Passport Firmware 2.3.2 Released: Ephemeral Seeds and New Features

12 Sept

Foundation has released version 2.3.2 of the Passport firmware, bringing a range of new features, improvements, and bug fixes to its secure, open-source hardware wallet for Bitcoin. Known for its emphasis on usability and design, Passport continues to enhance user experience while maintaining strong security principles. Users can now easily update their devices through the Envoy app.

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Key Features

Ephemeral Seed Support: One of the most anticipated updates, ephemeral seeds, is now available. This feature allows advanced users to temporarily load a seed onto Passport without permanently storing it, offering added flexibility and security.
- Temporary Seed Loading: Instead of using a permanent seed phrase, users can load a seed via SeedQR or manual entry, sign transactions, and once Passport is powered off, the seed is forgotten.
- Ephemeral Seeds with Permanent Seed Phrases: Users can load temporary seeds alongside their permanent seed phrase, allowing for one-time use while maintaining the primary seed.
- Key Manager Integration: Temporary seeds can now be loaded directly from the Key Manager. This feature is useful for scenarios such as helping others manage their child keys.
More details on how to use ephemeral seeds are available in the documentation.
Message Signing via QR Code: Passport now supports signing messages via QR code, which is especially helpful for services in the EU that require proof of address ownership. This enhances the utility of the device for regulatory and personal verification processes.
Fully Noded Wallet Connection: Passport has integrated support for Fully Noded, an open-source app for iOS and macOS that allows users to connect and manage their Bitcoin nodes, Lightning channels, and offline wallets. This addition broadens the range of options for node management directly from the Passport hardware wallet.

Improvements

Version 2.3.2 includes several user experience and security improvements:

Streamlined MicroSD Signing: Unnecessary options in the microSD signing process have been removed, making the workflow more efficient.
Expanded Seed Import: The seed import process has been improved by expanding the suggested word list to capture edge cases, ensuring smoother imports when users input partial seed phrases.
Postmix Extension and Wallet Enhancements: A new Address Explorer feature has been added to the Postmix extension, and multisig wallets now default to a more user-friendly “Ask to Import” policy, streamlining the wallet import process.
Visual and UX Updates: Updated icons and improved wording make the Passport interface more consistent and intuitive across all menus.

Bug Fixes

Several bugs have been addressed to improve the stability and functionality of Passport:

Multisig Pairing Fix: An issue where users could get stuck in multisig pairing flows has been resolved.
Account Management: Fixed a bug where manually adding account #0 would cause a crash.
Device Memory Fix: Resolved an issue where Passport would remember the device name after being erased.
Casa Extension: Fixed QR code display issues in the Casa extension, ensuring smoother integration.
Taproot PSBT Fix: Corrected an error with taproot PSBT signing that previously failed without showing the required fingerprint.

Verifying and Installing Passport Firmware

Users can follow the official guide on manually verifying and installing the latest firmware version via the Firmware Update page. For those looking to test the reproducibility of Passport’s firmware, a Reproducibility Guide is also available.

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