Trezor Model One Review: Still Worth It After 10 Years?

Back in 2014, the Trezor Model One created the hardware wallet category. Trezor has since discontinued it and sends buyers to the Safe 3 instead. Existing devices still get maintenance until at least 2031 and critical security fixes until at least 2036.

Here’s what I want to settle for 2026. Trezor’s own Safe 3 sells for $59 and carries a certified secure element, so who should still pick the veteran? I’ll answer that as plainly as I can.

Things have moved on since then. Touchscreens arrived with the Trezor Model T and the Ledger Nano X, along with extra features and many more chains.

That leaves a fair question. Does the Trezor One still meet today’s standards for keeping private keys safe, and does it still work well with tools like Trezor Suite?

Trezor Model One

Is Trezor One worth it in 2026? Read our hands-on Trezor Model One review covering usability, security, and whether it's the right wallet.

Product Brand: Trezor

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
7.5

	Trezor Model One Buy Now
Connectivity	Micro USB – USB-A (wired only)
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android (via USB)
Input	Two physical buttons
Secure Chip	None (uses general-purpose MCU; security via open design)
Display	0.96″ Monochrome OLED (128 × 64 px)
Microcontroller	ARM Cortex-M3 (STM32F205) @ 120 MHz
Operating Temperature	-20°C to +60°C / -4°F to +140°F
Authentication	PIN, optional passphrase, two-factor authentication (2FA) support
Recovery Backup	12-word or 24-word recovery seed
Privacy Features	Coin control, Tor support via Trezor Suite
Security Model	Open-source firmware and hardware, trusted hardware wallet architecture
Device Material	PC/ABS thermoplastic blend
Colors	White, Black
Size	60 × 30 × 6 mm (2.4 × 1.2 × 0.2 in)
Weight	12 g (device), 44 g (packaged)
Certifications	CE and RoHS certified, X-ray safe for air travel
Package Contents	Trezor Model One, Micro USB cable, 2× backup cards, user guide, stickers

What is the Trezor Model One?

Here’s where the decade-old device stands in 2026:

The Model One is a small USB hardware wallet with two buttons, a tiny screen and fully open-source firmware. Every wallet that came after borrowed from its design. It creates and keeps your keys on the device, asks for a button press on every transaction, and runs through the open-source Trezor Suite app on your computer.

It has no touchscreen, no wireless, no secure element and no support for every coin under the sun. Think of it as the bare minimum a cold wallet needs, made by the company that set that standard in the first place.

Trezor no longer sells it new, but plenty of owners still use one. Many devices have come after it, yet as the hardware wallet that kicked off secure cold storage, it still earns a look from newcomers and long-term holders.

Trezor Model One: how its security works

After ten years of attacks and fixes, we know its security very well:

1. A standard chip and a fully open design

Everything on the Model One runs on an ordinary microcontroller, with no secure element. You can inspect every part of it, and that openness has a price. Years ago, researchers showed they could pull keys off this generation of chip.

To do that, a thief needs your actual device and time in a lab, and a passphrase stops the attack completely. So on this device, the passphrase is the heart of your security, not a nice extra.

Setup and the risk of forgetting it are covered in the passphrase explainer.

2. Keys that never leave the device

Your keys stay on the device during every transaction. Your computer suggests a transaction, the Model One shows it and signs it, and you confirm with the buttons. Malware can fake what your monitor shows, but it can’t change what the device screen displays or pull your keys out over the internet.

3. Creating and recovering your seed

The device creates your seed using its own hardware randomness. Your backup is a plain BIP39 list of 12 or 24 words.

Nearly every compatible wallet ever built can restore from it, and that’s the upside of sticking with the oldest standard around. This model can’t split your backup into Shamir shares, since that feature came with later devices.

4. Your PIN, and why guessing it fails

PIN entry happens on Trezor’s classic scrambled grid. The device shows where each digit sits, and you click the matching spots on your computer without seeing the numbers there, so a keylogger learns nothing. Every wrong guess makes you wait longer, and that makes guessing your PIN by brute force hopeless.

5. Checking transactions with physical buttons

For every send, the device screen shows the amount and address, and you have to press a button. Long addresses don’t fit on that little display, so you read them a chunk at a time. It’s slow, but always worth it, because this is the moment you catch malware that swapped the address on your computer.

