How to Connect a TON Wallet to Fragment, Getgems or a Mini App (TON Connect)

To connect a TON wallet to Fragment, Getgems or a Mini App, tap the site's Connect Wallet button, choose your wallet, approve the request inside the wallet, and you are connected. This uses TON Connect, an open protocol that shares your wallet address with the app without giving it your keys. Nothing can leave your wallet unless you approve each transaction in the wallet itself.

This guide explains what TON Connect does and does not share, walks through connecting on a phone, on a computer and inside Telegram, shows how to read the approval screens, and covers the scams built around fake "connect wallet" pages. It is explanatory only and is not financial or investment advice.

What TON Connect is

TON Connect is the standard way apps on the TON blockchain talk to wallets. Instead of each app building its own wallet, the app asks your existing wallet to do two things for it: tell it your address, and sign transactions that you approve.

When you connect:

• The app learns your wallet address and some technical details, such as which network you use and which wallet app you have.
• The app can send requests to your wallet, such as "please send this amount to this address".
• Your wallet shows each request with the details, and you approve or reject it.

When you connect, the app does not get:

• Your recovery phrase.
• Your private keys.
• Permission to move funds on its own.

A connection is like giving a shop your delivery address. The shop can now send you a bill, but it cannot take money out of your account. You still decide whether to pay each bill.

Proving the wallet is yours

Some apps also ask the wallet to sign a short proof when you connect. This proves you control the address, so the app can log you in as that wallet. It is a signature over a piece of text, not a transaction, and it moves no funds. Your wallet should show it as a sign-in or proof request rather than a payment.

How the connection works behind the scenes

You do not need this to use TON Connect, but it explains several things you will notice.

1. The app describes itself. Each app publishes a small description file on its own website with its name, icon and address. When you connect, your wallet reads it and shows you that name and address. This is why the address on the approval screen is worth checking: it comes from where the request really originated.
2. Messages travel through a relay. When the app and the wallet are on different devices, such as a website on your computer and a wallet on your phone, they pass encrypted messages through a relay service called a bridge. The bridge carries the messages but cannot read them.
3. The session is remembered. After you approve, the app and wallet keep a session, so you stay connected when you come back later. That is convenient, and it is also why you should disconnect from apps you have finished with.
4. Every request has a time limit. A transaction request is valid only for a short window. If you leave it unanswered, it expires and the app has to ask again. An expired request cannot be approved later by surprise.

Before you start

1. Have a self-custody TON wallet. TON Connect works with wallets where you hold the keys. Popular choices include standalone wallet apps and the self-custody part of the Wallet in Telegram. Our comparison of Tonkeeper and Telegram Wallet explains the differences. A custodial balance held for you by a service or exchange generally cannot connect, because you do not hold its keys.
2. Back up your recovery phrase offline. Write it down and keep it private. You will never need to type it into a website to connect.
3. Know which wallet holds your funds. If you have several wallets or wallet versions, connect the one you mean to use.
4. Use the official site. Type the address yourself or use a bookmark. Do not follow links from ads, direct messages or group posts.
5. Update your wallet app. Older versions may not handle newer request types.
6. Keep a little TON for fees. Even when you buy with a token or move an NFT, the network fee is paid in TON. A wallet holding only tokens cannot approve anything until it has some TON. The same applies to a brand-new wallet, which becomes active on the blockchain with its first outgoing transaction.
7. Consider a separate wallet for apps. Many people keep most of their funds in one wallet and connect a second wallet, with only what they need, to marketplaces and Mini Apps. It limits the damage if they ever approve something they should not have.

How to connect on a phone

The exact screens differ between apps and wallets, but the flow is the same.

1. Open the site in your phone's browser, or open the Mini App in Telegram.
2. Tap Connect Wallet, Connect TON, or similar.
3. A list of wallets appears. Tap the wallet you use.
4. Your phone switches to the wallet app and shows a connection request. Check the app's name and, most importantly, its web address.
5. If it is the site you meant to use, approve. If anything looks wrong, reject.
6. The wallet sends you back to the site or Telegram. If it does not, switch back yourself.
7. The site now shows your shortened wallet address, often in the corner.

How to connect on a computer

1. Open the site on your computer.
2. Click Connect Wallet.
3. Choose your wallet. If you have a browser extension wallet, it opens a pop-up. If you use a phone wallet, the site shows a QR code.
4. For a QR code, open your wallet app on the phone and use its scan option. Scan the code.
5. Check the app's name and address on the phone, then approve.
6. The site on your computer updates to show your connected address.

Keep the phone handy while you use the site. Every transaction the site requests will appear on the phone for approval.

