Ngrave Zero Ultra-Safe Hardware Wallet Walkthrough - Seed/PIN/Backup

You'll learn about the security and features of the Ngrave Zero hardware wallet, as well as how to use it correctly. We'll also explore the wallet's shortcomings.

Ngrave Zero is a hardware wallet that is completely air-gapped and equipped with fingerprint biometrics. It runs the industry’s only operating system certified to the EAL7 security level.

What's in the box

The wallet ships in three package options.

In the Combo pack you will find the device itself, a charging cable, a stylus, two metal plates for storing the seed phrase, a quick-start guide, small souvenirs and a paper sheet for writing down the recovery words.

Coin support includes BTC, ETH, BNB, ZEC, XRP, DOGE, DASH, EGLD, XTZ, LTC, BCH, AVAX, XLM, SOL and POL, plus the ERC20 and ESDT networks.

Once you link the wallet to Rabby or MetaMask you gain access to more than 100 EVM chains.

Device overview and purpose

The unit features a 4-inch touchscreen and a body cast from a custom zinc-aluminium-magnesium-copper alloy tuned for the best balance of strength, weight and feel.

• The case is rated IP55 against dust and water jets.
• A biometric sensor and a QR camera sit on the back.
• No USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or NFC is ever used for data transfer.
• The power button is on the side, the USB-C charge port is on the bottom.

Let us look at the heart of the wallet – its internal security.

Security and features

The wallet claims to be the safest place for crypto. We will break down its three security layers in detail.

Physical strength and self-destruct

What is protected	How it is done	User benefit
Strength	Built from a custom alloy of zinc, aluminium, magnesium and copper for optimal toughness	A rugged device made of premium materials
Water and dust	IP55 sealing keeps splashes and dirt out	Safe to take on the road without worry
Self-destruct	Opening the case instantly wipes the memory	No one can extract the seed even with physical access

The body is milled from an in-house alloy that is extremely hard to tamper with and carries an IP55 rating against dust and moisture.

Next we will walk through key generation and see why there is no risk of a factory-injected seed.

Air-gap and key generation

What is protected	How it is done	User benefit
Remote exploits	No BT/Wi-Fi/USB, only QR camera	The device never touches the internet
Backup	64-character key or 24 words plus steel plate	The seed survives fire and water
Supply-chain swap	You take part in entropy generation through randomness	Eliminates factory back-door risk

Most wallets leave key generation to the secure element. Zero does the same, but mixes in external entropy.

The key is produced using random factors

• First, a random stream of photons hits the camera sensor.
• Second, your fingerprint biometric is sampled.
• Third, you can pause and shuffle the process manually to increase chaos.

The result is a random key known only to you.

Certification and firmware

What is protected	How it is done	User benefit
Operating system	EAL-7, the highest consumer OS rating	Top security grade on the market
Secure element	EAL-5+ certified chip	Inside silicon is audited
Firmware updates	Updates come only from the official site via cable	Fake firmware cannot be installed

Inside sits the only consumer-grade operating system with an EAL7 certificate, normally reserved for government projects. It handles firmware updates, secure boot and USB-C isolation.

Setup and wallet creation

Before first power-on charge the battery fully because it drains quickly. After boot choose the language and accept the licence agreement.

Next verify device authenticity to be sure the unit is genuine and safe.

Open a browser and go to ngrave.io/en/verify, then scan the QR shown on that page with the wallet.

After scanning, enter the security code displayed on the Zero screen and the site will confirm the device is safe.

Now set an 8-digit PIN and confirm it.

Zero will ask whether to create a new wallet or import an existing one.

We will pick new – tap Create new wallet.

Two backup options are offered.

1. Mnemonic wallet – classic 12 or 24-word seed to write on paper. Choose this if you do not have the Graphene plate or do not want the extra steps.
2. NGRAVE wallet – creates a random key using light and biometric noise.

This key is called the Perfect Key. It is a 64-character hexadecimal string where every symbol can be 0-9 or A-F. Later you can convert it into a 24-word seed.

We will pick the second option.

If you wish, enrol a fingerprint by placing your finger on the rear sensor. A confirmation screen will state that biometrics can unlock the device and sign transactions.

The scanner is not the most sensitive, so several tries may be needed.

The system will generate a random key in real time. Press freeze to lock the current entropy, optionally select groups and hit shuffle for extra randomness. When satisfied tap Next to confirm.

Carefully write the recovery code on the paper sheet or transfer it to the Graphene plate.

Repeat for every group and confirm that the backup is complete.

Before moving on we briefly show how to use the backup plate.