6. Firmware security and updates

The firmware is open source, signed by SatoshiLabs and checked every time the device starts. Trezor Suite is where new versions get installed. Ten years of public code review is the Model One’s biggest strength, because its weak spots are better understood than any other wallet’s, an odd but genuine kind of safety.

Which coins it holds

Bitcoin is covered, and so are Ethereum with its ERC-20 tokens, Litecoin and plenty of older coins. In 2026 the missing chains are what hurts.

Cardano, Solana and XRP all fall outside what this hardware can do, along with several newer networks. Compare Trezor’s list of supported coins with what you actually hold before you buy, because missing chains are the usual reason people move to a Safe 3.

To spell it out, Cardano (ADA), XRP, EOS and Monero (XMR) are off the table on the Trezor One. If you hold any of them, look at the Trezor Model T or the Trezor Safe 5 instead, since their firmware covers a much wider list.

Want Cardano? Our best Cardano wallets guide lists wallets that support it.

Screen and menus

You get two buttons, a 128×64 black-and-white screen and menus from a simpler time. The Model One does the job, but it’s never a pleasure to use. Trezor Suite does the heavy lifting: it’s tidy, open source and never tries to sell you anything, while the device itself does the basics and never lets you down.

Day-to-day use

It connects by USB to Windows, macOS, Linux and Android computers or phones. The micro-USB port gives away its age, though a cable comes in the box.

You won’t find a battery, wireless or iPhone support here. With so little on the device, there’s almost nothing to learn before you start.

What the Trezor Model One costs

You can’t buy a new Model One from Trezor anymore. It cost $49–$69 before it was discontinued, and Trezor now offers the Safe 3 at $59 in its place. Do the math honestly.

The Safe 3 costs $59 and brings an EAL6+ secure element, a better screen, USB-C and support for modern chains. A new buyer gets far more for that small difference in price. The Model One only makes sense if your budget can’t stretch at all, or if the missing chains don’t affect you.

For the full story on its successor, read our Trezor Safe 3 review.

Next to other popular hardware wallets like the Ledger Nano S Plus ($59) and the Ledger Nano X ($99), the Trezor Model One was the cheapest way into a big-name brand. It gives you real cold storage and Trezor’s core security for very little money.

We cover that rival in detail in our Ledger Nano S Plus review.

Getting a Trezor Model One ready to use

Setup takes about ten minutes in Trezor Suite. You check and install the firmware, create the seed on the device, write it down offline (steel is better than paper), choose a PIN and turn on a passphrase.

On this device, the passphrase does the job a secure element would do on newer models. If you buy one secondhand, get it wiped and check it carefully, because a tampered device is the one risk no setting can fix.

1. Unpack the device and plug it into your computer with the cable from the box.
2. Open trezor.io/start in your browser and grab the Trezor Suite app from there.
3. Do what the on-screen instructions tell you to set up the device.
4. Create a new wallet, then write the recovery seed (12 or 24 words) on the included cards. Keep those words away from keyboards and cameras.
5. Pick a PIN code. If you want an extra layer, switch on the optional passphrase too.
6. Once that’s done, sending, receiving and tracking your crypto all happen in Trezor Suite.

Trezor Model One: pros and cons

Trezor Model One vs. Model T vs. Safe 5

For roughly $100 more, the Model T brings a touchscreen, Shamir backup and extra coins. That extra money buys comfort rather than different security, because neither has a secure element. Most readers should go for the Safe 3.

At $59 it has a better chip than the Model One, covers more chains and uses USB-C. The Model One wins only on price and history.

FAQ

Final verdict: is the Trezor Model One still worth it after 10 years?

Is it still worth it? Only under the right conditions. Used with a passphrase, the Model One is still a genuinely safe cold wallet for Bitcoin and the big coins, and no new device can match ten years of open scrutiny.

But Trezor now sells the Safe 3 for $59 with a certified secure element and modern chain support, and the Model One isn’t sold new anymore. So it mostly makes sense if you already own one.

My 7.5/10 score reflects a respected veteran that’s past its prime. Choose it on purpose, not by default.