Bitcoin Mining FAQ

Bitcoin mining is the process that creates new Bitcoin and secures the network by verifying transactions, allowing Bitcoin to function without banks or a central authority. Miners use specialized computers (ASIC hardware) to compete in solving complex mathematical puzzles, and the first to find a valid solution gets to add the next block of transactions to the blockchain and earns newly minted Bitcoin (currently 3.125 BTC per block). This “proof of work” system requires real energy and computing power, making Bitcoin tamper-proof and trustless. The process happens approximately every 10 minutes and continues until all 21 million Bitcoin are mined around 2140.

Every ~10 minutes, one miner finds a valid block and collects the block reward. Following the most recent halving in April 2024, that reward was reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. At Bitcoin’s current price, a single block find is worth around €210,000 in BTC alone — plus additional transaction fees.

The halving is a built-in rule in Bitcoin’s code that cuts the block reward in half roughly every four years (every 210,000 blocks). It’s designed to create a predictable, diminishing supply schedule, with the total supply capped at 21 million BTC. Halvings historically have preceded significant increases in Bitcoin’s price, as new supply issuance slows while demand continues to grow. The next halving is expected around April 2028, which will reduce the reward to 1.5625 BTC.

Hashrate is the measure of how many SHA-256 calculations (hashes) a miner performs per second. Each hash is essentially a lottery ticket — the more hashes you produce per second, the more tickets you buy in each 10-minute round. Common units you’ll encounter:

• TH/s (terahash/s) — 1 trillion hashes per second. All four miners we sell are rated in TH/s.
• PH/s (petahash/s) — 1,000 TH/s. Used to describe mining pools and large farms.
• EH/s (exahash/s) — 1,000,000 TH/s. The total Bitcoin network currently exceeds 800 EH/s.

For context, the NerdOCTAxe Rev 3.1 produces 12 TH/s. The entire Bitcoin network produces roughly 800,000,000 TH/s. Your home miner’s share is tiny — but it’s still a real, valid share of every block’s potential reward.

Solo mining means your miner competes for the full block reward independently. If your machine is the one that finds the next valid block, you collect the entire reward — currently around €210,000. If you don’t find a block, you earn nothing. Your odds at any given block are proportional to your share of the total network hashrate.

Pool mining means your miner joins thousands of others, combining hashrate. When the pool finds a block, the reward is split among all contributors in proportion to the work they submitted. The result is small, steady, predictable payouts rather than rare windfall wins.

All four units we sell connect to Solo CKPool out of the box, meaning your full Bitcoin wallet address is your “username” — and any block reward goes directly to your wallet.

Your odds per block are equal to your hashrate divided by the total network hashrate. With the network at roughly 800 EH/s, a miner producing 1.2 TH/s (the Bitaxe Gamma 602) has approximately a 1 in 667,000,000 chance per block. Since blocks are found every ~10 minutes, statistically you’d expect to find one block roughly every 12,700 years of continuous solo mining at that hashrate.

This sounds discouraging — but when running the miners 24/7, the odds are much more favourable than National lotteries, and crucially, they are real odds. In March 2025, four separate solo home miners each found a block in the same month. One Bitaxe Gamma miner — drawing just 24 watts — won 3.149 BTC (approximately €224,000 at the time).

Bitcoin’s network difficulty is an automatically adjusting number that controls how hard it is to find a valid block. It recalibrates every 2,016 blocks (approximately every two weeks) to ensure blocks are found at a steady rate of one every ten minutes, regardless of how much total hashrate is connected to the network.

When more miners join and the total hashrate rises, difficulty increases. When miners go offline and hashrate drops, difficulty decreases. In early 2026, difficulty is at near all-time highs alongside record global hashrate above 800 EH/s. This means the proportional odds for any fixed hashrate grow slightly worse over time as the network expands — one more reason to buy efficient, future-proof hardware from the start.

Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash secure their networks with the same SHA-256 algorithm, so any miner built for one works on the other without a single hardware change. All four machines in our range use the same BM1370 ASIC and are equally capable of hashing either chain. What decides whether they can work on both at once is not the silicon — it is the firmware.

Only our two NerdOS machines, the NerdQaxe++ and the NerdOctaxe, can do it. NerdOS holds a live connection to a Bitcoin pool and a Bitcoin Cash pool simultaneously and divides the miner’s chips between them, so both chains are being searched in the same moment. The two Bitaxe models run AxeOS, which is excellent firmware but connects to one pool at a time: you choose Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash, you can switch whenever you like, but never both together.