How to connect inside a Telegram Mini App

Mini Apps open inside Telegram, so the connection can stay inside Telegram too.

1. Open the Mini App from its bot, link or button.
2. Tap Connect Wallet.
3. If you choose the wallet built into Telegram, Telegram usually shows the request without leaving the app. Approve it there.
4. If you choose another wallet app, Telegram opens it. Approve the request, then come back to Telegram.
5. The Mini App shows your wallet as connected.

If the Mini App never notices the approval, close and reopen it. The connection is usually saved and appears when the app restarts.

Our explainer on the Telegram Wallet covers which parts of it are custodial and which are self-custody, which decides what can connect.

Connecting from Telegram Desktop or Web

Mini Apps also open in Telegram Desktop and Telegram Web, where there is no wallet app on the same device to switch to.

1. Open the Mini App on the computer and tap Connect Wallet.
2. If you have a browser extension wallet and are using Telegram Web, choose it and approve in its pop-up.
3. Otherwise, choose your phone wallet. The Mini App shows a QR code.
4. Scan it with the wallet app on your phone, check the app's name and address, and approve.
5. Leave the phone nearby. Each transaction the Mini App requests appears on the phone, not on the computer.

If the QR code is too small inside the Mini App window, enlarge the window or expand the app before scanning.

If you lose the phone your wallet is on

A TON Connect session lives in the wallet app on that device. If the phone is lost or stolen:

1. Restore your wallet on another device from your recovery phrase as soon as possible.
2. If you have any reason to think someone could open the old phone's wallet, create a new wallet with a fresh recovery phrase and move your funds and NFTs to it. Restoring the same phrase does not lock out a copy that someone else may hold.
3. Reconnect to the apps you use from the new wallet.
4. Sessions on the old phone cannot approve anything without someone unlocking that wallet, but moving to a new wallet removes the question entirely.

This is also why the recovery phrase matters more than any connection: whoever has it controls the wallet on any device.

Connecting to Fragment

Fragment is Telegram's marketplace for collectible usernames, anonymous numbers, and buying Telegram Premium and Stars with TON. Our guide to what Fragment is covers what it sells and how its auctions work.

Fragment has two kinds of connection, and you may need both:

• Your TON wallet, through TON Connect, to pay and to hold the items you buy.
• Your Telegram account, through a Telegram login, so Fragment can link items like usernames, numbers, Premium or Stars to your account.

Steps

1. Go to Fragment by typing its address yourself.
2. Use the option to connect TON and pick your wallet. Approve the connection in the wallet after checking the address shown is Fragment's.
3. If you are buying something for your Telegram account, also log in with Telegram when asked. Telegram shows its own confirmation.
4. When you place a bid or buy, Fragment sends a transaction request. Your wallet shows the amount and destination. Read it and approve only if it matches what you chose.

Fragment can ask for identity verification for some actions. If it does, follow its own instructions on its own site, and be wary of anyone in a chat offering to "verify" for you.

For specific tasks, see buying Stars on Fragment with TON and Telegram usernames on Fragment.

Connecting to Getgems and other NFT marketplaces

Getgems is a marketplace for NFTs on TON, including digital collectibles and other items. The connection works the same way as anywhere else.

1. Open the marketplace's real site.
2. Tap Connect Wallet and choose your wallet.
3. Approve the connection after checking the address.
4. Your profile now shows the NFTs your wallet holds.

What you will be asked to approve later:

• Buying. A transaction that sends TON to the sale contract. Your wallet shows the amount.
• Listing for sale. A transaction that moves your NFT into a sale contract. The NFT leaves your wallet and is held by the contract until it sells or you cancel. That is normal for TON marketplaces, but read the request so you know which NFT you are listing.
• Cancelling a listing. A transaction that returns the NFT to your wallet, with a small fee.
• Making an offer. Usually locks the offered TON in a contract until it is accepted, cancelled or expires.

Every one of these has a network fee. The wallet shows an estimate before you approve.

Reading a transaction request before you approve

The approval screen in your wallet is your last line of defence. Most losses happen because people approve without reading.

Check:

1. The app's address. Is it the real domain, spelled correctly? Look for extra letters, swapped characters or unusual endings.
2. What is being sent. TON, a token, or an NFT. A request to buy a cheap item should not send your whole balance or your most valuable NFT.
3. The amount. Does it match what you clicked? Remember there is a fee on top.
4. The destination. You will not recognise contract addresses, but if the wallet labels it, the label should make sense.
5. Warnings. Many wallets simulate the transaction and show its expected result, such as "you will send X and receive Y". If the wallet warns about a risk or shows an outcome you did not expect, stop.
6. Several actions at once. Some requests bundle several transfers. Read every line.

