Field note

Monthly device checks without drama

Datalink Lab · Educational article

Hardware wallets fail quietly when nobody looks at them. The opposite failure mode is checking so often that you create noise and skip logging. This script sits in the middle — about twenty minutes once a month.

Before you start

Clear the desk. Have your written device map from Cold Storage Cadence Lab Module 1 (or your own sheet) nearby. Do not improvise new storage locations during the check.

The script

1. Confirm the device powers on with the cable you expect to use in an emergency.
2. Note the firmware version and the date of your last review — not every update needs immediate action, but silence needs a date.
3. Open unused accounts or apps on the device and mark anything you no longer recognize.
4. Generate or display a receive address and confirm it matches an address you previously recorded offline.
5. Write one sentence in your cadence log: what stayed the same, what changed.

What this is not

This is not portfolio advice, tax guidance, or a guarantee that your setup is secure. Read Not Financial Advice and pair the script with drills from our flagship course.