Cloning a HW wallet's contents to one or more other HW wallets

Question

Is it possible/feasible to clone the contents of a HW wallet to one ot more other HW wallets ( for example to have identical copies in different locations for backup )?

It appears that this should work in theory for 'BIP 039' compliant wallets ( i.e. regeneration of wallet contents on the backup wallet from recovery-seed of first/master wallet ?).

Any snags or gotchas with the above?

Furthermore, if cloning is possible, does it only work for bitcoin or would it cover all cryptocurrencies supported by a HW wallet?

Answer 1

Yes, you can have multiple instantiations of the same wallet. If you input the same seed phrase, and use the same derivation scheme, then you will have multiple copies of the same wallet.

This works for all types of wallets, software, hardware, etc.

for example to have identical copies in different locations for backup?

Yes, but the usual recommendation is to keep a backup of your seed phrase, in case you forget your PIN, or the hardware fails, etc.

if cloning is possible, does it only work for bitcoin or would it cover all cryptocurrencies supported by a HW wallet?

This is possible for all cryptocurrencies included in a BIP39 hardware wallet, I'm not familiar with any exceptions. However it would be best to carefully consult the product manuals in any case, to ensure you understand the nature of the wallet and your backups fully.