Sparrow; confirm, sign, broadcast with Coldcard Q.
01:05:38 💼 Recover funds by importing seed phrase after wiping Coldcard Q.
01:12:28 🔒 Proper backups vital; store seed offline securely.
01:12:59 🔄 Coldcard Q upgrades offer improvements: battery, SD slots, keyboard.
01:14:22 📶 NFC feature enhances usability on Coldcard Q.
01:15:14 📚 Coldcard Q user-friendly for beginners, advanced features for experts.
Thanks!
Masterclass on the topic. I can't thank you enough for this tutorial.
I just discovered your channel as I began a long journey of looking for a better hardware wallet. All indications point to the Coldcard Q as one of my best options. Your video and entire channel are incredible resources. The Bitcoin community thanks you for your hard work! :)
Many people have issues with Sparrow reading the QR code. It is either the glare of the Coldcard screen or just that laptop or desktop cameras suck at it. I was using an HD 4k camera with autofocus still wouldn't read the QR until messing around with different angles and lighting for 10 minutes. Then it finally worked.
Thought I would be able to pay with BTC that option didn't pop up for me, No problem, Thanks Ben !
Great walkthrough, safe but so complicated. Imagine beneficiaries trying to figure this out.
Any chance of an updated video? Numchuk has changed and when I try to create a key there is a Health Check button you have to pass to create wallet. I get a message saying "Nunchuk cannot check this key, invalid"
Great Video! Thanks for doing such a detailed tutorial on the Q.
Well done, you have a natural talent, good luck.
I LOVE APPLE MacIntosh O/S. When I was in High School we had LC IIIs and we had O/S 5.¹ and 6.¹.
Thanks for this! I just ordered my cold card Q, I plan on using it air gapped with Nunchuk wallet 😀
Great video I watched till the end! learned a lot!
Have you done a Video on Passphrases and creating multiple wallets within a ColdCard Q? Would love to learn more about that and the pros and cons vs of passphrased single sig vs multisig non passphrase wallet
I can get the QR codes to work fine on a single sig wallet but on Multisig through sparrow it does not want to read the QR code generated by the coldcard. Curious if you could comment or possibly show a tutorial in another video for multisig. So far love the Q for the reasons you mentioned. It is just fast and easy to use compared with an MK4. The price difference isn't outrageous either.
Looking forward so much to see this video :)
Excellent explanations to your tutorial as usual.
I'm a huge fan of ColdCard wallets... that being said... if you had to pic a second best Bitcoin only company for hardware wallets who would it be?
Ben, you’re the best!
Are there any risks with any retention of any of the QR codes you have been scanning into or out of the computer?
From the menus it looks like there’s also a way to recover your seed phrase from a QR code as well.
With the coldcard you’re using software not from the manufacturer of the hardware. Are there any attack vectors within the software you’re using to be aware of? Can anything be compromised thru that software or nefarious versions of.
Man scanning that qr code with nunchuck took forever.
What for having 2 SD cards entry? Why is the second one useful for?
Hi Ben,
I have a security question. When trying to sign with CCQ generated QR code, is it safe practice to take a picture of the QR code on a phone and scanning the picture? Or does that compromise your seed phrase? Also; if anyone who has your cold card can generate a QR code to sign, isn’t it a big deal if you lose your hardware wallet? Granted they’ll need your device PIN?
FYI you mention the microSD card to be no larger then 64gb but the website states 32gb. I tried the 64gb SD card and it is not recognized so I assume it needs to be 32gb max.
Format it to be FAT32 it will work with you
@@yasserkishawiworked. Thanks man!
On Mac just erase the disk and select FAT (ms dos)
looks like the first prototype of the blackberry bold 😁
Awesome Video Ben! Are you going to do a review on the new Blockstream Jade Plus Hardware Wallet? Trying to figure what is better between that and the Cold card Q...
Any assistance in getting the webcam to read the Q's QR code when setting up the wallet? I'm not having any success.
Do you prefer one over the other? Is it safe to use the Q for Nunchuck and Sparrow and have bitcoin in each wallet?
excelent video, I did opened the Nunchuk acc. I went step by step I ended with two Keys and two accounts. one with the name I choose the other says My hot Wallet, can you help my understand how can I fix this I tried to send Btc from Binance it didn't let me
Hi. Is it possible to create a hidden wallet with the Q? That is, a wallet that has a passphrase on top of the 12 seed words?
I did everything as described in the video and when I tried to scan my address with my coldcard to verify it, I was met with the 'unkown address' alert. What should i do now?
I just got a cold card Q with a black case. I cannot get sparrow wallet to read the QR code. Any advice?