Be clear about what dual mining does and doesn’t give you. Your total hashrate is fixed by the hardware, so it is divided between the two chains rather than doubled — at a 50/50 split, each network receives half your machine’s power. What makes it worthwhile is that the two lotteries are not equally hard to win: the Bitcoin Cash network is a fraction of Bitcoin’s size, so half your hashrate represents a far larger share of it than the other half does of Bitcoin. You are trading a slightly smaller chance at the big prize for a meaningfully better chance of winning something, on exactly the same electricity bill. Our solo mining calculator lets you move that split and watch both sets of odds change before you commit.

Our four miners draw between 24 W and 232 W — far less than a kettle or a gaming PC. Here’s a realistic electricity cost breakdown at a rate of €0.25/kWh (typical European residential price in 2026):

These costs represent your “lottery ticket fee” — what you pay every month for a continuous, valid chance at a full block reward. Many miners view this as a compelling proposition compared to buying Bitcoin directly, since you’re also contributing to network security and could potentially earn magnitudes more than your investment.

Bitcoin mining is legal in the vast majority of countries, including all EU member states, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan. A small number of countries — including China (since 2021), Algeria, Bolivia, and a few others — have imposed partial or full bans on cryptocurrency mining or trading.

Because regulations can change and local exceptions may apply (e.g., certain energy restrictions in some regions), we recommend checking the current status in your specific country before purchasing. As a hardware retailer, we sell mining equipment for lawful use. It is the buyer’s responsibility to comply with all applicable local laws and regulations.

A Bitcoin wallet is software (or hardware) that stores your private keys — the cryptographic credentials that allow you to control your Bitcoin. You’ll need a wallet address to configure your miner, as it’s the destination for any block reward you win. For solo mining with our devices, your wallet address serves as your pool “username.”

We recommend a non-custodial wallet, meaning you hold your own keys rather than relying on an exchange. Popular options include:

• Hardware wallets — Ledger or Trezor for maximum security, especially if you find a block.
• Software wallets — Sparrow Wallet or Electrum for desktop; BlueWallet for mobile. All are free and open-source.
• Avoid exchange wallets — while convenient for small amounts, they give you no control over your private keys. “Not your keys, not your coins.”

Setting up a wallet takes under 10 minutes and costs nothing. Always store your seed phrase (12–24 words) in a safe, offline location — it is the only way to recover your Bitcoin if you lose access to your wallet.

Yes! All four miners use the SHA-256 algorithm, which is used by both Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). You can switch between them by changing the pool settings in web control panel. For the Bitaxe Gamma 602 and Bitaxe GT 801 you can select between mining either BTC or BCH, whereas the NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 and the NerdOctaxe Rev 3.1 offers the possibility to split the hashrate to mine both coins simultaneously. Note: Network difficulty differs between BTC and BCH. BCH has lower difficulty, so your odds of finding a block are higher on BCH, but the reward value is lower.

ASIC stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit. Unlike a GPU (graphics card) or CPU (processor) — which are general-purpose chips designed to handle a wide range of tasks — an ASIC is engineered to do exactly one thing: compute SHA-256 hashes as fast and efficiently as possible. This specialisation makes ASICs orders of magnitude more powerful and efficient at Bitcoin mining than any GPU or CPU.

All four miners we sell are powered by the BM1370 ASIC — the same chip found in Bitmain’s flagship Antminer S21 Pro industrial miner — delivering exceptional efficiency in a compact, home-friendly package. CPU mining Bitcoin is functionally useless on today’s network. GPU mining for Bitcoin is similarly obsolete. For SHA-256 Bitcoin mining in 2026, ASICs are the only viable hardware.

All four of our miners ship fully assembled and pre-flashed with the latest stable firmware. Setup typically takes under 15 minutes and follows these steps:

• Step 1 — Power on: Connect the included power adapter to the miner and plug it into a wall outlet.
• Step 2 — Connect to Wi-Fi (Bitaxe / NerdQaxe): On your phone or laptop, connect to the miner’s temporary Wi-Fi hotspot (e.g. “Nerdaxe_XXXX”), navigate to 192.168.4.1, and enter your home Wi-Fi credentials.
• Step 3 — Open AxeOS/NerdOS Control Panel: Once connected to your network, find the miner’s local IP address (via your router, or shown on the device’s OLED/LCD screen) and open it in any browser.
• Step 4 — Configure pool: In the Settings tab, enter your mining pool URL (we recommend Solo CKPool: stratum+tcp://eusolo.ckpool.org:3333) and your Bitcoin wallet address as the username. Leave the password as “x”.
• Step 5 — Save and mine: Click Save. Your miner will restart and begin hashing within seconds.

