TL;DR
Send a small amount in, wait for it to confirm, then spend part of it with two of your devices. If that works end to end, your wallet works.
What you need
- An address you verified on a device (step 8)
- A small amount of bitcoin on an exchange or in another wallet
- Your phone, to scan a QR code
Receive
- Get the verified address to the exchange. Retype it by hand, or scan the QR code in Sparrow with your phone and use the exchange’s app.
- Once the address is in the exchange’s field, compare it with the device screen again. Clipboard malware swaps addresses between copy and paste, so check what actually landed in the field.
- Send a small amount. The transaction shows as unconfirmed first. A block takes about ten minutes on average, and exchanges sometimes wait before sending.
Spend
- Open the Send tab. Enter a destination (another address of yours works fine) and an amount.
- Pick a fee. Sparrow shows a slider based on how busy the network is. “Within an hour” is almost always good enough.
- Click Create Transaction, then Finalize Transaction for Signing. Sparrow now has an unsigned transaction (a PSBT).
- Connect the first device, unlock it and click Sign. Check the amount and the destination on the device screen before you confirm. Sparrow shows 1/2.
- Do the same with the second device. Sparrow shows 2/2.
- Click Broadcast Transaction. The third device stays in the drawer. That’s your spare.
Fee too low and the transaction sits there? Nothing is lost. Sparrow lets you raise the fee afterwards, or you wait until the network gets quieter.
Read the device screen, not the computer
What you confirm on the device is what gets signed. If the amount or address on the screen isn’t what you meant to send, reject it.
Common mistakes
- Testing with a large amount “because it’ll be fine”.
- Testing only receiving. Receiving proves nothing about spending.
- Signing twice with the same device.