How to Regain Access To a Wallet With And Without a Seed Phrase?

The crypto community today offers numerous opportunities for engaging in crypto business practically from scratch. Traders and investors can easily enter this sphere by simply creating a crypto wallet and purchasing a few cryptocurrencies. Then, by studying the market, diving into crypto trading, and playing on exchanges, young entrepreneurs begin to grow their capital.

But what if access to the crypto wallet is suddenly lost? We’ll explain how to deal with this in the new article.

Why do you need a crypto wallet?

A cryptocurrency wallet is the primary tool used to interact with blockchain networks. It is commonly thought that crypto wallets are only needed for storing cryptocurrencies, but their range of capabilities is much broader.

Crypto wallets are responsible for sending and receiving cryptocurrencies, which are carried out through transactions. They are indispensable for cryptocurrency trading. Essentially, crypto wallets store codes and private keys without which the user cannot access or fully control their funds.

Why is a seed phrase so important?

The seed phrase is the master key to a crypto wallet. It consists of 12 or 24 randomly generated words.

The seed phrase is an indispensable tool in case a user suddenly loses access to their crypto wallet or forgets the password. Essentially, it’s like the code to a safe containing a fortune, the kind that heroes in suspenseful movies might hunt for.

Codes to safes are typically kept either in one’s head or in secure documents (or other safes) — in other words, extremely reliable places. Usually, such information is not disclosed to anyone, not even close associates, to prevent data leakage.

Dealing with crypto wallets is similar to dealing with antique safes from many years ago. The code should not be stored on electronic devices such as computers, phones, laptops, etc. but somewhere in the real world. Additionally, this data should not be shared with anyone, including friends and customer support representatives. Creating multiple backups of the seed phrase is considered sensible.

Lost access to a crypto wallet: what to do?

Losing passwords and access codes in modern life is a common, if not familiar, occurrence. We constantly register on social networks, electronic platforms, and marketplaces, and passwords are required everywhere. It’s good when, in case of losing one, you can use another or recreate the account altogether (on an e-library portal or a marketplace, for example). But what to do if you lose the password to something genuinely important, such as a crypto wallet?

In such a case, it’s important to immediately determine whether the seed phrase is still intact, namely, the very code consisting of 12 (24) random words. If it is, then recovery will proceed according to the following scenario.

Recovering access to a crypto wallet with a seed phrase:

Experts recommend working through the official crypto wallet application. It should be downloaded from the developer’s website, not from third-party sources.

1. In one of the tabs, you can find the “Restore Wallet” button (or “Import Wallet,” depending on the type of application).
2. In the corresponding field, enter the seed phrase. Here, it’s important to enter the words exactly as they are given and with all capitalization observed.
3. Next, you’ll need to create a new password for the crypto wallet and confirm it.
4. After a few minutes, the wallet will resynchronize all data with the blockchain, and access will be restored.

As we can see, this simple action plan is suitable for users who still have the seed phrase. But what about those who have lost all data?

If there’s no seed phrase, how to recover access to the crypto wallet?

The most common answer is: you can’t. The seed phrase is the only way to access private keys. That’s why we initially emphasized the importance of backups and secure storage.

All subsequent actions will be aimed at recovering the seed phrase and then accessing the crypto wallet through it.

Several steps can be taken to recover the seed phrase:

1. Contact the crypto wallet provider. Sometimes, providers keep their clients’ data. Using email and phone number, it’s occasionally possible to recover lost information.
2. Seek help from a data recovery specialist. Often, seed phrases and password data are stored on electronic devices. Usually, these are files that can be deleted. If a specialist can recover this file, the user will have the seed phrase. With it, they can then follow the instructions mentioned above to regain access to the crypto wallet.

How to maintain data security?

Very often, user carelessness is the reason for losing keys, passwords, or seed phrases. In fact, to avoid the hassle of recovering access, it’s easier to initially ensure one’s security:

• Store all passwords and seed phrases in secure places.
• Have backups of each private key and don’t store them all in one place.
• Use autonomous resources for key storage to prevent hacking and theft by fraudsters.
• Be more responsible about storing important data.

In any case, none of us is immune to accidents, failures, and breaches. We want to remind you that in such situations, concrete actions are more helpful than panic. And even if the desired outcome is not achieved, there’s always a solution.

If you want to learn more interesting facts about crypto then check out our blog! You might like our articles “Liquid Restaking Protocols: the New DeFi Primitive” and “Golden Cross and Death Cross in Crypto Trading”.

The easiest way to buy, sell or exchange coins is to use SimpleSwap services.

SimpleSwap reminds you that this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not provide investment advice. All purchases and cryptocurrency investments are your own responsibility.