HELP!!! BitCoin Spinner issue - coins no longer there!!!

[Maciej408]

I had BitcoinSpinner app on my Android phone loaded with 189 BTC for some time.  Recently I plugged my phone to the computer and got a message that software upgrade is available and it will not remove or alter the data on the phone.  I proceeded with the upgrade and verified that my stuff was still there, and my pictures, my music, etc.  was all there.  Well, today I checked my BitcoinSpinner app and all the coins are GONE!  HELP PLEASE!!!!!
- Is there a way to recover the coins?
- Can someone suggest or walk me through the process???

This is a third time my Bitcoins are lost for one reason or another.  Getting disillusioned with the whole BTC thing...

[Maciej408]

HELP....

[CecilNiosaki]

I'm under the impression that your coins are gone. I know it sucks to say now, but I would highly suggest using mobile wallets for only small transactions or transactions that you will be making for that day. BTC savings should be kept on an offline wallet, and then when you need the coins you can transfer them out. The beauty of the non-mobile wallet is that you can back it up. What I imagine happened is that while it didn't erase the application your private address was changed. (Unless the BTC Spinner uses the block chain and needs to redownload it and you still have the same private address, but I'm not familiar with BTC Spinner.)

[Aahzman]

sorry to sound a bit insensitive, but perhaps you're not cut out for bitcoin use, as you seem to have serious difficulty hanging on to your bitcoins... don't know the amounts of the first two times you lost all your bitcoins, but if it was similar to your third time, you have to ask yourself how much money you're willing to throw away before you a) change the way you're handling your digital currency, or b) give up and stop bleeding money into a system you don't seem to have a handle on...

I mean, seriously. MtGox is around $12USD/BTC today...that's over $2200USD lost today.  How much in the previous disasters? Unless you're independently wealthy and don't really care about losing $2200 now and then, I'd say get out of the bitcoin game now before you lose the house/farm/car/etc.

If you insist on staying in, maybe use blockchain.info wallet or i'm sure there are other highly recommended online wallets out there...blockchain.info's wallet looks fairly secure, multiple authentication schemes, ways to export your private keys to file or paper, automated backups to various cloud storage, SMS phone message validation, etc. The only way to lose your bitcoins there would seem to be if you forget your password, forget your reminder phrase, or forget your alias/wallet ID.... I've split my hoard of BTC between my PC wallet and a blockchain.info wallet so as to a) have some protection against one of them getting corrupted/hacked, and b) have funds available when i'm not at my home PC.

A little blunt, I know, but 3 times...dang. I'd be kicking holes in walls.

Good luck.

[Maciej408]

sorry to sound a bit insensitive, but perhaps you're not cut out for bitcoin use, as you seem to have serious difficulty hanging on to your bitcoins... don't know the amounts of the first two times you lost all your bitcoins, but if it was similar to your third time, you have to ask yourself how much money you're willing to throw away before you a) change the way you're handling your digital currency, or b) give up and stop bleeding money into a system you don't seem to have a handle on...

I mean, seriously. MtGox is around $12USD/BTC today...that's over $2200USD lost today.  How much in the previous disasters? Unless you're independently wealthy and don't really care about losing $2200 now and then, I'd say get out of the bitcoin game now before you lose the house/farm/car/etc.

If you insist on staying in, maybe use blockchain.info wallet or i'm sure there are other highly recommended online wallets out there...blockchain.info's wallet looks fairly secure, multiple authentication schemes, ways to export your private keys to file or paper, automated backups to various cloud storage, SMS phone message validation, etc. The only way to lose your bitcoins there would seem to be if you forget your password, forget your reminder phrase, or forget your alias/wallet ID.... I've split my hoard of BTC between my PC wallet and a blockchain.info wallet so as to a) have some protection against one of them getting corrupted/hacked, and b) have funds available when i'm not at my home PC.

A little blunt, I know, but 3 times...dang. I'd be kicking holes in walls.

Good luck.

WOW!   There's always one like you on any forum.    Please note, I'm asking for help recovering my BTC, and not for analysis of how "cut out" for bitcoin one is.  How affluent I am, and how I use my funds is is my own personal choice.   I'm not independently wealthy but loosing $2200 would not put an idea in my head to destroy the walls in my house.  I guess some of us are doing better then others, but then again who am I to say anything.  I'm just a guy requesting help ...


BTW:  Insensitive comments tend to make people loose faith in community.  That coupled with loss of funds might drive not only me but other investors out of the bitcoin realm.

[bbit]

WOW!   There's always one like you on any forum.    Please note, I'm asking for help recovering my BTC, and not for analysis of how "cut out" for bitcoin one is.  How affluent I am, and how I use my funds is is my own personal choice.   I'm not independently wealthy but loosing $2200 would not put an idea in my head to destroy the walls in my house.  I guess some of us are doing better then others, but then again who am I to say anything.  I'm just a guy requesting help ...


BTW:  Insensitive comments tend to make people loose faith in community.  That coupled with loss of funds might drive not only me but other investors out of the bitcoin realm.

