Bitcoin Forum

Hi,

Can anybody offer any advice on restoring this wallet?

I have the following details:

Wallet Version: 1.35c
Wallet ID: 9 alphanumerics (upper and lower case)
Wallet Name: Primary Wallet
Backup Type: Single-Sheet (Unencrypted)

Root Key: 18 groups of 4 lower case alphas

QR Code

Tried this tool - http://brainwalletx.github.io/  chains tab, armory and put in the 18 4 char alphas in the paper backup text box. This generates addresses but none of them have anything in them (at least not the first 20 and the tool seems to be limited to generating the first 100).

I tried downloading the latest macOS Armory but it won't run on my mac.  It crashes.

Is there any chance a different tool is going to come up with some addresses or is this the wrong wallet root key (I definitely have one somewhere that has something)?

If I can find a secure windows or linux machine to use, what version of Armory should I try?

If you enter the root key correctly, it should generate the correct addresses.
If you don't see any transaction in the generated addresses, either you entered a wrong root key or the wallet has never received any fund.

 
You should always use the latest version of Armory. There were some bugs and a vulnerability that have been fixed in the latest version.

That tool should work but it can only generate legacy addresses (P2PKH),
if you've used the other address types in Armory before, then your only option is to use Armory to restore that backup.

Note: When copying your root key into that tool, paste it one line at a time or it will restore a wrong wallet.
(9 set of 4 characters per line - 2 lines like in the backup).

There's a great chance that the tool is working as intended if the restored "Wallet ID" is correct,
in brainwalletX's Armory tool, it should show up above as "uid: xxxxxxxxx"

No matter what I do, I do not get the same uid as the Wallet ID.   I am not sure why.

I tried typing in one by one, I tried pasting the first line and then the second line but I never get a matching wallet ID.

My paper backup looks like this (this is not the actual data it's just a random generation from the tool):

srwg gudo kiii oiiu iwak jjdg nosd igww gris
akjo fakj sddn ekfk fhtu twnh ewjn jjtj jjdr

Is the format:

[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]X
[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]X

or

[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_X
[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_[4 char]_[4 char]_[4char]_X

Where [4char] = 4 lower case alphas (i.e. gudo)
_ = space
X = line break

No combination I try gives me the same uid/Wallet ID as the backup...

Any other tips?

To test how it exactly works, I just generated a wallet on Armory and entered its root key in brainwalletx.
Whether you enter extra space at the end of lines or not, it generates the same addresses.
So, both formats should work.


Do you know any addresses of your wallet? As mentioned by nc50lc, this tool doesn't generate segwit addresses (addresses that start with 3 or bc1).

No I don't know the addresses...

That's weird, I can't get it to match the UID.  I'll keep trying. 

If I import it into armory, is there anyway to check in armory if the wallet ID is matching?

Just for my own curiosity I can see if the armory generated addresses are matching the brainwalletx addresses regardless of the uid...

This means that you are entering a wrong root key.
How do you enter the root key? Do you type it? Just copy it from your backup and paste it in brainwalletx. It should be entered with the correct format.

You can try it. But it should generate the same addresses and the same ID as that tool.
Again, brainwalletx doesn't generate segwit addresses.

A question:
Have you backed up the wallet yourself or you have got the backup from someone?
I hope someone isn't trying to scam you.

Yes, it will prompt you to double-check the restored Wallet ID if it matched the one in your backup.

The tool works at my end;
Any chance that it's actually a "SecurePrint™" backup instead of unencrypted (just edited)?
What are the colors of Armory's logo in the paper backup? Green+Blue or Red+Blue?

Yes it's my wallet, no scam here.  Segwit addresses almost certainly weren't used.

I'm typing it because that's the only option, it's on paper.  But as per your suggestion I typed it out on two lines exactly as appears on the paper and cut and paste one line at a time.  No matter what I do I'm not getting the same wallet ID/uid.

The only thing that comes to my mind is that you are entering at least 1 character wrongly.
I recommend you to scan the QR code using a QR code scanner and then copy-paste the root key into that tool.

No it's 100% an unecrypted backup, it says it right at the top of the page, it has the armory logo and all the data I gave above.  I'm very confused why it doesn't seem to work.

If you are using macOS you can try to use the older version of armory wallet and run it offline you can download the older version from this link below

- https://www.bitcoinarmory.com/download/

There are two options to use the online and the offline so run the Armory offline and then restore the root key.
Then back up it again but this time choose export key list so that you can get all private keys and import them to other wallets that support macOS like Electrum.

How about the logo's color?

It's important because the former is an indication that it's a Regtest/Testnet paper backup while the later means that it's for mainnet.
The former wont restore the same Wallet ID using that tool and it is essentially worthless aside from testing purposes.

I finally got it to work. I guess I was adding an extra space or line break where it didn't belong or something.  Wallet ID / uid matched. Thanks for the help.

Do you mean the extra space in the middle of the 1st and 2nd rootkey?

It should have double space in the middle of the 1st and 2nd rootkey and if you paste or manually type the root key when restoring it with Armory wallet the spaces are automatically filled.
So how did you use the extra space or line break?

OP didn't import the root key into Armory. He/She imported the Armory's root key into brainwalletx (http://brainwalletx.github.io/#chains).
In that tool, you have to enter the spaces manually when typing the root key.