MetaMask Wallet Recovery: Phrase, Password or Vault

Keep the original installation and browser data before resetting anything. Use the phrase route for accounts derived from that phrase; use the original key or device for separately imported accounts. If the phrase is missing, check surviving access and the encrypted vault before ruling recovery out.

For case assessment, see MetaMask wallet recovery.

Restore MetaMask Wallet Using a Secret Recovery Phrase

The Secret Recovery Phrase (also called SRP, seed phrase, or recovery phrase) is the 12 words MetaMask showed you once, at setup, and it is the fastest way back into the wallet.

Here is an example of a MetaMask seed phrase:
“apple magnet true cable jump olive happy carpet tennis salt shrimp eagle”

MetaMask uses the BIP-39 standard, which is also used by many other wallets like Trust Wallet, Exodus, and even some hardware wallets like Ledger. This means your seed phrase follows the same word list and structure.

If you have this seed phrase saved safely, you can restore your wallet on any device—even if the app or extension is gone.

TIP: If a wallet supports BIP-39, you can often import your MetaMask seed into another BIP-39-compatible wallet and access the same funds.

How to Recover MetaMask on Desktop (Browser Extension)

To recover access to a MetaMask wallet on desktop you will need your SRP and a computer with Chrome, Firefox, Brave, or Edge.

Follow the MetaMask wallet recovery steps:

1. Go to metamask.io and install the MetaMask browser extension - download it only from the official site or your browser’s app store.
2. Click “Get Started”.
3. Select “Import an existing wallet”.
4. Click “I agree” (if prompted).
5. Enter your 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase in the exact order it was written, all lowercase, with single spaces between words.
6. Create a new password - it protects MetaMask on this device only.
7. Click “Import”.

You should now see your wallet and any ETH or tokens linked to it.

Important: you do not need to reset an existing MetaMask installation to restore a wallet. “Reset Wallet” erases the encrypted vault stored in your browser profile, and if your recovery phrase later turns out to be wrong or incomplete, that vault is the only thing a password recovery can work from. Import into a separate browser profile instead, and back up the extension’s storage folder before doing anything that erases data.

TIP: If you don’t see your tokens, add them manually using the correct contract addresses.

If you had more than one account, re-create them after the restore; the section on a missing account explains why.

Recovery works the same way on Exodus, Rabby, and Trust Wallet.

How to Recover MetaMask on Mobile (iOS or Android App)

The MetaMask wallet recovery process on mobile is largely the same as desktop recovery with minor differences. For this you need only 12 word SRP and a smartphone with the internet access.
MetaMask recovery on mobile steps:

1. Install the MetaMask app from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) - official stores only.
2. Open the app and tap “Get Started”.
3. Tap “Import using Secret Recovery Phrase”.
4. Enter your seed phrase in the exact order, all lowercase, with single spaces between words.
5. Create a new password - it protects the wallet locally on your phone.
6. Optionally enable Face ID or fingerprint unlock.
7. Tap “Import”.

Your MetaMask wallet and tokens should now be visible.

If the password no longer works

A password change and a password reset are different operations. If you know the current password, MetaMask’s settings let you change it. If you have the recovery phrase instead, restore in a separate browser profile and set a new local password; verify the addresses before resetting the original installation.

Keep backups of imported accounts too. A phrase does not restore independently imported private keys or connected hardware wallets. Google, Apple or Telegram sign-in still requires the original MetaMask password; signing into the provider is not a password bypass.

Without the phrase, preserve the encrypted vault and existing backups. Remembered password details may support a targeted search, not a guaranteed reset. See forgotten MetaMask password.

If you do not have the recovery phrase

Check whether an original installation still opens, a private key was exported, a hardware wallet remains accessible, or social sign-in works with the original MetaMask password. Each route depends on material or access that actually survives.

For a desktop extension that no longer opens, an encrypted vault or browser-profile backup may still be useful. MetaMask documents vault recovery, requiring the vault password. In Chromium-based profiles, relevant data may be in Local Extension Settings under the extension ID nkbihfbeogaeaoehlefnkodbefgpgknn, including .ldb files. Follow the current instructions on a copy; save the official tool locally and disconnect before using sensitive data. This is not a universal phone or cloud-backup method.

In Chrome or Firefox, preserve the original profile before trying access. Do not clear storage, reinstall the extension or reset the wallet. An existing unlocked session may help; restarting a browser does not itself reconstruct a missing vault. If no phrase, usable key, accessible device or recoverable vault remains, a public address cannot replace them.

