FAQ

Why is the 12-word recovery phrase so important?

Because of the strict security in Zion, your 12-word recovery phrase or Social Key Recovery are the only ways to recover your Vault. You must back up your Vault with a 12-word recovery phrase written on paper and kept in a safe place. HTC cannot recover your Vault.

Zion Vault generates your 12-word recovery phrase when you create a new Vault. Your recovery phrase is unique to you, and is used to generate the public and private keys for all your crypto assets. It is not a password. You should not share it or carry it with you, as someone with your recovery phrase could access your vault. It's important to write it down—by hand—and keep it in a safe, offline place so that it can't be easily hacked, stolen, or duplicated.

The 12-word recovery phrase is one of two ways to recover your Vault. The other way is Social Key Recovery, an optional recovery method that must be enabled before use. For details see What is Social Key Recovery and why use it?.

What is Social Key Recovery and why use it?

Social Key Recovery is a backup option for Zion Vault. You can choose three to five people as trusted contacts to help recover your Vault. Part of your Vault recovery data will be encrypted and saved on their phones. If your 12-word recovery phrase is not available, you only need three of your trusted contacts to help you recover your Vault.

What happens to my crypto assets if I lose my HTC EXODUS?

Crypto transactions are recorded on the blockchain. Only your keys are stored on the phone. If you lose your HTC EXODUS, you can still recover your Vault with the 12-word recovery phrase or Social Key Recovery. Once your keys are recovered, you'll be able to access your crypto assets.

What should I do if my HTC EXODUS is lost or stolen?

Use Find My Device to remotely erase your phone.
Use your 12-word recovery phrase or Social Key Recovery to recover Zion Vault on your new phone.

How do I find or erase my phone with Find My Device?

You can use Find My Device to locate your phone under the following conditions:

The remote locate, lock, and erase features are enabled in Settings > Google > Security > Find My Device.
Or in earlier Android versions, Find My Device is enabled in Settings > Security > Device administrators.
Your lost or stolen phone is still connected to the Internet, logged in to your Google Account, and has location services turned on.

To use Find My Device:

Using your computer web browser, go to www.google.com/android/find, and sign in to the same Google Account you used on your phone.
Find My Device will show you details of your phone's location when detected.
Do any of the following:
- Click Play sound to make your phone ring in case you've only misplaced it.
- If this is your first time using Find My Device, click Set up secure & erase to set up remote lock and erase actions for your phone.
- Click Secure device to lock your phone and sign out of your Google Account.
- Click Erase device if you want to erase everything from your phone.
  
  Note: Remotely erasing your phone will perform a factory reset to remove all data on your phone storage, including apps, app data, and settings. Some data—including personal information—may not be permanently erased. You won't be able to remotely access your phone after you do this.

What kinds of currencies and tokens can I use with Zion Vault?

Currently, Zion supports the following assets natively:

Bitcoin (BTC)
Ether (ETH)
Litecoin (LTC)
Stellar (XLM)
Stellar assets
Selected ERC-20, ERC-721, BEP2 tokens
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Binance coin (BNB)
Note: BNB is supported on both ERC-20 and BEP2 blockchain networks
- ERC-20 BNB is labeled BNB
- BEP2 BNB is labeled BNB(BEP2)

Other crypto assets may be available through partner apps and platforms you use with Zion.

HTC is working on expanding coin and token support. You can suggest your favorite coins to the team on the Telegram channel.

How can I get crypto assets?

There are multiple ways to get crypto assets in Zion:

Through direct transfers. Use the Receive function to receive transfers of cryptocurrency, ERC-20 tokens, or collectibles.
Through exchanges in Zion.
Through other apps and services you authorize to use Zion.
Tip: Zion works as an integrated hardware wallet for the Opera DApp store. You can use the Opera DApp store to make transactions and manage collectibles, which can be stored on the blockchain with your Zion Vault. See How do I get collectibles in Zion with Opera?.

What is segwit and why should I use it?

Segwit stands for "‍segregated witness"‍ and is a technique that reduces bitcoin transaction fees. Segwit moves all of the signature data in a bitcoin block to the end, lumping the signatures of all transactions together. This allows more transactions to fit in the same amount of space, while maintaining the security of the bitcoin blockchain. The most important benefit of more transactions per block is that the transaction cost of each transaction goes down compared to legacy transactions.

Segwit uses different addresses from legacy bitcoin, and some third-party wallets or services may not support segwit addresses. Zion supports both segwit and legacy addresses within the same wallet, and you can switch between them at anytime.

How long will it take for my transaction to be confirmed?

Cryptocurrency transactions are not instantaneous, and exact times vary between currency types.

Zion allows you to set transaction priories by increasing the transaction fee. Higher fees may increase the priority your transaction receives on the blockchain network.

Does Zion store my personal information?

Zion doesn't store personal information beyond your 12-word recovery phrase and passcode. When Social Key Recovery is activated, Zion will additionally store your trusted contact list in cloud storage you choose, such as Google Drive or OneDrive. This will allow your chosen contacts to help recover your Vault when needed.

How do I get collectibles in Zion with Opera?

Zion works as an integrated hardware wallet for the Opera DApp store. You can use the Opera DApp store to make transactions and manage collectibles, which will be stored on the blockchain with your Zion Vault. See the user guide for details on using other apps with Zion.

Why does Nodle request an extra signature?

The first time you add an asset to your Stellar wallet, you need to sign a one-time transaction to add a new line of trust. Adding a new line of trust is called a "‍change trust"‍ operation. This is a special feature of Stellar that only needs to be done once. Follow the steps below to add NODL coins to Zion.

From the Nodle app, follow the steps for first time setup. You will need to share your public key with Nodle.
When prompted to add NODL coin to Zion, tap Proceed. You will see a Signature request from Zion Trusted UI.
Make sure the Purpose is listed as Change trust, then enter your passcode and tap Sign. NODL will now be available in Zion.

What are Zion-protected keys?

Some apps use Zion to create their own keys separate from the Vault in the Zion app. These apps may also support creating and maintaining several Zion-protected keys, with separate passcodes and wallets.

Zion-protected keys will still be protected by the Trusted UI and Trusted Execution Environment. However, their use and recovery must be done from the other app, not from the Zion app. Zion-protected keys also do not support Social Key Recovery, so make sure to keep your 12-word recovery phrases in a safe place.

Does a full node let me mine bitcoin on my smartphone?

A full node only validates existing transaction hashes and shares them in the network. Mining calculates new hashes, and may be power-intensive.

What is DeFi?

Decentralized finance lets you lend, borrow, or engage in other kinds of complex financial transactions. Different DeFi platforms offer different arrangements. They may allow direct user-to-user lending, use liquidity pools, or any number of other arrangements. The exact details are set by the DeFi platform.

Neither HTC nor Zion handle any of your crypto, and are not party to any transactions your make. Whatever arrangements you make with third-party DeFi platforms are between you and them. Zion provides you a way to link your Vault with these platforms while still protecting your private keys—avoiding extra transaction fees and steps normally associated with hardware cold wallets.

What is the Bitcoin.com Wallet?

Bitcoin.com Wallet provides support for Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a different currency from bitcoin (BTC). You can use Zion-protected keys with Bitcoin.com Wallet to manage and protect your BCH assets. In addition, Zion now provides native support for BCH assets.

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