The right choice depends on your budget, electricity cost, and how seriously you want to mine. Here’s a quick comparison:

All four use the same BM1370 chip and run AxeOS. Upgrading later is easy — each unit is fully standalone. Many customers start with a Gamma 602 and add units over time to build a small fleet.

Noise level varies by model, but all four are dramatically quieter than industrial ASIC miners (which can exceed 75 dB — comparable to a vacuum cleaner):

• Bitaxe Gamma 602: Near-silent — the single small fan is barely audible at arm’s length. Suitable for bedrooms and desks.
• Bitaxe Gamma Turbo 801: Similarly quiet; many users describe it as “white noise” at normal conversation distance.
• NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1: Our quietest miner at approximately 33 dB thanks to the dual premium fans. Suitable for bedrooms and desks.
• NerdOCTAxe Rev 3.1: Four-fan cooling at approximately 40 dB — comparable to a desktop computer or a quiet refrigerator. Comfortable for offices and living rooms, though you’ll be aware it’s running.

AxeOS and the NerdOS are the open-source web-based operating systems that runs on all Bitaxe and Nerd*axe family miners, developed by the open-source mining community (originally by Skot9000 / Proto.xyz). It runs entirely on the miner itself — no cloud account, no subscription, no external service required.

To access it, simply open any web browser on your local network and type in the miner’s IP address. From the AxeOS/NerdOS dashboard you can:

• Monitor live hashrate, chip temperature, fan speed, and power consumption.
• Configure your mining pool URL and Bitcoin wallet address.
• Adjust chip frequency and voltage for overclocking or undervolting.
• Update firmware over-the-air (OTA) with a single click.
• View historical performance logs and share statistics.

All units ship pre-flashed with the latest stable AxeOS/NerdOS releases. Future firmware updates are free and released regularly by the open-source community.

Yes — all four miners support overclocking via AxeOS by raising the chip frequency and/or voltage. The NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1, for example, can be pushed from its stock ~6 TH/s to approximately 6.8 TH/s with appropriate settings and adequate cooling. The NerdOCTAxe Rev 3.1 has also been tested beyond its 12 TH/s baseline by the community.

A few important caveats:

• Overclocking increases power consumption and heat output, so ensure good ventilation or add supplementary cooling.
• Pushing chips beyond their tested limits may reduce long-term chip lifespan.
• Overclocking voids your warranty. We recommend only doing so once you’re comfortable with the hardware and have read community guides.
• AxeOS includes thermal protection — if chips exceed safe temperature thresholds, the miner will automatically throttle or shut down.

Undervolting (reducing voltage while maintaining frequency) can also be worthwhile — improving efficiency and reducing heat without sacrificing much hashrate.

Any standard home broadband connection is more than sufficient. Mining traffic is extremely low — a miner sends and receives only a few kilobytes of data per minute. A basic 10 Mbps connection can comfortably run dozens of miners simultaneously. All four miner models connect via 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. They do not support 5 GHz Wi-Fi — ensure your router broadcasts on 2.4 GHz (most do by default)

A brief internet outage won’t damage your miner — it will simply pause hashing until the connection is restored, then resume automatically. For critical uptime, consider a simple UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your router and miners.

ASIC chips operate at high internal temperatures as a normal part of their function — typically 60–75°C on the chip surface. This is by design and does not indicate a problem. The external chassis of the miner will be warm to the touch but not hot enough to cause concern if placed on a desk surface.

All four miners include integrated heatsink and fan cooling sufficient for normal ambient temperatures (up to ~30°C room temperature). For optimal performance:

• Ensure at least 10–15 cm of clear airflow around all sides of the miner.
• Avoid placing units in enclosed cabinets without ventilation, direct sunlight, or near other heat sources.
• In very hot environments (above 30°C), consider adding a small desk fan pointed toward the unit.
• AxeOS/NerdOS display live chip temperature and will automatically throttle the miner if it exceeds safe limits, providing a built-in safety net.

No computer required! All miners are standalone with built-in Wi-Fi. Configuration and monitoring can be performed via your mobile phone browser.

Yes! Both the AxeOS and NerdOS firmware is 100% open-source. Firmware code is publicly available with no locked features or hidden restrictions. When an update is available, it will be shown in the settings page of the web control panel. Just click on the update button to automatically download and install the latest version. Your miner will automatically restart once the firmware has been updated (normally within 2 to 3 minutes).

