You can move funds to a wallet with new recovery words using one BitBox02 by switching between your old and new wallets. Before each reset, verify the backup for the wallet currently on the device and make sure you have its exact optional passphrase, if used. Finish by restoring the new wallet and confirming receipt.

This guide covers on-chain funds in the BitBoxApp, including transfers from or to a passphrase-protected wallet. Resetting or creating a wallet does not move funds: each account or asset needs a transaction. External wallet apps, Lightning, and other networks need their own transfer instructions.

Before you start

Use a wallet with new recovery words if someone else may have accessed your old backup. A BitBox02 microSD backup is not encrypted; treat a missing card as potentially exposed. Funds remaining in an exposed wallet are at risk throughout the migration. Another backup of that same wallet does not remove the risk.

You can follow this workflow on desktop, Android, or iOS. We recommend a desktop computer for easier handling of the wallet switches and address records. On iPhone or iPad, you need a BitBox02 Nova; on Android, your phone or tablet must support USB OTG. Check the supported devices and operating systems if needed.

• Use a computer, phone, or tablet and a BitBox02 you trust, with the current stable BitBoxApp. If you suspect either device is compromised, stop and contact BitBox Support before creating the new wallet.
• Keep the old microSD backup or written recovery words available throughout the migration. Prepare a clearly labeled backup for the new wallet so you can distinguish the two.
• If the old wallet uses an optional passphrase, make sure you can reproduce it exactly. Keep a secure record separately from the wallet backup, which neither includes nor verifies the passphrase.
• List every account, asset, and network to move, and allow for transaction fees. Keep enough ETH in the old Ethereum account for all ERC-20 token transfers; move the remaining ETH afterward.

Have two BitBox02 devices?

If you already have two trusted BitBox02 devices, keep the old wallet on one and create the new wallet on the other. This avoids repeated resets. Follow the backup, passphrase, fingerprint, address, and transaction checks below, including the small test for a newly configured passphrase-protected destination. The following steps explain the one-device method.

1. Verify the old backup and identify the wallet

Open the old wallet that holds your funds, entering its optional passphrase on the BitBox02 if needed. Check the accounts and history, then verify the backup you will use to restore it:

• microSD backup: Open Settings → Manage device → Manage backups → Check backup. Confirm the backup name and ID on the device and wait for successful verification. Follow How to verify your BitBox02 microSD card backup.
• Written recovery words: Compare every word, its spelling, and its position with the words displayed on the BitBox02, then complete the device's word-verification procedure. Follow How to view and verify your recovery words on the BitBox02.

Label the old backup and record its name and ID if using microSD. If a check fails or the written words differ, keep the working wallet on the device and create and verify a correct backup before continuing.

With that wallet open, go to Settings → Manage device → Device information → Root fingerprint. Record it as “old wallet,” together with the accounts and history you expect after restoring. If you use a passphrase, record the fingerprint of the wallet opened with that passphrase.

The root fingerprint is a short wallet identifier, distinct from the microSD backup ID. It helps identify the wallet but is not absolute proof and does not replace backup or transaction checks.

2. Create a new wallet

With the verified old backup available, follow How to factory reset your BitBox02. During setup, choose the option to create a wallet with new recovery words. Follow the microSD setup guide for desktop or Android or the BitBox02 Nova setup guide for iPhone or iPad. Give the new wallet a distinct name; restoring the old backup would reopen the old wallet.

3. Verify the new backup and prepare the destination wallet

Complete the new backup during setup and verify it using the relevant check in step 1. Label it clearly and record its name and ID if using microSD. Verify any written recovery-word backup on the device, and keep the old backup intact.

An optional passphrase is not needed for this migration, and we do not recommend adding one by default. It adds a recovery responsibility: losing the exact passphrase can permanently prevent access. If you have deliberately chosen to use a passphrase on the new wallet, set it up before recording receiving addresses. Follow Set up, verify and manage an optional passphrase, and keep a secure record separately from the backup.

Open the intended destination and record its root fingerprint as “new wallet,” using the path in step 1. Disconnect and reconnect the BitBox02, unlock it, and enter and verify the destination's passphrase if used. Continue only if the fingerprint matches. You will test receipt in steps 6–7.

