Using Ledger on Polkadot Network

In this guide we will show you how to use your ledger for polkadot. I have tried to keep it simple and straight forward. The same instructions should work perfectly for Kusama.

Official documentation from Ledger and Polkadot

• Ledger support for Polkadot announcement 👉🏻 Link
• Ledger install documentation for Polkadot 👉🏻 Link
• Polkadot wiki on how to use Ledger 👉🏻 Link

Below is Staking4All mini dummies guide 😎

Ledger Live

Make sure ledger live is installed and working. Check the firmware version, you need to have version 1.6.1 minimum. In my case I had to update the firmware twice.

Update as needed and follow the process.

Once updated to 1.6.1 you good to go.

Now you can search for Polkadot App and install

Successful install should look like the below

Polkadot App

Now you can use https://polkadot.js.org/apps/ to send and nominate

In settings you must allow the Ledger device to be attached

You can now in the accounts page see “Query Ledger”. I had at this step a challenge or two….. It boiled down to that I must be in the Polkadot App on the Ledger Nano S device, so look at the tiny screen on your Ledger device and ensure you in the Polkadot App/Menu. Also had one or two pop ups to confirm device. Accept the device.

You should then see your ledger account.

Use “show address on hardware device”

If you would like you can make use of a control account also, my control account is not a Ledger account. I have sent funds from another wallet to my Ledger, I will now perform send transactions and nomination transactions.

Send

Select send next to Ledger account. Complete as below

Then to proceed click “Sign via QR” and then you will need to approve the transaction on your Ledger device.

Your controller account should now be funded.

Nominate

To stake go to the staking page. You must select “Stash”. Do not use the other options as they will fail as Ledger does not support batch operations yet.

Choose your controller and stash accounts. You can use your Ledger account for both accounts, however using a controller that is not on your Ledger has the advantage that you can update nominations anytime without using your Ledger device. Your stash account is however still protected by the Ledger device and can only be accessed using the Ledger device. Proceed with a “Bond” and perform any Ledger signing required.

The result should look like this. Select “Nominate” for next step.

Select validators you would like to nominate. You can select up to 16 validators. Always appreciate a nomination or two for Staking4All. But feel free to do your own research and select other validators that are active, helpful, develop on polkadot and run a solid node. Also recommend verified accounts.

Authorize the transaction, here only your controller account is used.

End result is you should see all the validators as “waiting”, when a new era starts one should become active while the remaining will be “inactive”. Your stake will only sit on one validator. If your stake is split across several validators you can pat yourself on the back and deem yourself a polkadot whale 🐳

Hope this dummies guide for Ledger was helpful 😁