Absolutely — and many customers do exactly this to build a small home fleet. Each miner is completely standalone and connects independently to your Wi-Fi and your chosen pool. Running multiple units simply multiplies your hashrate and, proportionally, your odds of finding a block.

A few practical points for multi-unit setups:

• Assign each unit a static IP address via your router’s DHCP reservation table for easy management.
• All units can point to the same Bitcoin wallet address — any block found by any unit in your fleet pays to that same wallet.
• Total power draw scales linearly — plan your circuit capacity accordingly. A standard 10A wall socket can comfortably run 4–6 Gamma 602 units simultaneously.
• Consider a network-managed power strip for easy on/off control of your fleet.

We believe in complete honesty here: on a day-to-day expected-value basis, solo mining with a home unit will cost more in electricity than you earn on average, in most residential electricity markets. The mathematics of solo mining are probabilistic — your “expected value” is positive only if you actually find a block, which may never happen in your lifetime given the odds.

However, that’s only one way to frame it. Consider these alternative perspectives:

• Lottery framing: Your monthly electricity cost is your “ticket fee” for a continuous, non-expiring lottery with a ~€210,000 jackpot that pays out every 10 minutes to someone. Multiple real home miners have won in 2025 alone.
• DCA framing: Some miners view the hardware as a way to accumulate Bitcoin at a fixed recurring cost (electricity), similar to dollar-cost averaging — but with the possibility of outsized returns.
• Strategic framing: Contributing to Bitcoin’s decentralisation, learning about the protocol, and supporting censorship resistance have intangible value that many miners consider worthwhile.

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PostePay), and bank transfer (SEPA for EU customers).

All card payments are processed through a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway. We never store your card details on our servers. For orders over €1,000, bank transfer is often the most convenient method and avoids card processing fees.

All prices listed on our website are inclusive of VAT, and no extra charges are applied upon delivery for customers in the European Union. EU business customers with a valid VAT number can provide it during checkout to receive a VAT-exempt invoice (reverse charge mechanism applies).

For customers outside the EU (UK, US, Switzerland, etc.), no EU VAT is charged (deducted from the prices at checkout). You may be liable for import duties or local taxes upon arrival in your country.

We aim to dispatch orders quickly — often within 24 hours of payment confirmation. If you need to cancel or modify your order, please contact us immediately at support@smartmining.com with your order number. We will do our best to accommodate changes before the order ships.

Once an order has been dispatched and a tracking number issued, it cannot be cancelled but may be returned under our standard returns policy (see our Shipping & Returns page ). Customised or pre-order items may have different cancellation terms, which will be clearly stated at the time of purchase.

Yes. Our website uses TLS/SSL encryption (the padlock in your browser bar) for all pages, including checkout. Card payments are tokenised by our payment processor — we never see or store your full card number. Our site is hosted on secure, regularly audited infrastructure, and we undergo periodic security reviews.

We are a registered business with a physical address and verifiable company registration. All products ship from our warehouse in full compliance with relevant export regulations. If you have any concerns about a communication you’ve received claiming to be from us, please verify by emailing us directly at support@smartmining.com — we will never ask for your password or full payment details via email.

Yes — we offer tiered discounts for orders of 5 or more units. Pricing varies by model and order volume. For wholesale enquiries, reseller partnerships, or fleet orders (10+ units), please email wholesale@smartmining.com with your company details, the models and quantities you’re interested in, and your intended shipping destination. All wholesale orders include the same warranty terms as retail purchases.

Order confirmation emails are sent automatically within a few minutes of a successful payment. If you haven’t received one:

• Check your spam or junk mail folder — confirmation emails from smartmining.com are occasionally filtered.
• Verify the email address you entered during checkout was correct.
• If you paid by bank transfer, confirmation is sent once payment is received (typically 1–2 business days).
• If none of the above resolves it, email us at support@smartmining.com with your name and approximate order time — we’ll look it up and resend your confirmation.

Yes. When a model is temporarily out of stock, we typically offer a pre-order option at the current price. Pre-orders are fully refundable at any time before dispatch. Estimated restock dates are shown on each product page and updated as our supply chain evolves.

For new hardware revisions or upcoming models, we occasionally announce them in advance via our newsletter. Signing up for our mailing list is the fastest way to be notified when new stock arrives.

We currently ship only to selected countries for retail orders from our EU warehouse. Standard delivery timeframes from dispatch are between 1 to 5 days depending on the destination.

