Diagnose Your Wallet Access Problem: Where to Start
Select what still exists: a recovery phrase, wallet file, device or backup. This check shows what is realistically recoverable and directs you to the relevant guide or service.
Quick check
Full recovery phrase
A complete recovery phrase can restore a wallet in compatible software when the phrase format and any required passphrase, derivation path, account and network settings match. If the balance is zero, check those settings and the expected public wallet address before concluding that funds are missing.
Zero balance after restore · Derivation paths · Address types · Forgotten passphrase
1–3 words missing or wrong
The checksum and the BIP-39 word list make a bounded reconstruction realistic in most cases.
Incomplete recovery phrase · Wrong word order · Wrong seed word
4 or more words missing
Reconstruction becomes significantly harder and often depends on the rest of the material you still have. An honest assessment tells you whether a search is realistic.
Incomplete recovery phrase · Recovery feasibility · Request an assessment
Not sure how much remains
The route depends on how much of the phrase you can still recall or reconstruct — start with an honest inventory of what exists.
Incomplete recovery phrase · Recovery feasibility · Request an assessment
Wallet file with a forgotten password
Recovery is a password search against the file encryption. Partial memory or clues can make the search more focused; without them, the case requires an individual assessment.
Forgot wallet password · Recovery feasibility · Request an assessment
Damaged, corrupted or deleted file
Stop using the device, work from a copy or disk image, and identify the format before trying anything.
Corrupted wallet file · Wallet formats · Safe handling of old drives · Request an assessment
Wallet file that still opens
If the file opens, the wallet data is there — the question is usually which software or format it belongs to.
Broken screen or damaged connection
Selected physical defects are workable; the recovery path depends on the exact device and what else remains.
Forgotten PIN
A forgotten PIN is not a lost wallet: what matters is whether the seed phrase or a backup still exists.
Wiped or reset device
A wiped device is recoverable only if you have the seed phrase or a backup of the wallet.
Device works, but the wallet seems empty
A missing BIP-39 passphrase (often called the “25th word”) can make a different, empty wallet appear even when the recovery phrase is correct.
Nothing remains
If no phrase, file, device or backup remains — a password memory alone is not enough — recovery is not possible, by us or anyone. We say so honestly instead of selling false hope.
Prefer reading? The full written guide below explains every branch in detail, with links to the pages that apply.
Almost every recovery case starts with the same question: what material still exists? Answer that honestly and the route opens. Work through the questions below in order; each branch ends in the pages that apply to your situation.
Question 1: What do you still have?
- A recovery phrase (whole or partial) - go to Question 2
- A wallet file (wallet.dat, keystore, .wallet, backup) - go to Question 3
- A device (hardware wallet, old phone or computer) - go to Question 4
- Nothing at all - see the honest answer below
Question 2: You have a recovery phrase
- Full phrase: restore in compatible software. If the balance shows zero, the cause is almost always the derivation path, address type, network or a missing passphrase - see zero balance after restore, the derivation path reference and address types.
- Missing, wrong or shuffled words: the checksum makes a bounded reconstruction possible - see incomplete recovery phrase, wrong word order and wrong seed word. How far that search can realistically go depends on how many words are gone and what else you still have - the free assessment tells you that before you spend days on it.
- The phrase fails validation: it may belong to another standard (Electrum, SLIP39, Monero) - see seed standards.
- The seed restores but the wallet looks empty: a BIP39 passphrase (25th word) may be missing - see forgotten passphrase.
Question 3: You have a wallet file
- Identify the format first, from a copy, before trying anything - see wallet formats and how to recognize a wallet file.
- Encrypted file with the password: open it in the original or compatible software.
- Encrypted file without the password: recovery is a password search against the file's encryption - see forgot wallet password and recovery feasibility. How focused that search can be depends on the format and on what you still remember about the password - that is what an individual assessment establishes.
- Corrupted or deleted file: stop using the device, work from a copy or image - see corrupted wallet file, deleted wallet data and safety & forensics.
- File from unknown or discontinued software: see unsupported wallet and the legacy wallet timeline.
Question 4: You have a device
- Hardware wallet broken, lost or PIN forgotten: the seed restores it on a new device - see hardware wallet problems and hardware recovery concepts.
- Old phone with a deleted app: the seed or app vault is the material - see wallet on phone.
- Old computer or drive: stop using it and search methodically - see broken computer or drive and how to find a lost wallet.
Several branches above end in a judgement call: how much of a phrase is left, whether a password search is worth running, what a damaged drive still holds. That is what the assessment is for - it needs no sensitive material, and the answer includes a straight no when recovery is not realistic. Request an assessment.
You have nothing at all
A completely lost recovery phrase with no file, key or backup cannot be recovered - by us or anyone. The same applies to a memory of a password alone: without the wallet file, a backup or the seed phrase, there is nothing to recover. Anyone promising otherwise is describing something that cannot be done. See recovery feasibility for the full boundaries.
The order matters: identify before you act, copy before you test, and never let an online tool near your only material.