Ledger Nano S hardware wallets, one of the most popular hardware wallets on the market, are still incompatible with Google’s Chrome browser when it comes to sending ERC20 tokens, four months after issues were first discovered. MyEtherWallet and MyCrypto, two of the only platforms that support all ERC20 tokens, still don’t work with Ledger Nano S devices on Google Chrome, which has a 70% market dominance, as well as other browsers such as Firefox, Brave, and Edge. This has been the case since Google Chrome 72, which was released back in January, and it continues to frustrate users new to the problem every day.
Breakdown in Communication
The problems began in late January when Chrome released version 72, which broke communication with the Ledger’s built in Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) feature. This is an extra security layer used by Ledger, among others, that makes it almost impossible for hackers to access the device. This communication breakdown was catastrophic for the huge number of Chrome users out there, who began to receive U2F Timeout errors when trying to access their devices through the browser.
Ledger posted a notice on their website about the error once it was realized, but didn’t make a big deal about it, with most users only realising after pulling their hair out trying to work out what was happening. Users were initially advised to use alternative browsers, but these too have since received updates that have broken U2F communications, leaving users short of options. The support page on the Ledger website still recommends using the Brave browser, although this too is no longer compatible.
Users Left with Few Options
Those wanting to send ERC20 tokens through MyEtherWallet or MyCrypto do have one solution left – the Opera browser still works with Ledger Nano S wallets, but who knows for how long. There is also a MyCrypto desktop application, but this is hit and miss when it comes to performance. Thankfully, Ledger Live supports a great number of ERC20 and other tokens, so the majority of users should use that app. Ledger is still apparently working on the problem, although given that it has now been over four months with no further announcement on the issue, it would pay to get acquainted with Opera or Ledger Live sooner rather than later.