Awesome video!! Thanks!!!
Can u do a vid on th other options on cold card.. what does th other stuff mean I’m th options lists.. it’s not obvious for a newb.
coldcard q doesn't load black screen. Just bought it yesterday and all set up. Today I turned the Q on. The green light is on but nothing load up. Can someone help?
hi thanks for the videos, if doing this today december 2024 is there still a need to update the firmware with an SD card?
Sparrow isn’t giving me a scan option after clicking coldcard airgapped hardware wallet…. ?
Beautiful!! 😍
Am I correct in assuming that if you already have an NFC key setup that you cannot also set up a QR key/wallet
This is an important question. Has anyone set up both methods?
@@toropochostill looking
21:00 does adding dice rolls add entropy or are you bypassing the onboard RNG and using just the dice if you press 4? How many additional rolls do you recommend?
Nice video so far!
Remind me!
Anything less than 100 dice roll is completely hackable
REMEMBER, 12 WORDS IS ENOUGH
Because Bitcoin elliptic curve security is only 128 bits anyway, as Andreas Antonopoulos and Adam Back said.
Using 24 words is like typing a 100 characters long password, when the machine will check only the first 20 characters of the password anyway.
@@mattkwarren 12-word is easier to learn by heart and to write-backup.
Can u do a vid on what u would do if u were to move to another country.. what u’d do as in.. empty cold wallet ? What’s th minimum items u’d need?
Is it possible (or even preferable) to send Bitcoin directly from an exchange to a Coldcard if the goal is simply to hold for the long-term? Do we need Sparrow or another type of intermediary wallet for that?
Bitcoin is on a blockchain, not on an exchange nor Coldcard.
Why would this device need two SD card ports?
Just in case anyone encounters this problem. When I tried to attach my MicroSd card to my Q1, It was not reading it. I had to format the SD card from within my Q1 and it worked.
Love it !
i got to get me one
idk if anyone can help me, but i did everything corretly, besides the address check, i checked my payment address just to fully understand, but i got a different result, instead of saying it's my address, it said its an unknown address, even tho i did a test before with a few sats, and than i send a larger amount, everything went fine, but my CC still tells me the address is unknown. does anyone kno what it may be happenning? thank you btc session, another great tutorial.
Hi Ben, is it possible to use only one cold card Q on multisig, for multiple seeds, or is it not possible?
Is there a way to set up the Q as a stateless device? I would like to skip creating a PIN number. In my blockstream jade I skipped PIN number and rely on scanning the QR code of my 12 word seed everytime I turn on the device.
What if Coldcard where hacked and you downloaded malware on to your coldcard?
You can do that (the signature) in a offline desktop and then generate a new QR code and then scan it in an online machine if you want. You’re right: don’t trust, verify.
Dark Skippy just came out seed hack watch out
how do I export a passphrase protected wallet from CC Q to Sparrow?
Is a SeedSigner nearly as functional as ColdCard? I sure like the price of seedsigner as I have RaspPis laying around.
One function I notice missing is SeedXOR. I'm sure there's others, but that's all I notice for my daily uses. There is code pending to add SeedXOR, and anyone can fork it and start using it now.
I wonder what’s in the “I’m a developer” menu
Sparrow wallet app 2.0.0 crashes overtime I try to scan a QR code. I am using MAC OSX. so frustrating.
Can you make this wallet a just a read wallet?
Why Bitcoin Well or Bull Bitcoin?
Anyone get a "no tag data was written" error when trying to send a ttansaction? If so how do you fix it? Coldcard Q with nunchuk.Thanks
What accessories do you highly recommend to order with the Q model? I.e. power cable (or does it come with one)?
The only thing I think is really necessary is a microSD card for firmware upgrades. This means you'll also want a dongle that allows you to plug the SD card into your computer.
If you're going to plug in the device directly then you can get a USB-C cable, but make sure it's one that actually transmits data (coinkite does not sell these).
Other than that, just make sure you have some AAA batteries kicking around!
Very informative as always. Another question. One needs to get a wallet to work with Q. Q cannot function without a mobile or pc wallet?
@@gh4534ever find the answers
Smart to keep 4btc on one wallet or no?
No
You would rather have multiple entry points for one single exit point from your wallet is all seen on chain so people can Target you. Do you use tumblers lightning channels and certain other ways to mask your visibility
I still prefer Blockstream Jade! 👍
They had their customers’ emails leaked though. Other than that it’s great for the price
Hey Ben can you do a bit box tutorial please with Nunchuk? Thanks ❤
20% discount on Q today cuz Germany is selling!!!