Fixing Corrupted or Deleted MetaMask Wallet File (Extension Data Loss)

When you install MetaMask in a browser (like Chrome, Brave, or Firefox), it stores encrypted wallet data in your browser’s local files—specifically in its extension folder. If that data gets corrupted, deleted, or overwritten, you may suddenly find your MetaMask wallet reset or missing your accounts.

Where can you find MetaMask wallet files?

• Chrome: chrome://extensions/ → MetaMask → Details → Storage
• Or your system’s local file folder for Chrome extensions

Most people never touch the file. Uninstalling MetaMask or clearing browser data normally deletes the vault, but that is not always the end of it. The vault is an encrypted file inside the browser profile, and a copy may still exist in a full-disk or profile backup, in a profile folder that was never removed, or as remnants on the drive until new data overwrites them. If that is your situation and you have no recovery phrase, stop using the computer straight away: do not reinstall MetaMask, do not run any clean-up tool, and have the drive imaged and assessed before anything else is written to it. Whether anything can be recovered is case-dependent, and a recovered vault still opens only with its password. If there is genuinely no vault, no backup, no recovery phrase and no exported private key, there is nothing to work from.

With the SRP, none of this matters: import it into a fresh install. Without it, private keys you exported earlier can still bring back individual accounts.

What to do if You Lost One Account on MetaMask Wallet?

You restored MetaMask, and one account is missing. The usual reason is that the account was created after the original setup: each time you clicked “Create Account,” MetaMask derived another address from the same recovery phrase, and a restore does not always bring those later accounts back on its own.

Re-create each account by clicking “Create Account” for every account you held. If your tokens are still not there, try importing the private key, if you exported it earlier. Also, check multiple devices: was the MetaMask account created on a different one?

Compromised MetaMask Wallet (Hacked or Scammed)

A confirmed blockchain transaction cannot be reversed. Investigations and legal proceedings can sometimes lead to stolen assets being returned, but no one can guarantee that outcome. Recovering access to MetaMask is a different task. If your wallet has been compromised, the immediate priority is to limit further losses. Revoke.cash is a security tool for crypto users that helps you manage and revoke token approvals on various blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, and others.

When you use decentralized applications (dApps) like MetaMask wallet, you often approve them to spend your tokens (like USDT or ETH) on your behalf. These approvals stay active until you revoke them manually, even after you’re done using the app. This leaves your wallet vulnerable if the dApp gets hacked or turns malicious.

You need to act immediately, otherwise it can be too late. If a hacker hasn’t fully drained your wallet yet and you revoke the approvals they’re using, you might stop them from accessing more funds. But it’s like slamming the door shut while the thief’s halfway inside. Speed is everything.

After finishing the process, create a new MetaMask account with a brand-new SRP and move whatever you still control into it.

Work out first which kind of compromise this is, because it decides what revoking is worth. If your Secret Recovery Phrase or a private key has been exposed, anyone holding it can sign from that address exactly as you can, and revoking an approval does not make an exposed key safe again. Don’t add more funds to the compromised wallet: anything you send will be drained as quickly as the previous balance, because attackers typically monitor addresses automatically — and a revocation is itself a transaction sent from that same address, so its gas fee has to come out of it too. If your phrase and keys are still only yours and the problem is an approval you signed for a malicious dApp, revoking is worth the fee: it shuts down any further spending through that allowance. Either way it only prevents future misuse. It does not reverse a confirmed transaction and does not bring back what has already gone.

MetaMask Account on Mobile Lost or Broken

If you still have your MetaMask seed phrase, it is usually straightforward to get your Ethereum back.

You can restore your wallet on any new smartphone by installing the app, tapping “Import using Secret Recovery Phrase,” and entering the 12 words.

However, if your phone is lost or broken, you don’t have your MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase, and you’ve logged out of all devices, it means no one can help you recover your Ethereum assets—not even Crypto Recovers. This applies to wallets created with a Secret Recovery Phrase. A wallet created with a Google, Apple or Telegram login is no exception: MetaMask documents a two-of-two arrangement, so it opens only when you authenticate with that login provider and enter your existing MetaMask password. Signing in again does not replace that password, and it does not reset one you have forgotten. MetaMask is non-custodial, meaning they don’t store your information—you do.

Phrase and private key: different backups

A phrase derives its own group of accounts. An independently imported Ethereum private key controls its corresponding account and is commonly represented by 64 hexadecimal characters. It does not recreate the phrase or other accounts.