Orders placed before 12:00 CET on business days are typically dispatched the same day. We will email you a tracking number as soon as your parcel leaves our warehouse.

Please refer to our Shipping & Returns page for further details.

Shipping costs are calculated at checkout based on your destination country, selected service level, and the weight of your order. As a guide:

• Italy: Free shipping on all orders.
• Other EU countries: Free shipping on orders over €250. Shipping costs between €7.00 to €15.00 below that threshold.
• UK / Switzerland: Free shipping on orders over €250. Shipping costs €15.00 below that threshold.

Shipping is handled by BRT/DPD, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on destination. All shipments include tracking.

Please refer to our Shipping & Returns page for further details.

For customers within the EU, no customs duties apply as we ship from within the EU.

For customers outside the EU, your order may be subject to import duties or other taxes levied by your country’s customs authority on arrival. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility and are not included in our shipping costs. Amounts vary widely by country and declared value:

• UK: UK VAT (20%) is typically collected by the courier on delivery for orders over £135. Below that threshold, no import VAT applies.
• USA: Orders under $800 typically enter duty-free under the de minimis threshold. Above $800, duties may apply depending on the product’s HTS code.
• Other countries: Please consult your local customs authority or use an online duty calculator for estimates.

We do not falsify customs declarations or mark shipments as gifts to avoid duties — doing so is illegal and could result in seizure of your parcel.

Once your order is dispatched, you’ll receive an email with a tracking number and a direct link to the carrier’s tracking page. Tracking is available for all orders regardless of shipping service. For DHL and FedEx express shipments, tracking updates in real time. Other couriers may show fewer updates, particularly for international shipments.

You can also log into your account on our website at any time to view your order status and tracking history. If your tracking link shows no update for more than 5 business days (domestic) or 10 business days (international), please email us at support@smartmining.com and we’ll investigate with the carrier on your behalf.

We’re sorry to hear that. Please follow these steps:

• Photograph everything — take photos of the outer packaging (all sides, including any damage), the inner packaging, and the damaged product before moving or using it. This is essential for any courier claim.
• Email us within 48 hours of delivery at support@smartmining.com with your order number and photos attached.
• Do not discard any packaging until we’ve resolved your case — carriers may require it for inspection.

We take full responsibility for items damaged in transit. Depending on the extent of damage, we will arrange either a replacement unit, a spare parts shipment, or a full refund. Our goal is to have you mining as quickly as possible.

Yes. We offer a 14-day return window from the date of delivery for undamaged, unused units in their original packaging. EU customers have the right to a 14-day cooling-off period under EU consumer law, regardless of reason.

To initiate a return, email support@smartmining.com with your order number and reason for return. We’ll send you a return authorisation and packing instructions. Return shipping costs are the buyer’s responsibility unless the item is faulty or incorrectly sent. Refunds are processed within 5–7 business days of us receiving and inspecting the returned item.

Units that have been powered on, configured, or used for mining are considered “opened” and may be subject to a restocking fee of up to 15% at our discretion, reflecting the reduction in resale value. This does not apply to faulty units returned under warranty.

Every unit ships fully assembled and ready to mine, with everything you need included in the box:

• The miner unit (pre-assembled, pre-flashed with latest AxeOS / NerdOS firmware)
• Power adapter with EU, UK, or US plug adapters as appropriate
• Miner stand upright display orientation
• Quick-start setup card with QR code linking to the full online guide

You do not need to purchase any additional software, subscriptions, or accessories to begin mining. The only external requirement is a Wi-Fi network and a Bitcoin wallet address — both free to set up.

All miners sold by Smart Mining S.r.l. are covered by a 12-month limited warranty from the date of purchase, covering manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship.

✅ What’s Covered:

• Dead-on-arrival (DOA) units that fail to power on or hash correctly out of the box
• Component failures under normal operating conditions (e.g. fan failure, ASIC failure, PCB defects, OLED display issues)
• Firmware issues directly attributable to the pre-installed software
• Power supply failures.

❌ What’s NOT Covered:

• Physical damage from drops, liquid exposure, or electrical surges
• Damage resulting from overclocking beyond manufacturer specifications
• Modifications to hardware or firmware by the user
• Normal wear and tear (fan dust over time, fan noise increase over time, thermal paste degradation)

EU consumers have additional statutory warranty rights under EU Directive 2019/771, which may extend or complement the above terms.

