How to Rekey an Algorand Account with Pera Mobile?

Rekeying Your Algorand Account — When and Why

What is Rekeying?

Rekeying is a feature unique to Algorand that lets you assign a new private key to an existing account — without transferring your assets. Your address stays the same, your balances stay the same, but the key that authorizes transactions changes.

Think of it like changing the locks on your house. Same house, same address, new key.

When Should You Rekey?

Your passphrase may be compromised

If you think someone else has seen or accessed your recovery passphrase — even if you're not sure — rekeying lets you secure the account immediately without having to move everything to a new address.

You want hardware wallet security on an existing account

You can rekey a standard Pera account to a Ledger device. After rekeying, all transactions must be approved on the Ledger — adding hardware-level security to an address you've been using.

You have locked or committed assets

If you have assets in smart contracts, liquidity pools, or other positions tied to your current address, moving them might be costly, time-consuming, or impossible. Rekeying secures the account without touching the assets.

You're upgrading your security setup

Moving from a standard account to a hardware-secured one, or from one Ledger to a newer model — rekeying handles it cleanly.

How Rekeying Works

You initiate a rekey transaction from your current account
You select the new "authorized account" — this is the account whose key will now control the original
The transaction is signed and confirmed on-chain
From this point forward, all transactions from the original account must be signed by the new authorized account's key

Your original address doesn't change. Anyone sending you assets still uses the same address. The only thing that changes is which key is needed to sign outgoing transactions.

How to Rekey on Pera Mobile

Rekey to a Standard Account

Available for: Standard accounts (not Ledger or already-rekeyed accounts)

Make sure the account you want to rekey to is already in your Pera Wallet
Open the account you want to rekey
Tap the three-dot More menu
Select Rekey to a Standard Account

Rekey menu options

Select the target account
Review the summary and tap Finalize Rekeying
Your account is now rekeyed — the new account is the "authorized account"

Rekeying confirmation

Rekey to a Ledger Account

Available for: Standard accounts, Ledger accounts, and already-rekeyed accounts

Make sure your Ledger account is imported into Pera (pair via I already have an account → Pair Ledger device)
Open the account you want to rekey
Tap the three-dot More menu
Select Rekey to Ledger Account

Rekey to Ledger option

Tap Start Process — make sure your Ledger is on, Algorand app open, Bluetooth enabled
Select your Ledger device when it appears
Choose the Ledger account to rekey to
Review and tap Confirm Rekeying
Authorize the transaction on your Ledger

Ledger authorization flow

Done — your account is now controlled by the Ledger

Rekeyed to Ledger confirmation

Important Things to Know After Rekeying

Keep both accounts in your wallet. After rekeying, you need the rekeyed (original) account and the authorized (new) account in your Pera Wallet. Removing either will cause issues.

The original passphrase no longer authorizes transactions. Only the new authorized account's key can sign transactions. But the original passphrase still identifies the account on the blockchain — it just can't spend from it anymore.

Rekeying is on-chain and visible. Anyone looking at your account on Pera Explorer can see that it's been rekeyed and to which authorized account.

Be careful with dApps. Some dApps may not fully support rekeyed accounts. Test with a small transaction before committing large amounts through a dApp with a rekeyed account.

Can I Undo a Rekey?

If you still have access to the authorized account, you can rekey back to the original or to a different account by repeating the process from the authorized account. If you've lost access to the authorized account, the rekeyed account is effectively locked — no one can sign transactions from it.

Rekeying vs. Moving Assets

	Rekeying	Moving Assets
Address stays the same	✅	❌ — new address
Assets stay in place	✅	❌ — must transfer everything
Works with locked/committed assets	✅	❌ — may not be possible
Transaction cost	One small fee	One fee per asset transferred
Complexity	Simple	Can be tedious with many assets

Need more help? Chat with us or visit perawallet.app/contact-us.

Updated on: 14/05/2026

Was this article helpful?

Thank you!