Using the Graphene plate

Graphene consists of two fire- and water-resistant stainless steel sheets. The private key is stored in such a way that neither sheet alone reveals anything.

• The top sheet carries a unique grid of hexadecimal symbols.
• The bottom sheet has matching holes for punching the key.

Use the stylus to punch each symbol in the correct position.

Notice that the top grid is randomized, so it is easy to confuse similar symbols such as B and 8.

If you lose the top sheet the company can supply a recovery code to recreate the missing part. Store the two plates in separate locations for extra security.

After backup is finished you will be asked which coins to display.

To use the wallet you must pair it with the mobile app – without the app you cannot broadcast transactions.

Pairing with the app

Download Ngrave Liquid from the App Store or Google Play.

Install the app, choose Sync with app on the device and scan the QR with your phone.

Once pairing is complete the wallet will derive receive and send addresses.

How to use

First make sure the addresses shown on Zero and in the Liquid app are identical.

Creating an address

Receive addresses can be generated on either Zero or Liquid. They appear automatically when you tap Receive.

The addresses on both devices must match.

Depositing funds

To receive coins tap Receive in either interface and share the address or QR with the sender.

The balance will appear in both the app and on Zero.

It is more convenient to watch balances on the phone, but we will revisit security concerns in the “Criticism” section.

Sending funds

To send

1. tap Send and pick the coin,
2. enter the recipient address, amount and fee,
3. sign the transaction on Zero and scan the resulting QR with the phone to broadcast it.

Let us look at the remaining settings.

Advanced settings

In the settings menu you can view the seed, change the PIN, manage fingerprints, toggle two-factor options, set auto-lock time or wipe the device.

Below are the most important items.

Exporting the secret key

To see the mnemonic phrase open the menu and choose Display secret key. After entering the PIN you can pick either the perfect key view or the mnemonic view.

Select the mnemonic display.

Nature of the Perfect key

The Perfect key is nothing more than entropy. It is the same 24-word BIP-39 seed, only written as 64 hex characters.

In other words the company labels raw entropy a “private key”, which is mostly marketing.

Syncing with MetaMask and Rabby

In the menu choose Sync to import the wallet directly into MetaMask, Rabby and other apps.

In MetaMask tap the account icon → Add account or hardware wallet → Add hardware wallet.

Choose the AR-based option and select Ngrave Zero from the list.

Simply scan the QR with Zero and pick the addresses you want to sync with MetaMask. The accounts in Liquid and MetaMask will then be identical.

Device protection

Under Device Protection you can manage two-factor authentication, fingerprints and change the PIN.

System settings, wipe and passphrase

In system settings you can adjust brightness, language and auto-lock timeout.

You can also perform a factory wipe by tapping Wipe. Be absolutely sure the seed is correctly backed up before doing so.

You can create hidden accounts and set a BIP-39 Passphrase, although this will require re-syncing with Liquid.

Adding a passphrase to the main seed produces a hidden wallet with separate addresses and balances.

Criticism

An EAL7 certificate looks good on paper, yet real-world hardware wallet attacks usually involve physical access, social engineering or compromised desktop/mobile software, not an insufficient chip evaluation level.

The main downsides are summarized below.

NGRAVE Zero criticism	Core issue
Third-party integrations	EVM chains and staking require MetaMask or Rabby, so the wallet is not fully self-contained.
Price	USD 400 – higher than competitors with similar security.
Closed source	Firmware and mobile app remain unpublished for four years, preventing independent audit. Users must trust the vendor.
Perfect Key	High risk of transcription errors, no checksum, difficult recovery.
Recovery plates	Lose or damage one metal half and access is gone; manual punching is irreversible.
Smartphone dependency	Daily use requires the Liquid app, and phones can be compromised.

The promised firmware repository remains empty. Both the firmware and the mobile app are still closed source. This leads to the main question – who is the product for? Ngrave Zero looks like a premium analogue of Ellipal at several times the price.

Instead of the familiar 24-word phrase you are asked to engrave or copy a 64-character hex string, yet this is still the same BIP-39 seed. Nothing has changed except a higher chance of copying mistakes.

This approach feels like an attempt to stand out without real engineering such as Trezor’s SLIP-39, which offers human-readable shares and built-in checksums.

Conclusion – should you use it?

Ngrave Zero suits users who want a premium, pleasant-to-touch hardware wallet with a responsive touchscreen and who are not bothered by closed firmware, limited chain support and a non-standard backup. A classic 24-word option is still offered.

Another biometric option is the D’CENT wallet, which supports more coins but has its own trade-offs. Whether to use Zero or pick something from the comparison list is ultimately your decision.

Support channels

• Contact form
• Email support@ngrave.io