If you are unsure, reject. A legitimate app lets you try again; a scam relies on you hurrying.

After you approve, you can check what actually happened on a block explorer. See how to read a TON transaction.

Disconnecting

Disconnect when you are done with an app, and review connections now and then.

1. From the app: open the account menu, usually behind your shortened address, and choose Disconnect.
2. From the wallet: most wallets have a list of connected apps in their settings. Remove any you no longer use or do not recognise.

Disconnecting stops the app from sending you new requests. It does not undo transactions you already approved, and it does not change what you own.

What connecting reveals about you

TON is a public blockchain. Connecting a wallet does not hand over your keys, but it does tell the app your address, and an address is a window onto a lot of public information.

• Your balance and history are public. Anyone with your address can see what it holds and every transaction it has made, through any explorer. The app can too.
• Linking an address to an account connects them. If you log in to Fragment with Telegram and pay from a wallet, that wallet is now associated with your Telegram account on Fragment. A collectible username shown on your profile can also lead people to the wallet that holds it.
• Reusing one wallet everywhere joins up your activity. A wallet you use for a game, a marketplace and payments from friends tells a fuller story than three separate wallets would.

None of this is a reason not to connect. It is a reason to choose which wallet you connect where. If privacy matters to you, keep separate wallets for separate purposes and move only what each needs.

Managing several wallets

Many people end up with more than one wallet: a standalone app, the wallet in Telegram, perhaps an older version. A few habits avoid confusion.

1. Name your wallets inside your wallet apps, so the approval screens tell you which one you are using.
2. Disconnect before switching. To use a different wallet with the same site, disconnect first, then connect again and choose the other wallet.
3. Check the address the site shows. The first and last few characters should match the wallet you meant.
4. Keep the main one clean. Hold most funds in a wallet you rarely connect, and top up the app wallet when you need to.

What to expect after you approve

• A short wait. TON usually confirms transactions within seconds, but the site may take a little longer to notice and update.
• A fee. Every approved transaction pays a network fee in TON. Token and NFT actions cost more than a plain transfer, because more contracts run. Part of the fee allowance often comes back to you in a separate small transfer.
• Items moving to contracts. Listings, offers and auctions often hold your NFT or TON in a contract until the deal completes. Your wallet view may not show them while they are held.
• A record you can check. Your wallet's history and any block explorer show exactly what happened, which is the reference if the site shows something different.

For Mini App builders: adding TON Connect

If you are building a Mini App and want users to connect wallets, the official TON Connect libraries handle the protocol and show the standard wallet list. The work on your side, described in words:

1. Publish your app description file on your own domain, with your app's name, icon and address. Wallets show this to users, so keep it accurate.
2. Add the connect button from the TON Connect interface library, which lists supported wallets and handles the different flows for phones, computers and Telegram.
3. If you need to know the wallet really belongs to the user, request the proof at connection time and verify the signature on your server. Without it, the address the front-end reports is only a claim.
4. Do not assume the wallet is the Telegram user. A connected wallet and a Telegram account are separate identities. Verify the Telegram user from the Mini App's launch data, verify the wallet from its proof, and store the link between them deliberately.
5. Build transaction requests carefully. State the exact amount and destination, set a sensible validity time, and handle a rejection as a normal outcome, not an error.
6. Confirm on-chain. Treat a payment as done only when your backend sees it on the blockchain, not when the front-end says the user approved.

Remember that digital goods sold inside Telegram Mini Apps have their own payment rules; check Telegram's current rules before choosing TON over Telegram Stars for a sale.

Safety: the "connect wallet" scams

Because connecting is easy, scammers copy the process. Knowing the patterns protects you.

Fake sites

Clones of Fragment, Getgems and popular Mini Apps exist, with near-identical design and slightly different addresses. They connect normally, then ask you to approve a transaction that sends everything to the scammer. Always type the address yourself and check it in the wallet's approval screen.

Bots and Mini Apps promising free tokens

A bot or Mini App offers an airdrop, a prize or "verification" and asks you to connect and approve a transaction to "claim" it. The transaction drains the wallet. Free money that needs you to approve a transfer is not free money. Our guide to crypto scams on Telegram lists the common variants.

Requests for your recovery phrase

No TON Connect flow ever asks for your recovery phrase. A site, bot, support agent or form that asks for it is stealing your wallet. Never type it anywhere except into your own wallet app when you restore it.

Unknown NFTs and tokens

Scammers send NFTs and tokens with links in their names, promising rewards on a site. Visiting the site leads to a fake connect-and-approve flow. Ignore unsolicited items.