To start a warranty claim, email support@smartmining.com with:

• Your order number
• A description of the fault and when it first appeared
• Photos or a short video demonstrating the issue if possible
• The firmware version shown in AxeOS / NerdOS (Settings → System Info)

Our support team aims to respond within one business day. In many cases, we can diagnose and resolve issues remotely by guiding you through a firmware reflash or configuration change. If the unit needs to be returned for inspection or replacement, we’ll provide a prepaid return label for EU customers and arrange the most convenient return method for international customers.

Low or zero hashrate is one of the most common support queries — and in the majority of cases it has a simple fix. Work through these steps before contacting support:

• Check Wi-Fi signal: Weak signal causes frequent disconnections. Try moving the miner closer to your router.
• Check pool connection: Open AxeOS / NerdOS → Status. If you see “Disconnected” under Pool Status, verify your pool URL is correct (no typos, include stratum+tcp:// prefix).
• Verify wallet address: An invalid wallet address will cause CKPool to reject your connection. Double-check there are no spaces or missing characters.
• Restart the miner: In AxeOS / NerdOS → System, click Restart. Wait 2–3 minutes for it to reconnect.
• Update firmware: An outdated firmware version can cause stability issues. Check for updates in AxeOS / NerdOS → Settings → Firmware.
• Check chip temperature: If the chip is overheating (above 85°C), the miner will throttle or stop hashing. Improve ventilation and check the fan is spinning.

If none of the above resolves the issue, contact our support team with your AxeOS / NerdOS screenshot and we’ll take it from there.

Firmware updates are delivered over-the-air (OTA) through AxeOS / NerdOS — no cables, no flashing tools required. To update:

• Open AxeOS / NerdOS in your browser (enter the miner’s IP address).
• Navigate to Settings → Firmware.
• Click “Check for Updates.” If a new version is available, click “Update Now.”
• The miner will download, install, and restart automatically. This takes approximately 2–4 minutes.

We recommend updating firmware promptly when new versions are released, as updates often include efficiency improvements, bug fixes, and compatibility improvements with mining pools. Your pool and wallet settings are preserved across updates. If an update ever causes an issue, AxeOS / NerdOS maintains the previous firmware version as a fallback that can be restored from the same menu.

Our standard warranty does not cover damage caused by external electrical events such as power surges, lightning strikes, voltage spikes, or unstable power supply. These are considered external factors beyond our control.

We strongly recommend the following precautions:

• Use a quality surge-protected power strip rated for at least the combined wattage of your miner(s). Avoid cheap no-brand strips.
• For peace of mind, a small UPS (uninterruptible power supply) provides both surge protection and a brief battery backup during outages, preventing sudden hard shutoffs.
• If you experience unusually unstable grid power in your area, consider an inline voltage stabiliser.

If you believe your miner was damaged by a manufacturing-related power fault (e.g. a defective included power adapter), this would fall under warranty — please contact us with details.

The Bitaxe and Nerd*axe miners are backed by one of the most active open-source communities in the Bitcoin hardware space. Beyond our own support channels, you’ll find a wealth of knowledge at:

• Discord: The official OSMU (Open Source Miners United) Discord server has thousands of active members, dedicated channels for each device, and real-time troubleshooting help.
• GitHub: All firmware, hardware schematics, and software are published openly at github.com/skot9000 and related repositories. You can report bugs, follow updates, or contribute.
• Reddit: r/bitcoinmining and r/BitAxe have active communities sharing real-world results, tips, and success stories (including block finds).

We understand that hardware can fail frustratingly close to the warranty expiry date. While we cannot extend the standard 12-month warranty as a blanket policy, we do assess out-of-warranty failures on a case-by-case basis. If a failure appears to be due to a latent manufacturing defect — rather than use-related wear — we will often provide a goodwill repair or discounted replacement.

EU customers should also note that under the EU Sale of Goods Directive, you may have statutory rights against the seller for up to two years from purchase for defects that were present at the time of sale — even if they only became apparent later. We encourage EU customers to raise any such issues with us, and we will engage in good faith.

If you are having difficulty or run into any mining problems, you can contact us via our contact page or you can send us an email at support@smartmining.com. We will provide a reply within 24 hours. Support includes: setup assistance (Wi-Fi, pool configuration), firmware updates, troubleshooting hardware issues, and mining strategy advice.

Before contacting us, please check the FAQ above — most setup and configuration questions are answered there. Including your order number, miner model, and a screenshot of your AxeOS / NerdOS status page in your first email will dramatically speed up our diagnosis.

We are a small team of genuine Bitcoin enthusiasts and we take every support request seriously. Your success matters to us — not just because it’s good business, but because we want you mining happily for years to come.