If only the device is gone and the seed phrase backup was not taken with it, you usually still have time to move the coins, but do not treat it as nothing. The device is protected by a PIN and wipes itself after a set number of consecutive wrong attempts: according to the official documentation, 10 on the Trezor Safe 7, 16 on the Safe 3, Safe 5, Model T and Model One, and 10 on the OneKey Pro. Resistance to physical attack varies by model: Trezor states that the Model One and Model T do not include a secure element and recommends a long, random PIN for stronger resistance to physical attacks. So after a theft, restore from the seed phrase on another device as soon as you can and move the assets to addresses under a new seed phrase.

How many wrong PIN attempts before each model wipes itself?

A wipe means the device resets itself and the wallet on it is erased. The coins are on-chain and not in the device, so the seed phrase backup can restore them on another device. These are the models for which an official figure can be found:

  • Trezor Safe 7: after 10 incorrect attempts the device automatically resets and the wallet is erased.
  • Trezor Safe 3 and Safe 5: 16 incorrect attempts.
  • Trezor Model One and Model T: 16 incorrect attempts.
  • OneKey Pro: 10 incorrect attempts, after which the device resets.

The Trezor figures come from its official PIN protection page, which also says a PIN must be at least 4 digits and can be up to 50. The OneKey Pro figure comes from its official getting started guide (both checked October 2026). For other brands and models, go by the number given on each one's official support page.

Older models without a secure element need faster action after a theft

The attempt limit is only one barrier. Someone holding the device can skip the PIN screen and go after the hardware directly, and then what counts is how well the device resists physical extraction, which varies a great deal between models.

Trezor draws the line clearly on the same page: on the Safe 7 the PIN is verified inside two secure elements, and on the Safe 3 and Safe 5 inside a single secure element. The Model One and Model T do not include a secure element; the PIN directly encrypts the private keys stored on the device, and these models do not use hardware rate-limiting. Trezor's recommendation for these two is a long, random PIN for stronger resistance to physical attacks.

So if the stolen device is a Model One or Model T and the PIN was only a few digits, put moving the assets first and do not wait. Whether other brands have a secure element, and which one, is in Hardware Wallet Comparison. For older models where no official statement can be found, go by the manufacturer's documentation, and likewise move the coins to a new seed phrase quickly after a theft.

A passphrase is a further layer. According to Trezor, the passphrase is not stored on the device, and the wallet it protects cannot be opened unless both the backup and the passphrase are present. If your funds normally sit in a passphrase-protected wallet, you have more of a buffer after a theft, but I still recommend moving them.

What to do, in order, once you find the device is gone

  1. Check the seed phrase backup first. If it is where you left it and shows no sign of having been disturbed, carry on with the steps below. If the backup is gone too, or you cannot say whether anyone has seen it, treat the seed phrase as leaked and start moving funds at once, in the order given in Seed Phrase or Private Key Leaked? What to Do.
  2. Create a new wallet on another device, with a new seed phrase. Copy the new seed phrase by hand, offline, back it up as before, and note the receiving address for each chain.
  3. Restore the old wallet from the old seed phrase and move everything to the new wallet's addresses. Restore only in a hardware wallet or the official wallet app; never type the old seed phrase into a web page. If you have just one new device, you can first create the new wallet on it, note the receiving addresses and verify the backup, then reset the device, restore with the old seed phrase, send the coins to the addresses you noted, and finally reset once more and restore the new wallet.
  4. Go through every chain you used and every token. After the transfers, look back at the old addresses for anything missed.
  5. Stop using the addresses under the old seed phrase. The stolen device holds the private keys for that seed phrase, so treat it as no longer reliable from now on.

Is a birthday acceptable as a PIN?

I advise against it. Whoever takes the device may not be a stranger, and people who know you can guess a birthday, a house number or the last digits of your phone number. Use digits unrelated to your personal details and make the PIN as long as you can manage, all the more on a model without a secure element. And do not keep the seed phrase backup in the same drawer or safe as the device: a single theft then takes both, and the PIN counts for nothing.

Keeping the backup in a separate place is covered in How to Store Your Seed Phrase Safely. For what a passphrase and a split backup are, see the glossary entries Passphrase and Shamir backup.