Unfortunately Trezor the company behind the Trezor T and Trezor Safe 5 has released its Trezor Suite app under a non-free license. The included directions instruct the user to setup and initialize the device using this software. The problem with this is it is non-free and puts the user at risk.
The good news is that the firmware for these devices are released under a set of free software licenses and the hardware can be initialized using free software. The trick is understanding how to go about using the free software to do so, but that's where we come in. We have written up directions on using these devices with with various wallets directly on free and more free software oriented distributions as well as some not-as-free distributions.
On Linux Mint 22 there are two free software friendly wallets we can recommend using with the Trezor Safe 5. One is the Electrum Wallet for Bitcoin transactions and the other is the Feather Wallet for Monero transactions.
Flashing and initializing the Trezor Safe 5 for first use after purchase on Linux Mint 22
In order to flash the firmware to the Trezor Safe 5 and initialize the device for first use on Linux Mint 22 we need to update the system to a more recent version of the Trezor software than is included in the Linux Mint repository. The version in the repository does not include a sufficiently recent release of the trezorctl software and so we need to update this first by opening a terminal and running the following commands:
1. In the lower left hand corner click on the terminal icon to open the terminal (black icon with a $_ or search for terminal in the search box in the Linux Mint menu), then copy and paste the following commands to install and update to a more recent version of the Trezor software:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y pipx python3-venv
pipx ensurepath
source ~/.bashrc # Or restart your terminal
pipx install trezor
2. Identify the latest Trezor Safe 5 firmware by opening a browser and visiting the official github page:
https://github.com/trezor/data/tree/master/firmware/t3t1
Note: These are the files listed in the following format: trezor-t3t1-*.*.*.bin where the highest number is the latest release, and you can also utilize the date as a basis for figuring out what the most recent version is.
3. Open a terminal and download the latest Safe 5 firmware by running the following commands, but replace 2.12.1 with the latest version of the firmware identified in the step above:
wget https://github.com/trezor/data/raw/refs/heads/master/firmware/t3t1/trezo...
Note: You can type in wget and then copy the link by right clicking the link and selecting Copy Link.
4. Install the rules to give the system permission to access the device:
sudo curl -o /etc/udev/rules.d/51-trezor.rules https://data.trezor.io/udev/51-trezor.rules
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger
sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER
5. Connect your Trezor Safe 5 to a USB-C port on your computer.
6. Run the following command and confirm that the computer detects the device:
trezorctl list
Note: You should see something like the following for the output of the command above:
webusb:001:3 - Trezor Safe 5 bootloader
7. Run the following command to flash the firmware:
trezorctl firmware-update -f ./trezor-t3t1-2.12.1.bin
Note: On the Trezor Safe 5 screen it'll say Installing Firmware
On the terminal you'll see:
T3T1 firmware image.
Vendor header from Trezor, version 0.0
Firmware version 2.12.1 build 0
Firmware fingerprint: 7b82c1a5977eed76e5078b8e890e32aa165f6e8798bb9ff5653496ded923704d
Firmware is appropriate for your device.
Uploading [####################################] 100%
8. Now that the firmware is flashed it's time to initialize the device by running the following command:
trezorctl device setup --strength 256 --passphrase-protection --pin-protection --label "My Trezor Safe" --backup-type single
9. Tap the screen on the Trezor Safe 5 to agree to the TOS (terms of service).
10. On the Trezor Safe 5 screen follow the instruction and press and hold to confirm initialization.
11. On the Trezor Safe 5 screen enter a pin to protect the Trezor Safe 5 against unauthorized use (and make a note of it so you don't forget it).
12. On the Trezor Safe 5 screen you should see a message indicating your wallet has been created and to tap the screen to continue. Do so.
13. On the Trezor Safe 5 screen you'll next see a create wallet backup message. Tap to continue with the backup.
Note: You'll also see another 'create wallet backup' screen indicating that the 'wallet backup contains 33 words in a specific order'. Tap the screen to continue.
14. On the Trezor Safe 5 screen you'll see 'never put your backup anywhere digital'. Tap to continue
15. On the Trezor Safe 5 screen when you see the wallet backup instructions follow the directions as described and write your backup words down. Then tap the screen to continue after each word. You should see a 'I wrote down all 33 words in order.' when the process is complete and a hold to confirm, and you should put your finger on the screen, and hold it there until the 'check wallet backup' message appears.
16. When you see the wallet backup message tap the Trezor Safe 5 screen to continue.
17. Select the word from the list you wrote down until you've gone through each of the ones prompted for and see the success screen. Then tap to continue.
At this point you've successfully flashed and initialized your Trezor Safe 5 using free software.
Installing Electrum Bitcoin Wallet on Linux Mint 22:
1. Download and import the developers public key:
gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 6694D8DE7BE8EE5631BED9502BD5824B7F9470E6
2. Open a web browser and go to https://electrum.org/
3. Click the download link
4. Click the AppImage (x86_64, glibc 2.31+) and Signatures link next to Linux
5. Open a terminal and type in the following:
cd Downloads
gpg --verify electrum-*.AppImage.asc electrum-*.AppImage
You should see a few lines like the following indicating it's a good signature from Thomas Vegtlin.
The other lines saying Can't check signature: No public key are normal. Electrum releases are signed by multiple developers for redundancy. You only need one valid signature to verify the file. Since you have Thomas Voegtlin's key, the verification passed.
gpg: Good signature from Thomas Voegtlin (https://electrum.org)
6. Copy and paste the following into the terminal to set the AppImage to be executable:
chmod a+x electrum-4.8.0-x86_64.AppImage
7. Start the Electrum wallet:
./electrum-4.8.0-x86_64.AppImage
8. Click the I Accept button when Electrum's Terms Of Use come up
9. For the Network Configuration click the Next button
10. For the Create/Restore Wallet screen click the Next button
11. For the What kind of wallet do you want to create? screen select Standard wallet and hit the Next button
12. Connect your Trezor Safe 5 to a USB-C port on the computer and on the device enter your pin to unlock the device (don't forget to tap the green check mark)
13. Run the following in the terminal:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y trezor
sudo udevadm trigger
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
14. For the Keystore screen select Use a hardware device and click the Next button
13. On the Choose hardware device screen click the Next button (it should show your Trezor device)
14. On the Script type and Derivation path screen you can use the default and click the Next button
15. On the Enter Passphrase screen select Enter Passphrase on Device (it's more secure that way)
16. On the Trezor Safe 5 screen enter a password and click the green check mark
17. Back in Electrum wallet on the Encrypt using hardware screen click the Finish button
18. You can choose to be notified or not when prompted about making sure to always use the latest version of the Electrum wallet
Factory reset the Trezor Safe 5
1. Disconnect the Trezor Safe 5 from your computer.
2. Swipe Up: Place your finger at the bottom of the touchscreen and swipe upwards to the top.
3. Connect: While holding the swipe (or immediately after swiping up), connect the USB cable to your computer.
4. Bootloader Menu: The device will display a Bootloader screen. Tap the menu icon (or the screen if prompted) to access the bootloader options.
5. Select Factory Reset: Choose Factory Reset from the list.
6. Confirm: Press RESET and follow the on-screen instructions to wipe the device.