4. Record the new wallet's receiving addresses

Obtain an address for each destination account before switching wallets. For details, follow Receive Bitcoin or Receive Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens.

1. Open the destination account's receive screen and select Verify address on BitBox.
2. Compare the complete address in the BitBoxApp with the one on your BitBox02. If they differ, stop.
3. Save the full address with its destination account, asset, and network in a private text file or note on a device you trust, or write it on paper. Compare the complete saved record with the BitBox02 display. For Bitcoin, copy the address while the verification window is open, before confirming with the check mark on the device.

A receiving address is not a wallet secret and can be stored digitally. Keep the record private and protect it from unwanted changes; never add recovery words or passphrases to it. Use each address only for its intended asset and network.

5. Restore the old wallet

Check that the verified new backup and recorded addresses are available. Reset the BitBox02 and restore the old wallet using its microSD backup, selected by the recorded name and ID, or its recovery words, entered directly on the device.

If needed, re-enable the optional passphrase and enter the old wallet's exact passphrase on the device. Compare the fingerprint with your “old wallet” record and check the accounts, balances, and history after synchronization. Stop if the fingerprint differs. For missing accounts, follow Missing accounts after restoring your BitBox wallet; an empty account does not establish that funds are gone.

6. Send to the new wallet's verified addresses

For a planned migration, start with a small practical test amount. A test is required before sending a meaningful amount to a newly configured passphrase-protected destination. Complete step 7 before sending the rest. Testing adds two wallet switches and fees; funds left in an exposed old wallet remain at risk during the wait.

If you doubt the accuracy of the saved address record, restore the new wallet, check its fingerprint, and verify the receiving address on the BitBox02 again before sending.

1. In the old wallet, open the account or asset you want to send and select Send.
2. Paste or enter the new wallet's corresponding address and compare it with the complete verified address record from step 4. Check the asset and network. Use this address rather than selecting an account from the old wallet as the destination.
3. Choose the amount and review the fee. For the final Bitcoin transfer, Send all applies to the selected account, or to selected coins if Coin Control is active; it does not move every account in the wallet.
4. On the BitBox02, compare the complete recipient address with your verified address record and check the amount and fee. Confirm only when all details match; otherwise, reject the transaction and stop.
5. After broadcast, record the public transaction ID and the account or asset transferred so you can check receipt in the new wallet.

Follow the Bitcoin send instructions or Ethereum and ERC-20 send instructions as needed. Send tokens before the remaining ETH, then continue with step 7 to confirm receipt.

7. Restore the new wallet and confirm receipt

Keep the old backup available, then reset and restore the new wallet using its verified microSD backup, selected by name and ID, or its new recovery words, entered on the device. If needed, re-enable the optional passphrase and enter the new wallet's exact passphrase.

Compare the fingerprint with your “new wallet” record; stop if it differs. After synchronization, check each destination account's incoming transaction and amount, allowing for fees. For Bitcoin, the BitBoxApp displays Complete after six confirmations. Investigate missing or pending transfers using their transaction IDs before sending again.

After the small test to a newly configured passphrase-protected wallet, disconnect and reconnect once more. Enter the same passphrase and confirm that the fingerprint and confirmed test transaction appear again before transferring the remaining funds.

After a confirmed test: Repeat step 4 for the remaining transfer; choose a new unused Bitcoin address for better privacy. Repeat steps 5–7: restore the old wallet, send the rest with the same checks, then restore the new wallet and confirm receipt.

The migration is complete when you can access the restored new wallet and every intended transfer is confirmed in the correct account. Keep its backup and any passphrase protected, and stop using the old wallet's receiving addresses. Retain the old backup until you have checked all accounts and assets, including those managed outside the BitBoxApp.

If a check fails

Stop before the next reset or transfer if a backup check fails, a fingerprint or address differs, or the restored wallet is unexpected. Check the selected old or new backup and, if used, the exact passphrase. Contact BitBox Support if the problem remains, with the step, BitBoxApp version, non-sensitive error, and public transaction ID if relevant. Never send secrets or backup files. Support cannot recover missing recovery words or passphrases, or reverse a transaction.