Quote from: tenant48 on Today at 06:22:53 AM

Quote from: n0nce on October 14, 2022, 11:23:14 PM

Quote from: SFR10 on October 14, 2022, 06:02:47 PM

Quote from: Gorilla22 on October 13, 2022, 11:57:53 AM

2. There are manufacturers who replace defective wallets only if you send them the defective wallet first.
~Snipped~
- What happens if you discovered it is defective AFTER you set it up with your seed, and cannot wipe/reset it?

If you really have to send the defective HW back, just get a hammer and beat the crap out of it ^{[e.g. like this or this]} and as a finishing touch, use a microwave ^{[be careful]}.

I have a better idea: rip out the circuit board and put it on an electric stove (outside) until all the solder melts (don't worry if you overdo it and burn the PCB a little in the process) and remove the chips. Then put the circuit board back in and reassemble.
If you can spot / make out the individual chips, make sure to remove any memory chips in particular, as well as microcontroller and secure chip (if it has any).

This is semi-serious, as it is possible to rip a memory chip off an otherwise (from outside look) destroyed hardware wallet, solder it into a new hardware wallet of same make & model and restore funds. Not on all of them, granted.

If you break the wallet physically, then you may be denied a guarantee.
Sending a broken wallet with your SEED phrase that has coins is not safe. Before sending, you need to withdraw all coins by entering the SEED phrase of the broken wallet into another working wallet.
How to transfer coins to a new SEED using one wallet you can see in this video.

I don't believe any reputable hardware wallet manufacturer would dare to steal your coins; my concern (that is still valid whether you wipe the whole wallet or not), is privacy. Using your old seed phrase, they can not only extract your past Bitcoin transactions, but potentially even your sweep to new wallet and continue tracking your coins.