How to Create a Pi Wallet?

Posted on the 20 January 2022 by Mark Angelo @yourpieceofpi_

As of the date of writing this blog post, the first two steps must be accomplished in order to create a Pi wallet. If you already have Pi Network app and have Pi Browser installed on your smartphone, please proceed to step No. 3.

1. Install the Pi Network app on your mobile device and create an accout; please use my invitation code: markaqc

2. Install the Pi Browser app on your mobile device.

3. After installing the above-mentioned apps, please proceed by opening the Pi Network app and click the hamburger icon ☰ on the upper left of your smartphone's screen. A list of options will show up and select Pi Browser. 

4. Tap on the "Sign In to Pi Browser" button to access your your Pi Browser. This should automatically sign you in to your account inside the Pi Browser app.

For some android users, the Pi Browser app will not be automatically opened after clicking "Sign In to Pi Browser" button but instead, a list of your default browsers will pop-up. No need to worry, just click on the first browser that will appear on the screen and it will send and instruction to your smartphone to open your Pi Browser app. 

5. Based on the experience of other Pioneers, opening your Pi Browser for the first time apparently takes a few minutes until you see the home screen. DON'T PANIC, it's very normal as the Pi Browser loads up necessary files that secure the access on your Pi Browser. Remember, you are now using a decentralized app that can access decentralized systems and blockchains. Some Pioneers I personally know even waited 30 minutes before the Pi Browser opened. Just be patient.

6. Now that the Pi Browser is open working quite well, you may now see the seven sub-apps residing on the home screen of your Pi Browser. Click on wallet.pi  to start generating your Pi wallet.

7. Click  "GENERATE WALLET" - this is the most important step because when you generate your wallet, the first thing that will appear is your PASSPHRASE. The  passphrase is your main key to unlock your Pi wallet; you must keep it a secret! Without it, you cannot access the crypto coins that are stored in your Pi wallet. I recommend that you copy it on your physical notebook or journal and keep it on a safe place like your "aparador", "tokador" or whatever safe storage that ends with "-dor"  in your room. 

Personally, I write all my passphrases [also called seedphrase by other cryptos] in a small notebook. I don't want to save it on my phone, I don't want to take a screenshot of it and store on my Photo apps; in short, I don't want to make a soft copy of it anywhere in my devices because that adds to the risk of it getting exposed to unsuspected people or worst to the hackers. Do not store your passphrase on any devices that connects to the internet to minimize your risk. Remember that you are now dealing with a decentralized/non-custodial wallet and it's your very own responsibility to keep it safe. Give enough importance to your passphrase like how you give utmost importance to the amount of money you stored in it. If this passphrase is lost, your money will be lost forever. 

8. Please be advised that generating a wallet sometimes takes time so please do not interrupt the process and wait until it is completed. 

9. You'll have an option to use touch ID to unlock your wallet, otherwise use the alternatives. If your phone is jailbroken or rooted for whatever reasons, I suggest you to manually use your seedphrase instead. Don't use touch ID or fingerprint if your phone is rooted as rooting a device makes it vulnerable to hacking.

10. Once you're done, you will see your first 100 Test-π on your wallet. Please take note that Test-π is not real π. Test-π is solely for the purpose of testing transactions on the Pi Testnet and contains no value. The Test-π balance in the wallet may be reset because Testnet will be periodically reset as part of the testing.