Users across social media have expressed frustration after discovering that Ledger, a leading provider of hardware crypto wallets, is ending support for its original Nano S device.
In an announcement made on May 30, Ledger revealed it would be phasing out the Nano S, meaning it will no longer accept new apps, feature submissions, or updates for the device.
First released in 2016, the Nano S is approaching a decade in age for early adopters.
Ledger has advised users to upgrade to a newer device and ensure they have their 24-word Secret Recovery Phrase to retain access and support.
Users catch on to the announcement
Ledger’s original announcement was made last month, but many users on social media are only now starting to take notice. Reactions have ranged from frustration and disappointment to reluctant acceptance, as some point out that other tech companies have long followed similar practices.
One user, Pcaversaccio—who works in the Ethereum ecosystem—criticized the move on Wednesday, calling it “very uncool” for Ledger to “effectively force anyone to buy and enter the seed into a new device.”
“I understand you’re a business but don’t play with backwards compatibility guys, many rely on LNS. You’re one of the few trusted parties out there and now you start censoring new features & access because of business rationale,” Pcaversaccio said.
A major bummer for users
On Wednesday, X user Beau, a safety project manager for Pudgy Penguins, called the transition a “major bummer” and expressed disappointment in Ledger’s decision.
“If you’re still using the Nano S, make sure your seed phrase is backed up,” Beau advised. “If needed, move your assets to a new wallet—you don’t want to be stuck with a broken device once updates end.”
Another user, posting under the handle Juan and affiliated with the Nillion Ecosystem, questioned Ledger’s move, writing: “Are they really just going to deprecate people’s existing devices and force them to buy a new one? Am I reading this right? WTF?”
Users raise concerns over potential security risks
Some users questioned whether the Ledger Nano S would continue functioning and raised concerns about potential security risks from using an unsupported device.
Beau responded, noting that while the device would “probably still work,” the lack of updates means it’s more prone to failure or security vulnerabilities over time.
Roman Semenov, a developer of Tornado Cash who remains at large following charges brought by the U.S. government over his involvement with the project, said he hasn’t updated his Ledger device in years.
“I stopped updating my Ledger when they began rolling out the cloud backup firmware feature,” he explained. “It works just fine without updates.”
