Hardware-secured Algorand on Ledger.

Why use a hardware wallet.

A hardware wallet stores signing keys on a physical device that never connects to the internet. When MyAlgo needs to sign a transaction, it sends the unsigned transaction to the Ledger; the Ledger displays the transaction details on its screen for your manual approval; you confirm with the device's physical buttons; the Ledger signs internally and returns the signed transaction.

The signing key never leaves the hardware device. Even if your desktop computer is fully compromised, an attacker cannot extract your key — they would need physical access to your Ledger and your PIN. For accounts holding meaningful value, hardware wallet security is the recommended practice. The cost of a Ledger Nano S Plus is roughly $80 (verify current pricing); a Nano X is roughly $150.

Supported devices.

Staking with a Ledger-secured account.

Algorand staking is supported on Ledger-secured accounts, with a few specifics.

Liquid staking pools: Hold pool tokens (e.g., xALGO from Folks Finance) in your Ledger-secured MyAlgo account. The pool token's value accrues against ALGO over time. No additional setup beyond the standard liquid pool deposit (which uses MyAlgo + Ledger to sign).

Native staking node: Running a node yourself is independent of any specific wallet — the node software is its own infrastructure. Your Ledger-secured account can hold the stake; you'll use MyAlgo + Ledger to sign the participation key registration transaction. The node operates on a separate machine; the Ledger holds the master signing key for your stake.

Rekey to Ledger: A common pattern for users with potentially exposed seeds — rekey your account's signing authority to a fresh Ledger-controlled key. After rekey, the original seed no longer signs transactions; only the Ledger does. The migration guide covers this in detail. See also the security architecture and compare Algorand wallets.

Troubleshooting.

Ledger not detected by MyAlgo.

Confirm the Algorand app is open on the Ledger (not just installed). Confirm the USB cable supports data (some "charging only" cables won't work). Try a different USB port (USB-A direct connection is more reliable than USB-C through a hub). On Linux, you may need to install udev rules for Ledger — Ledger publishes the rules at github.com/LedgerHQ/udev-rules.

"Algorand app not installed" error.

Open Ledger Live and confirm the Algorand app is installed. The Ledger's firmware may need updating before the Algorand app can be installed. The Nano S (original, not Plus) may not have enough memory for the Algorand app alongside other apps; uninstall less-used apps to free space.

Transaction signing hangs.

Ledger has a timeout; if the device is idle too long, signing may fail. Re-initiate from MyAlgo. USB connection issues — the Ledger may have disconnected mid-sign. Replug and try again. Transaction may be too complex for the Ledger to display (rare); simplify the transaction or use a non-Ledger account for that specific operation.

"Different account address shown" warning.

The Ledger derives accounts deterministically from the seed and account index. If MyAlgo shows account index 0 but the Ledger shows account index 1, the addresses will differ. Match the index in MyAlgo to the one you initialized.

Multiple Ledger devices.

MyAlgo can connect to one Ledger at a time. If multiple Ledger devices are plugged in, MyAlgo will use the first one detected. Unplug others when working with a specific device.