🔗 Trezor Bridge — Connect Your Trezor, Fast & Secure
Trezor Bridge is the lightweight connector that allows your Trezor hardware wallet to safely communicate with Trezor Suite and supported web applications. This guide walks you through installation, logging in, portfolio access, essential security practices, and answers to common questions.
What is Trezor Bridge?
Trezor Bridge is a small, secure background application that translates messages between your web browser or desktop Suite and the Trezor hardware device. It runs locally on your computer and creates an encrypted channel for commands like signing transactions or retrieving public addresses. Bridge is required whenever the browser cannot directly talk to your device due to platform security restrictions.
Why Bridge Matters
Without Bridge, web pages would be unable to communicate with the device in many environments. Bridge handles USB and WebUSB permissions safely, ensuring that only authorized apps interact with your Trezor. It’s intentionally minimal — it doesn’t store keys or transmit sensitive secrets to the internet; it simply passes encrypted requests from the app to the device and back.
Step-by-Step Installation & Login
- Download Bridge: Visit the official Trezor website and download the Bridge installer for your OS (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Install: Run the installer and follow on-screen prompts. Bridge runs in the background as a local service.
- Connect Device: Plug in your Trezor and unlock it using your PIN if required.
- Open Trezor Suite or Web App: Launch Suite (or a supported web app) and choose to connect device. The app will detect Bridge automatically.
- Grant Permissions: When prompted, allow the browser or Suite to connect. Confirm any prompts directly on your Trezor device.
- Authenticate: Enter PIN on the device and, if used, provide a passphrase. Once authenticated, the dashboard loads and your portfolio becomes visible.
How Bridge Enables Portfolio Management
Bridge serves as the communication layer that makes portfolio features possible. It allows Suite to request public addresses, read balances, fetch transaction history, and ask the device to sign transactions. Because all key operations remain on the hardware, Bridge lets you enjoy a full-featured portfolio interface — charts, multi-account views, swaps, and transaction explorers — without exposing private keys.
Security Tips When Using Bridge
- ✅ Only download Bridge from the official Trezor site to avoid malicious forks.
- ✅ Keep Bridge and Trezor Suite updated; updates patch security and compatibility issues.
- ✅ Verify every transaction on the Trezor screen before approving; Bridge cannot override device confirmations.
- ✅ Run Bridge on trusted machines; avoid public/shared computers for signing transactions.
- ✅ If Bridge fails or behaves oddly, reinstall it and check official support resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is Bridge safe?
A: Yes. Bridge does not access or store private keys — it only passes encrypted messages between apps and your device on your local machine.
Q: Do I need Bridge for Trezor Suite?
A: In many cases, Suite uses direct methods, but Bridge is recommended for broadest compatibility, especially with browsers or older OS setups.
Q: Bridge not detecting my device — what now?
A: Check USB cables and ports, ensure Bridge is running, update drivers on Windows, and confirm you have the latest Suite/Bridge versions.
Q: Does Bridge send data to the internet?
A: No. Bridge operates locally; all sensitive operations occur on your Trezor device.