Just 2 questions if anyone can help me ( sorry newbie here) :
1. What do I do if I wanna check the balance every now and then
2. What's the safest or air gapped way to install or update the firmware
Thank you
thank you bro
Can a low end desktop cam read qr code displayed by coldcard q? Phone cams seem to have no problem but pc webcams cannot
I saw at min 51 you were able to use can from pc but assume the webcam on apple is far better than typical with windows pc. Have you tried with a low end windows webcam?
@@weslee511Low end laptops webcam usually can read QR codes. If you’re not able to, you may use SD Card for while.
Say I do the QR air gap with phone and Nunchuk, and nunchuk goes defunct, I’d be fine right?
Same question
Yes will be good, the public key is used for app to create a transaction , but you still need the private key the device to sign the transaction to move the bitcoin period.
The main thing is not to share the 12 or 24 word with an internet device or camera or Bluetooth . Then you’ll be safe.
Those 12-24 word can be put into any hardware wallet if you break or lose the device . Those are your private keys so don’t lose those.
Also good practice to have multiple devices with the same private keys as a backup.
Does anyone think it would be a good option to have an MK4 with the QR reader but without the keyboard?: Is there a real need to have a full keyboard?
Honestly the full keyboard makes things a lot easier for me. Entering passphrases, recovering from seed, importing tapsigners with the description key, and plenty of other things are expedited quite a bit.
Thanks. That is what I was looking for. Even though I don’t plan to do many transactions, mostly hodl, I was not sure how the keyboard helps.
The discount link is broken!
How can I be sure that there is not a hidden wifi radio built in!?
😂😂😂😂😂 buy a Wi-Fi scanner and go to the woods
Why Nunchuck? What happens if Nunchuck is no longer available in the future? (Sorry... Newbie)
You would have seen in the video that the wallets he used Nunchuck and Sparrow) are really just browsers to the same source of information which is the blockchain, so if Numchuck go out of business you’d just set up another wallet. In this video he imported the wallet using the QR code into both wallets. Maybe watch the video again with this context if you’re still concerned.
@@JakeyJay26thx u
I am unable to sign using the Qr code on my Coldcard Q. My fairly new Macbook Air Webcam was not able to pick it up.. This seems to be a common problem others are running in to. Any easy fixes?
Just wanted to add that these aren’t available for immediate shipping. I ordered mine a couple of days ago and was told that it can take up to 2 months to ship.
😎 I was very lost
Nice I got cool words in my seed phrase, what 12 words did you guys get?
This is why Bitcoin will never become mass adopted. Your average person isn't going to understand the hoops they have to jump through to keep their Bitcoin safe or to send and receive it. Or they are going to lose their BTC through user error.
If adoption means investment - then ETFs solve the problem. If you mean usage as a medium of payment, technology keeps evolving, better solutions will emerge to make Bitcoin more idiot-proof.
Well then those people who don’t learn will be destined to continuously be wrecked by the traditional financial system. You have to adapt to survive
We are just at the beginning. It will get easier with time and more adoption
Wrong, this just creates a market to create businesses that can help the average person. The average person will pay someone to help them once they understand that they need Bitcoin. I need my car, if I have an issue with it, I’ll pay a mechanic to fix it. I’m not going to learn how a car is made lol
isnt it a good thing ? Its going to become more secure and easier to secure your coins in say 10 years from now . By then people like you and me would be the one to actually gain from mass adoption .
Are there any disadvantages to using batteries long term? Thinking about leaks and corrosion.
This is a very poor tutorial for Coldcard and Nunchuk, which expects that the user doesn't have a wallet already on Coldcard nor explain why it doesn't show up in Nunchuk when they complete the step of scanning the key from CC with Nunchuk.
Adding a wallet in the way shown by the tutorial doesn't allow the user to send airgapped funds unless you add new funds to that specific wallet.
What I was expecting was to see all of my accounts show up in Nunchuk after adding the keys, or some explanation in the tutorial for how to achieve this. I can do this with BlueWallet, but from there I cannot spend the air-gapped BTC because BlueWallet doesn't support Coldcard.
Would be nice if this could be redone more comprehensively.
Could we use Shakepay instead of Nunchuck?
*Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme* @1:11:31
Buyers beware. I put in a reservation with this company for the presale of $199 back in April 2024. Somehow CK charge my card but they lost my reservation. CK finally found it after 4 months of back and forth but I know have to pay the difference an extra $20. What’s the point of reservation if they aren’t going to honor it? Plenty of other options out there.
what a cheap ass looking box
By God
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
Complicated.
Experience the rush of victory and the thrill of conquest with Hypeloot leading the way.
Most questions here in the comments can be answered by asking grok, Claude or ChatGPT
thank you so much