On behalf of the bitcoin community we apologize for Aahzman remarks! 

[paraipan]

WOW!   There's always one like you on any forum.    Please note, I'm asking for help recovering my BTC, and not for analysis of how "cut out" for bitcoin one is.  How affluent I am, and how I use my funds is is my own personal choice.   I'm not independently wealthy but loosing $2200 would not put an idea in my head to destroy the walls in my house.  I guess some of us are doing better then others, but then again who am I to say anything.  I'm just a guy requesting help ...


BTW:  Insensitive comments tend to make people loose faith in community.  That coupled with loss of funds might drive not only me but other investors out of the bitcoin realm.

On behalf of the bitcoin community we apologize for Aahzman remarks! 

+1 don't mind comments like those.

Regarding your issue, have you noted erased settings in other apps? Is your phone rooted?

[Maciej408]

The other apps are fine.  Music, pics, and docs were preserved.  Even the Bitcoin Spinner app was there, but the balance showed 0.00000000BTC.   Phone is not rooted.

[paraipan]

The other apps are fine.  Music, pics, and docs were preserved.  Even the Bitcoin Spinner app was there, but the balance showed 0.00000000BTC.   Phone is not rooted.

No, what I really meant is if the other apps seemed like they've been installed recently with no personal info or settings. I asked you that for a very good reason, to find out if the upgrade did some wipes to local app storage, as spinner doesn't store the keys in other places.

The best thing you can do right now is take out the SIM and find another phone for daily use. Find a guy who know how to deal with rooting the damn thing so he can recover the keys, hope spinner makes some backups like the Shilbach's wallet.

[slush]

a) You probably have a backup of your seed, do you?
b) Why not to ask directly in BitcoinSpinner thread, instead of creating another one? The chance that Jan (developer of Spinner) will reply you here is really small.

[slush]

Getting disillusioned with the whole BTC thing...

Your experience has nothing to do with Bitcoin.

I believe that anybody keeping 189 BTC in his wallet AND with experience of losing his coins TWICE must have a backup otherwise he's complete idiot.

[Maciej408]

Getting disillusioned with the whole BTC thing...

... he's complete idiot.

Great!!! Now I'm getting called names.  Nice!  Thank you.

[Wekkel]

It has been said above. In more simple terms:
1. If the upgrade wiped your stuff (aka, the Bitcoin Spinner program), the Bitcoin data is probably lost
2. If the update did not wipe your personal stuff but only the system data, the Bitcoin data may still be there
3. If Bitcoin Spinner was installed on your SD card, the Bitcoin data may still be there

Frankly, you took quite a risk upgrading your Phone's ROM without taking precautions in terms of the Bitcoin stash. It should be on everyone's radar (I use another Andriod wallet and it explicitly warns for these kinds of things, even against auto-update of the program itself).

Indeed a good advice not to use your phone now until someone is able to have a look at it.

[paraipan]

@slush, I think he couldn't reply in spinner's thread because of forum restrictions

[slush]

paraipan, ah this, I forgot.

[paraipan]

@Maciej408, you are now whitelisted so please post your issue in this thread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=53353.0

[Maciej408]

Thank you.  I will.

[Aahzman]

WOW!   There's always one like you on any forum.    Please note, I'm asking for help recovering my BTC, and not for analysis of how "cut out" for bitcoin one is.  How affluent I am, and how I use my funds is is my own personal choice.   I'm not independently wealthy but loosing $2200 would not put an idea in my head to destroy the walls in my house.  I guess some of us are doing better then others, but then again who am I to say anything.  I'm just a guy requesting help ...


BTW:  Insensitive comments tend to make people loose faith in community.  That coupled with loss of funds might drive not only me but other investors out of the bitcoin realm.

On behalf of the bitcoin community we apologize for Aahzman remarks! 

Thanks, but I don't believe I said anything that required an apology other than my opening statement of "sorry if this sounds a bit insensitive", so please don't presume to apologize for me.

That said, I'm not unsympathetic, but Mr ThinSkin Maciej408 needs to realize that if he's now on his 3rd round of losing all his bitcoins, the fault maybe lies with his process for managing his bitcoins, not bitcoin itself, the client software he's using or the bitcoin community at large. In other words, don't get pissy at people for an honest (if a trifle harsh, perhaps) appraisal of your situation, Maciej408.

I certainly don't claim to know everything about bitcoin, but I'm learning. The main thing I've learned so far? All eggs, one basket? Bad idea. Common password for all BTC-related tools/sites? Bad idea. Having a trusting nature and a genuine belief that the vast majority of people out there are good-hearted, honest folk? Apparently, a naive and foolish notion that cost me a few bucks over the weekend.

So, feel offended if you want, but also take a hard look at how your whiny, self-absorbed reactions reflect on YOUR image in the community.

Like you said, there's one like you on every forum.  No matter what someone says, or how they say it, there's always some hypersensitive person who's going to interpret it in the worst, most offensive way possible. 

Again, good luck, and I hope you're able to recover your bitcoin data.