Unable to Sign – Ledger
There are a few instances where a transaction results in an ‘unable to sign’ error using Ledger. This happens because certain messages exceed the length limit imposed by Ledger. This issue commonly occurs with swaps involving multiple pools on Osmosis or during bridge withdrawals.
This article focuses on cases related to Osmosis or Squidrouter. If you encounter this issue on other platforms, please contact the respective project’s support team
Osmosis – Swaps
Pool Routes
For swaps, If the pool route is too long, the error presented will read : “Tx size too large for Ledger device (Request the webpage admin to reduce the tx size)” or “Incompatible Signing Requested Error: SIGN_MODE_DIRECT can’t be signed on Ledger. Contact the web app provider to fix this issue.”
This error will be given when the route for the current requested transaction is through 5 or more separate pools, or 3 different routes. You can view the current route by expanding the ‘Route Taken’ box on the Osmosis transaction window
There are a few solutions for this issue. The first is to reduce the size of your swap, or wait for the route suggested to shorten. As asset ratios in the pools change, the optimal output may be given through a shorter route. Similarly, a smaller swap may present a better output with less routing.
This error should not present when the route is equal or less than 4 pools, or 2 separate routes.
1-Click Trading
Another option for ledger users running in to this error is to enable 1-Click Trading with the Osmosis front-end. This can be found in the top right Profile option, and is also suggested by default when connecting your wallet to Osmosis
With one click trading, the initial transaction to enable the feature has no issues executing with Ledger devices. Once enabled, there is not a need to individually sign each swap transaction, which gets around the length limitations of the devices.
This can be disabled once you are done trading from the same area it is enabled, or it will expire after the set session time (Default 1 hour)
Osmosis and Squid Router – Bridging
Similar to the transaction size error above, Ledger users may be presented with an error when attempting to bridge assets out from the Osmosis web app. The bridge integration for the Osmosis app is with Squid Router. Any of the transactions generated from Squid router involving Cosmos chains are too long for any Ledger device to execute.
This error also applies to any swaps executed directly from the main Squid Router app page.
The message will read the same, “Tx size too large for Ledger device (Request the webpage admin to reduce the tx size)” or “Incompatible Signing Requested Error: SIGN_MODE_DIRECT can’t be signed on Ledger. Contact the web app provider to fix this issue.”
There is no way to reduce the size of the bridge transactions – similarly, the 1-Click Trading accounts do not allow for bridging. The easiest workaround for this issue is to employ a Hot Wallet on Keplr – Create a new wallet with a new 12 or 24 word seed not utilizing a ledger device. You can send your assets to this new account, and from there use the bridge with the destination address back on your Ledger device.