My favourite computer software “hot” wallet is Exodus, however there are some coins that are not currently available for it so Jaxx is an excellent alternative for storing your cryptocurrencies off an exchange.

In this guide I will take you through installing the Jaxx wallet on your computer, creating a PIN to secure it and most importantly using its recovery seed to move the wallet to another computer.

None of this is financial advice and I am not a financial adviser; however I have found the steps I am suggesting to be a safe way of storing cryptos in the Jaxx wallet.

Installing the Jaxx Wallet on Windows

Head over to https://jaxx.io/support.html and download the correct version for your computer.

The Jaxx wallet doesn’t follow a traditional software installation method whereby your click NEXT...CONTINUE...FINISH. Instead the program is downloaded in a compressed file format (a folder that contains the program files) that you uncompress to a location on your computer.

I am going to be using 7zip as the program to uncompress the Jaxx folder and you may have a different program that handles this for you - the process is pretty much the same regardless.

Above you can see the left window which contains the downloaded compressed “Jaxx” folder.

Double click on the compressed “Jaxx” folder you downloaded previously.

The right hand window shows the contents of this compressed folder and you need to EXTRACT all the files to a location on your computer…

...I recommend extracting them to the “Documents” folder on your computer but it doesn't matter where really.

Once extracted, go to the location you chose previously.

Notice that it has created a “jax-assets” folder and a “Jaxx.exe” shortcut file.

Copy the “Jaxx.exe” file to your desktop - this will help you locate the “Jax-assets” folder in future.

Finally you need to create a shortcut to the program file on your desktop - double click on the “Jax-assets” folder and inside this folder is the Jaxx program.

To create this shortcut, right click on the blue Jaxx program icon, select “SEND TO” and now select Desktop (create shortcut) as shown above.

First time running the Jaxx Wallet

Run the “Jaxx” shortcut on your computer.

Click CONTINUE

Click ACCEPT

Select “Create New Wallet” and click CONTINUE.

Select “CUSTOM” and then click CONTINUE.

Choose the currencies you wish to use

Tick the cryptocurrencies you wish to use inside Jaxx (you can change your selection later) and click CONTINUE.

Tick the FIAT currencies you wish your cryptocurrencies to be displayed inside the wallet (you can choose more than one) and then click CONTINUE.

Securing and backing up your wallet

There are two steps to this process, the first is to create a seed for your wallet and the other is to setup a PIN.

Creating a seed

The seed is used so that in an emergency you can reinstall the wallet on another computer and restore all your cryptocurrency assets to the wallet without losing anything.

Tick the box next to “Yes I understand how Jaxx backup works” and click CONTINUE.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!

Make a note of your 12 word backup seed - this is the seed that you can use to restore your wallet to another computer. Click NEXT

Now enter the seed that you noted previously and type it (including spaces) into the field shown above. If it is correct, you will be able to click NEXT.

Creating a PIN to authorise payments

A PIN is used inside the Jaxx wallet to authorise sending payments and without this, no funds can leave your wallet.

Tick the box next to “Yes, I understand how Jaxx security PIN works” and click CONTINUE.

Enter a 4 digit PIN that you will remember and click CONTINUE.

Now enter the same PIN again and click CONTINUE.

The main Jaxx wallet screen is presented and you have successfully backed it up using a 12 word seed and set a PIN to authorise any spending.

Restoring the same Jaxx wallet to a new computer

It is crucial that you maintain all your cryptocurrency assets when you move to a new computer and you can do this by using the 12 word seed.

Download the Jaxx wallet from the website as described earlier and run the program.

Click CONTINUE in the next screen and click ACCEPT in the one after.

Select PAIR/RESTORE WALLET and click CONTINUE.

Enter your 12 word recovery seed and click NEXT.

In the next screen select EXPRESS and follow the steps we went through previously to set up a wallet namely:

1. Choose the cryptocurrency assets
2. Decide what FIAT currencies you wish to display
3. Choose a new PIN.

Now wait for you wallet to restore all your cryptocurrency assets to the wallet and you can carry on using is as on your old computer!

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Need more help with Cryptocurrencies?

My name is Carl the “Crypto Hound”, a Cryptocurrency and Blockchain consultant.
I love helping you manage your cryptocurrency portfolio easily and training you how to use crypto wallets securely. If you need assistance do get in touch.

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[email protected] | +447919 562 418 | www.cryptohound.me

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