Use the dedicated guides to MetaMask private keys and the Secret Recovery Phrase for backup scope and import/export details.

When the restore fails

Three failures account for most rejected or empty-looking restores, and each has one cause to check first.

The phrase is rejected. MetaMask checks every word against the 2,048-word BIP-39 list and the phrase’s built-in checksum, so a misspelled or swapped word usually invalidates the whole phrase, and when one slips through it opens a different, empty wallet. Type the phrase by hand from your written backup, all lowercase, single spaces, in the original order; pasting from a note often carries a stray space or line break. If the phrase came from another wallet and imports cleanly but shows unfamiliar addresses, that wallet may have derived its accounts along a different path than MetaMask uses: compare the addresses with your transaction history on a block explorer before you go further.

An account is missing. Check the network first: a balance on Polygon or Arbitrum is invisible while MetaMask is showing Ethereum mainnet. Then re-add accounts in the order you created them, because a restore does not always bring back the accounts you added after setup.

The balance looks wrong. A token MetaMask does not detect on its own is not listed until you add it with the token’s contract address, and a balance that looks stale is settled by the block explorer, not by the app. Check the address there first.

Before the next lockout

Three rules are specific to how MetaMask stores your wallet:

• Write the Secret Recovery Phrase on paper or metal, two copies in two places, never as a screenshot or a note that syncs. MetaMask cannot show it to you again once the vault is gone.
• Before you uninstall MetaMask, clear browser data, or click “Reset Wallet”, copy the extension’s storage folder. That vault is the only thing a password search can run against.
• Install MetaMask only from metamask.io or your browser’s own store, and never type the phrase into any website, “sync” tool or support chat. A site that asks for it is a theft site.

If MetaMask Recovery Fails

If the restore steps above did not work, the next step is an honest assessment: what material you still have decides whether recovery is realistic. The assessment is free, needs no sensitive material, and returns an honest view of whether recovery is realistic.

FAQ: MetaMask Recovery

Is it possible to recover a MetaMask wallet?

Yes, where the required backup or access survives. A phrase restores its derived accounts; imported keys, hardware wallets and social sign-in have their own routes. Preserve the original installation before trying a restore.

Can I recover a MetaMask wallet without the seed phrase?

Sometimes. Check an accessible installation, an exported key, a hardware wallet, social sign-in with the original MetaMask password, or a surviving encrypted vault. A vault still requires its password; recovery is not possible from a public address alone.

How do I enter my MetaMask recovery phrase?

Use the official app or extension’s phrase-import option, preferably in a separate profile. Enter every word in its original order. An error may make the phrase invalid or restore different accounts, so compare a known address after import.

What happens if I lose my MetaMask recovery phrase?

If the wallet still opens, back up the phrase through its security settings. Otherwise preserve the original installation and backups, including the encrypted vault. A partial phrase may support a search if reliable words, positions and an address for checking candidates remain.

How do I export my private key from MetaMask?

Use the private-key option for the correct account and confirm with the password. See the private-key guide for export and backup scope. A separately imported key is not included in the main phrase backup.

Where can I find my MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase?

Use the phrase-backup option in MetaMask’s security settings and confirm with your password. If the extension will not open, a surviving desktop vault may offer another route; see the phrase guide.

How long is the MetaMask recovery phrase?

MetaMask creates a 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase by default, built on the BIP-39 standard shared by many other wallets. It also supports importing 24-word phrases, so if you are restoring a wallet that originally used 24 words, enter all 24. Every word must be entered in the exact order to restore access.

Can Crypto Recovers help if my MetaMask recovery fails?

Sometimes, and it depends on what is left to work from. If the phrase is invalid or incomplete, feasibility turns on how many words are missing, whether their positions are known, what other reliable constraints exist and whether a known wallet address is available to test candidates against; there is no universal four-word cutoff. A forgotten local password on a still-installed wallet is a separate route, because the encrypted vault is then the material. We work with verified open-source tooling on air-gapped machines, never guarantee a result and start only after a contract is signed. No recovery, no fee; we never handle your funds.

Where does MetaMask store the private keys?

MetaMask stores private keys locally in the browser’s encrypted storage, protected by a user-defined password. The key is decrypted only during wallet access. If browser data is deleted, recovery runs through the seed phrase or a previously exported private key. Failing those, the only remaining material is a surviving copy of that vault, which still needs its password; see “Where can you find MetaMask wallet files?” for where a copy can survive.