© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
Okay, here's the thing. A ton of Frame Wallet guides out there treat it like just another MetaMask clone and skip the desktop app part entirely. They jump straight to browser extensions or pretend you can half ass the install. But nah, Frame's a native desktop app for Mac, Windows, Linux - that's its secret sauce. Miss that, and you're fumbling from step one. In my experience, rushing the download leads to weird permission errors or the app vanishing like a ghost. Why does this matter? Because Frame lives in your menu bar, always ready, no browser drama. Sound familiar if you've fought with extension conflicts?
So, let's fix that. Grab it from frame.sh. Click download for your OS. Boom. Installs in seconds. I usually double click the .dmg on Mac or .exe on Windows, ignore any "publisher unknown" popup - just run it anyway. Now you've got this sleek panel on the right side of your screen. It'll auto hide sometimes, which annoys me, but we'll tweak that later.
Frame's empty at first. Right panel says "Add New Account." Click that plus button up top. Boom, options pop up: seed phrase, private, Ledger, Trezor, even GridPlus Lattice1 or watch only. Pretty much covers everything.
The thing is, most people come from MetaMask. So if that's you, pick seed phrase. Copy it from MetaMask carefully - 12 or 24 words, no typos. Paste 'em in, hit next. It'll ask for a password to lock it locally. Create one you won't forget, because this is your hot wallet now. Labeled "Hot Signer" in Frame lingo. Your address shows up green if unlocked.
GridPlus users? Enter your Lattice1 device ID and pairing code. Matches right up. I've set up like five this way - zero issues if your firmware's updated.
Okay, top right in Frame: network icon. Click it. Ethereum Mainnet by default, but you've got 100+ EVM chains: Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche. Gas prices show live - super handy. Say you're on Polygon, fees ~0.0001 MATIC. ETH Mainnet? ~20 gwei lately, like 0.0005 ETH to swap.
Want a custom one? Hit "Add Chain." RPC URL, chain ID, symbol - paste like you would in MetaMask. Base? Chain ID 8453. Scroll? 534352. Frame pulls tokens and NFTs across all automatically. No manual adds needed usually.
But watch out: testnets like Goerli or Sepolia for practice. Faucets give free ETH - grab 0.1 or so to test sends without burning real gas.
Now, install the extension from Frame settings (top right gear). Chrome, Firefox, whatever. Approve permissions. Pro tip: disable MetaMask first. Right click its icon, manage extension, toggle off. Frame injects as "MetaMask" on sites - dapps think it's the real deal, but you're running desktop power.
Head to Uniswap. "Connect Wallet" > MetaMask option. Frame pops up: approve connection. Permissions list below shows connected dapps - revoke anytime with one click. Honestly, cleaner than juggling tabs.
What's next? Review gas - Frame's fee monitor shows low/medium/high. Sign. Transaction pops in recent history. Etherscan link auto opens if you want.
Swaps? Go to a DEX via browser. Approve, sign on Frame. Lattice1 users get ABI packs for fancy contract reads on device. Gas example: ETH to USDC on Arbitrum, ~0.0002 ETH at 0.1 gwei.
I use these for cold wallet checks. Can't send, but see everything. NFTs gallery even lets you preview Punks or BAYC without owning.
Frame hides on click? Settings > disable auto hide. Stays docked.
Device not detected? Check USB cable, firmware. Ledger: Ethereum app open. Trezor: bridge updated.
Wrong chain on dapp? Switch in Frame first, refresh page.
High gas? Fee monitor predicts: swap ~0.001 ETH, send ~0.00001 ETH on ETH L1. Layer 2s slash that 90%.
Permissions glitch? Bottom panel > clear all. Restart Frame.
In my experience, 90% of issues are MetaMask running in background. Kill it.
Balances auto populate across chains. ETH price ticker up top. Click token > details, OpenSea link for NFTs.
Inventory below: NFTs grid. Click to expand, play animations if supported. Multi chain too - Polygon punks next to ETH ones.
Recent tx: signatures declined stay briefly, then fade. Nice touch.
Gear icon: light/dark mode (dark's easier on eyes), Twitter connect for ENS quick look, global options.
Account config per wallet: name it "Daily Driver" or "Hardware Safe." Dapp perms per account.
| Signer Type | Best For | Gas Example (Send 1 ETH) |
|---|---|---|
| Seed Phrase (Hot) | Daily use | ~0.0005 ETH Mainnet |
| Ledger/Trezor | Security | Same, hardware sign |
| Watch Only | Monitoring | N/A (view only) |
| Multisig (via Frame) | Teams | +extra sig fees |
Multisig? Frame shines here. 3-of-5 setup: approve from Frame, Trezor, another. Safer for big holds.
Swap on Curve: connect, pick pool, sign twice (approve + swap). Frame's popup guides you - amount, slippage, route.
MetaMask's browser only. Frame's everywhere - switch tabs, it's there. Native speed, no extension lag. Supports more hardware out box. Watch only? Game changer.
I've swapped wallets a bunch. Frame's my daily now. Less clicks, better security. Gas tracker alone saves headaches - see DEX swap cost before committing.
Potential gotcha: Windows antivirus flags install. Whitelist frame.exe. Linux? Flatpak or AppImage versions if deb fails.
For chains like Scroll, add RPC: https://rpc.scroll.io, ID 534352. Tokens fetch fast.
Lattice1? Pack ABIs on device for blind signing safety. Uniswap V3? Load it, approve swaps offline ish.
Never share seed. Frame stores local, encrypted. Hardware? Best. Hot signer? Backup seed offline.
Phishing? Permissions show connected sites - nuke sus ones. Verify addresses before send.
Update Frame often - new chains, bug fixes. Discord for support if stuck.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.