Fake support

If something goes wrong and you complain publicly, people may message you offering help. Real support does not start conversations in your direct messages, and never needs your phrase.

If you think you approved something harmful, move your remaining funds to a new wallet with a fresh recovery phrase straight away, and disconnect all apps. If you have lost access to the Wallet in Telegram itself, see recovering access to Telegram Wallet.

When the connection does not work

The wallet does not open when you tap it

How to recognise it: you choose a wallet on a phone and nothing happens.

1. Make sure the wallet app is installed and updated.
2. Try opening the site in a different browser; some in-app browsers block switching to other apps.
3. On a computer, use the QR code option instead.

You approved, but the site still says not connected

How to recognise it: the wallet shows success, the site does not change.

1. Switch back to the site's tab and wait a few seconds.
2. Refresh the page or reopen the Mini App. The connection is often saved.
3. Disconnect in the wallet's connected apps list and connect again.

The QR code will not scan

1. Use the wallet's own scan option rather than the phone's camera app.
2. Increase screen brightness and avoid glare.
3. Refresh the page for a fresh code; codes can expire.

The site shows the wrong address or a zero balance

How to recognise it: you connected, but the balance or NFTs are missing.

1. Check you connected the wallet that holds the funds, if you have several.
2. Check your wallet is not set to the test network.
3. Check the wallet version or account selected in the wallet app. The same recovery phrase can control several wallet versions with different addresses.

Transactions fail after approval

1. Make sure you have enough TON for the network fee, as well as for the purchase.
2. Read the failure on a block explorer to see which step failed.
3. Do not approve the same request repeatedly without understanding why it failed.

Worked examples

These are illustrations with invented names.

Example: buying a username on Fragment

Rita wants a collectible username. She types Fragment's address, connects her wallet, and logs in with Telegram. When she bids, her wallet shows the amount and Fragment's address. She approves. She later wins the auction and assigns the username to her Telegram account from Fragment.

Example: a Mini App game asking for a "reward claim"

Ken plays a game in a Mini App he found in a group. It shows "Claim your reward: connect wallet". He connects, and the wallet asks him to approve sending all his TON to an unknown address. He rejects, disconnects the app in his wallet and leaves the group.

Example: listing an NFT on Getgems

Lea lists a collectible for sale. Her wallet asks her to approve moving the NFT to a sale contract, plus a fee. She sees the NFT name matches and approves. The NFT disappears from her wallet view and appears as listed on the marketplace, which is expected.

Common mistakes

• Connecting from a link in a message or ad. Type the address yourself.
• Not reading the approval screen. The domain and the amount are the two things that matter most.
• Typing a recovery phrase into a site. Connecting never needs it.
• Using your main wallet everywhere. A separate wallet for apps limits risk.
• Leaving old connections in place. Remove apps you no longer use.
• Forgetting the fee. A purchase can fail if there is no TON left for the network fee.
• Expecting a custodial balance to connect. Only wallets where you hold the keys work with TON Connect.

FAQ

Is it safe to connect my wallet to a site?

Connecting shares your address and lets the site send requests. It cannot move funds without your approval. The risk is in what you approve afterwards, and in connecting to a fake site, so check the address and read every request.

Do I need to enter my seed phrase to connect?

Never. TON Connect uses your wallet app to approve requests. Anyone who asks for your recovery phrase is trying to steal your wallet.

Can I connect the Wallet in Telegram to Fragment or Getgems?

The self-custody part of the Wallet in Telegram supports connecting to apps. A custodial balance held for you by the service works differently. Check inside the Wallet which part you are using.

How do I disconnect a wallet from Fragment or Getgems?

Use the disconnect option in the site's account menu, and also remove the site from your wallet's list of connected apps.

Why does Fragment also ask me to log in with Telegram?

The wallet pays for and holds items. The Telegram login links things like usernames, numbers, Premium and Stars to your Telegram account.

What if I approved a scam transaction?

Transactions cannot be reversed. Move any remaining funds to a new wallet with a fresh recovery phrase straight away, disconnect all apps, and report the scam to the platform where you found it.

Summary

TON Connect lets you link a self-custody TON wallet to Fragment, Getgems or a Mini App by tapping Connect Wallet, choosing your wallet and approving the request in it. The app gets your address, not your keys, and every payment or NFT move needs your approval in the wallet. Type sites' addresses yourself, check the domain and amount on every approval screen, never share your recovery phrase, and consider a separate wallet for apps. Disconnect apps you no longer use. On Fragment, connect both your wallet and your Telegram account when you buy items tied to your account.