A lost or stolen seed phrase should be treated as compromised. You need to replace the key entirely by conducting a key replacement.
Warning: The following steps impact the keys securing your bitcoin, and missteps can result in permanent loss of funds. If you'd like to speak one-on-one with a bitcoin expert to walk through this process, purchase a Premium Support session.
1. Acquire or reset a replacement hardware wallet
If your seed phrase is lost or stolen, the best thing to do is purchase a replacement hardware wallet in order to generate a new key to perform a key replacement on the Unchained platform. It's generally best to purchase hardware directly from the manufacturer. See the full list of hardware wallets that Unchained supports.
Optional: Factory reset an unused hardware wallet
If you have an oldhardware wallet (ensure it isunusedandnon-compromisedbefore proceeding) that you want to use for replacing the compromised key, you can follow the manufacturer's respective instructions to perform a factory reset.
Note: When you lose a seed phrase, you technically can use the hardware wallet associated with it to generate a new key and perform a key replacement. We advise against this in this guide because doing so is a technical process which done incorrectly could make you dependent on Unchained's key to recover your bitcoin.
2. Initialize the hardware wallet as new
Next, initialize the brand new (or newly-reset) hardware wallet. This generates a new seed phrase which generates the public key that you will upload to the Unchained platform.
Note: Don't dispose of the corresponding hardware wallet for the compromised seed phrase at this stage. While not required, you may wish to use it to sign for the key replacement as described in step 4 below. This allows you to conduct a key replacement without depending on an Unchained signature.
Follow the guide from the manufacturer to set up the device as new:
3. Conduct a key replacement
Follow our step-by-step guide to replace your key. It may help to open the guide in another browser tab while you perform the key replacement. Please contact us if you need any help with these steps.
FAQs
A lost or stolen seed phrase should be treated as compromised. You need to replace the key entirely by conducting a key replacement.
What happens if I lose my Ledger seed phrase? ›
If you have lost your secret recovery phrase and no longer have access to your PIN code, or if your Ledger device has reset and you don't have your recovery phrase, unfortunately, it is impossible to recover your assets. Ledger is unable to retrieve your recovery phrase or PIN code for you.
What if my seed phrase is compromised? ›
Move Your Funds: As an immediate measure, transfer your assets to a new wallet with a secure seed phrase. It's essential to do this as quickly as possible to prevent unauthorized transactions. 2. Set up a New Wallet: Create a new crypto wallet with a new, secure seed phrase.
How do I restore my seed phrase? ›
Restore wallet with seed phrase stored on Google Drive
If you tap “Google Drive backup,” the app will ask you to select the email account you've used to save the seed phrase. The app will ask you to select the right wallet backup and restore the wallet.
What if someone knows my seed phrase? ›
So, now you know that your seed phrase is a backup to all of your crypto wallet. This also means that if anyone else can get their hands on your set of 24 words, they can access your cryptocurrencies. As such, it's extremely important to keep your seed phrase secure.
Can a website steal your seed phrase? ›
3) Be cautious of phishing attacks: Phishing attacks are common methods used by hackers to obtain sensitive information, such as seed phrases. Be cautious of suspicious emails or websites that ask for your seed phrase.
What happens if someone steals my Ledger? ›
If you are confident that your PIN is strong enough to withstand brute force attacks, you can simply restore your 24-word recovery phrase into your new/backup Ledger device to regain access to your accounts immediately.
Can I generate a new seed phrase on Ledger? ›
Setting up your Ledger device as a new device will generate a new Recovery phrase. Turn on your Ledger device. Select Set up as new device.
Can my seed phrase be hacked? ›
Keeping your seed phrase safe
The seed phrase is the sole barrier to safeguarding your assets from prying eyes. We've seen many scenarios where people accidentally expose their seed phrases or save them on compromised devices. The Tangem Wallet allows you to set up a secure crypto wallet without using a seed phrase.
How do I protect my seed phrase? ›
The simplest way to store a seed phrase is paper. Get a piece of paper, write the seed phrase on it, and you are done. It's simple, accessible, and doesn't take any technical know-how. Furthermore, paper-based storage is good for those in a hurry to find a way to store a seed phrase offline.
If I'm understanding you correctly, there's no way to do this. The seed phrase isn't stored on our devices or anything and it would be a very big security risk if there was a way to help people pull up information and access crypto wallets from data.
How secure is a seed phrase? ›
Seed phrases are a crucial aspect of crypto security. They are a sequence of random words that guarantee the recovery of wallets. While seed phrases offer an extra layer of security and recovery, handling them responsibly is important. Losing access to them can result in the loss of your wallet.
How do I recover my ledger seed? ›
- Connect and unlock your device.
- Navigate to Recovery Check and press both buttons to open it.
- Press both buttons to start the check.
- Press the right button to choose the length of your recovery phrase (12, 18 or 24 words).
- Press both buttons to confirm.
Wallet secret recovery phrase
Coinbase Wallet generates a 12-word recovery phrase, also referred to as a seed phrase, that you and only you have access to. This means that if you lose your recovery phrase, you will lose access to your Coinbase Wallet and any funds secured by this recovery phrase will be at risk.
Is it possible for someone to guess my seed phrase? ›
The large amount of theoretical wallets make it practically impossible for anyone to guess your seed phrase, not to mention “re-creating” your wallet by sheer accident.
Is my seed phrase my private key? ›
What's the difference between a private key and a seed phrase? A private key is per account, whereas the seed phrase is per wallet, used to generate all private keys in the account. Hence you cannot restore all accounts if you have only 1 key.
