Trezor Bridge is a essential background service developed by SatoshiLabs that facilitates secure communication between your Trezor® hardware wallet and web browsers. Unlike traditional software wallets that operate entirely within your browser, hardware wallets like Trezor® require a dedicated communication channel to maintain maximum security.
When you attempt a Trezor login through a web browser, Trezor Bridge acts as the trusted intermediary that allows your browser to recognize and interact with your physical Trezor® device without compromising security. This ensures that your private keys never leave the hardware wallet, even when using web-based interfaces like the Trezor Suite web version.
Enables browsers to detect and communicate with your connected Trezor® device securely
Maintains the isolation between your private keys and online environments
Provides faster and more reliable communication than browser extensions
When you initiate a Trezor Bridge login process, here's what happens behind the scenes:
It's important to understand that Trezor Bridge is only necessary when using web-based interfaces. If you download and use the desktop trezor suite app, the application communicates directly with your Trezor® device without requiring Bridge.
Security Advantage: The desktop trezor suite app provides enhanced security features and doesn't rely on browser security. For regular use, the desktop application is recommended over web interfaces.
In most cases, Trezor Bridge installs automatically when needed. When you visit trezor.io/start or the Trezor Suite web interface with your device connected, the system will prompt you to install Bridge if it's not detected.
If automatic installation fails, you can manually download and install Trezor Bridge:
"Trezor Bridge is not running" error: This usually indicates that Bridge isn't installed or has stopped. Visit the Bridge status page at suite.trezor.io/web/bridge.html which will guide you through installation or restart procedures.
Connection drops: Try different USB ports, cables, or restart both Bridge and your browser.
No, the desktop trezor suite app communicates directly with your Trezor® device without requiring Bridge. Trezor Bridge is only necessary for browser-based interactions with your hardware wallet.
Yes, when downloaded from official sources, Trezor Bridge is completely safe. It's developed and maintained by SatoshiLabs, the creators of Trezor®. Always ensure you're downloading from the legitimate trezor.io domain to avoid malware.
Trezor Suite is the full-featured interface for managing your cryptocurrency, while Trezor Bridge is a background service that enables web browsers to communicate with your Trezor® device. Suite is the application you interact with; Bridge is the connectivity layer.
This message appears when the web interface cannot communicate with the Bridge service. This can happen if Bridge isn't installed, isn't running, or is blocked by your firewall. The official Bridge status page will help diagnose and fix this issue.
Yes, Trezor Bridge enables your Trezor® device to work with various web-based wallets and services that support hardware wallet integration, such as MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, and others.
No, Trezor Bridge only needs to be active when you're using your Trezor® device with a web interface. It runs as a background service and automatically activates when needed.