What happens if I lose access to my wallet?
Everything you need to know about how to regain access to your wallet.
What are the four ways you can recover your funds?
If the device housing your wallet was broken, lost, stolen, or data wiped, you can use the four methods below to restore your wallet and regain access to your funds.
The sure-fire way to restore your wallet is with your 12-word secret recovery phrase. If you keep your 12-word phrase safe, you will always be able to regain access to your funds. If you haven’t written down the 12-word phrase for your wallet yet, it’s very important that you do so! Here’s some more information about this important security step:
How do I always have access to my wallet with my 12-word secret recovery phrase?
What does my wallet’s backup do?
Option 1: You can restore from your 12-word secret recovery phrase
As mentioned above, when you first created your wallet, you should have been able to write down your 12-word secret recovery phrase. If you have a safe, notebook, or file containing important documents, check to see if you can find your 12-word phrase there. If you don’t recall writing down your 12-word phrase, perhaps viewing this tutorial can help refresh your memory.
Once you have your 12-word phrase, you will be able to restore your wallet and regain access to your funds. The following article walks you through the steps to restore using your 12-word phrase: How do I restore from my 12-word secret recovery phrase?
If you restored your wallet with a 12-word secret recovery phrase, but the wallet is empty with no transaction history, then it is possible that the wallet you restored is not the wallet you were trying to restore. If this is the case, see the troubleshooting steps in the following article: Help! I restored with my 12-word phrase but my wallet is empty
Option 2: You can restore from a synced device
Do you have access to your wallet on another device? For instance, if your wallet is synced to another wallet on another computer or mobile device, you can view your 12-word phrase and use it to restore your wallet. If you do have access to your wallet on another device, here’s a guide showing you how to view your 12-word phrase: How do I view my secret recovery phrase?
Acquiring the 12-word phrase from a synced Qadirah mobile wallet is only possible if it hasn’t been permanently erased. Formatting your mobile device, or uninstalling Qadirah, will both result in the permanent erasure of your 12-word phrase.
In some cases, uninstalling Qadirah from an iOS device may not result in the deletion of your 12-word phrase – nevertheless, it’s better to assume that it will!
After viewing and writing down your 12-word phrase, you can then restore your wallet.
Option 3: You can restore from the email backup
If you created your wallet prior to February 2019, you would have been given an email backup link as an option to save your wallet information. If this applies to you, search your email addresses for any correspondence from support@qadirah.io or with the title Qadirah Backup Link. This backup link is an encrypted version of your secret phrase, and it can only be decrypted with the password you had set at the time the email was sent to you.
If you received an email backup, the following article will assist you with restoring your wallet: How do I restore from an email backup?
Option 4: You can restore an overwritten wallet
If you have recently synced your wallet or restored your wallet using a 12-word phrase, and now your assets are gone, there is a chance that you have overwritten your wallet.
The Qadirah wallet is a non-custodial wallet and all of the information needed to access your wallet is stored locally on your device. When you overwrite your wallet, it means that you have replaced the previous wallet with a new wallet that has a different 12-word phrase. If you believe this applies to you, use the following article to assist you in rescuing an overwritten wallet: How do I rescue an overwritten wallet?
On Desktop your wallet backup files will only be kept for 90 days after overwriting them. On Mobile, your 12-word phrase will be permanently deleted if you format your mobile device, or uninstall Qadirah from the device.
In some cases, uninstalling Qadirah from an iOS device will not result in the permanent erasure of your 12-word phrase. Nevertheless, it’s better to assume that it will!
What should I do if my device was lost or stolen?
If your computer has been stolen or lost, then we also encourage you to change your 12-word phrase by creating a new wallet. This way your funds will be in a new wallet with new addresses. This will protect your funds if someone has access to your device and is working on guessing your password.
As you can tell, it’s incredibly important to keep your secret phrase, backup link, and password safe! Anyone with access to your recovery options can use them to gain access to your funds, so make sure to protect them from prying eyes. For more information on keeping your wallet, computer, and network safe, visit: How do I keep my money safe?
Questions? Need more assistance? Send us an email at support@qadirah.com. We promise quick human help!