Just Lost Wallet/$76 worth of Bitcoin

[kmkrause]

Hello,
I'm new to Bitcoin/Copay. I decided to signup at coinbase deposited $80. I read you needed a wallet. I decided on copay. Transferred the funds to my wallet. Everything processed smoothly and my copay wallet showed $76. I then went to the merchant and tried to pay. A spend password popped up. i couldn't remember the password. I may have mixed it up with my coinbase password instead.

I then did a little digging online and read that I could delete copay from my Android phone and reinstall it using the 12 word phrase to by pass/reset spending password. I did that. Now if I restore using only the phrase it creates a "Personal Wallet" with no funds in it.

If I try and restore wallet with 12 word phrase and try and guess the recovery phrase password (Under Advanced Options) I get an error saying
"Could not access the wallet at the server
Please Check
The password of the recovery phrase (if Set)
The derivation path
The wallet service URL
Is there any way I can recover my wallet/funds I do know the 12 word phrase. and I thought that would have all I would have needed.

I did go to https://bip32jp.github.io/english/ and put in my 12 words and it generated a xprv key. Not sure if this is needed or not.
I also visited blockchair.com and did a search for the transaction ID from coinbase and copay wallet. it shows that there are funds.


Thanks for any help fixing this.

[OmegaStarScream]

If multiple blockexplorers shows that you have funds in your addresses, It means that they are there. Have you tried to recover them to Electrum? You can try that, just make sure you check the "BIP39 Option" while typing the seed.

[kmkrause]

If multiple blockexplorers shows that you have funds in your addresses, It means that they are there. Have you tried to recover them to Electrum? You can try that, just make sure you check the "BIP39 Option" while typing the seed.

Yes, I've tried Electrum. It does the same thing. Creates a wallet with no funds using the 12 words.  I created another wallet on Electrum using my lost wallet address ID and it created a "Watching Only" wallet that does show the funds.

[TryNinja]

Yes, I've tried Electrum. It does the same thing. Creates a wallet with no funds using the 12 words.  I created another wallet on Electrum using my lost wallet address ID and it created a "Watching Only" wallet that does show the funds.

Try to do this:

1. In Electrum: File -> New/Restore -> Standard Wallet -> I already have a seed.
2. Write your 12 words from Copay.
3. Click "Options" -> Check 'BIP39 seed" -> Next.
4. Leave the field like that (m/44'/0'/0') and click next.

This wallet should be the same as the one you originally created in Copay. If it's not, then something is wrong (maybe the 12 words seed?).

[kmkrause]

Yes, I've tried Electrum. It does the same thing. Creates a wallet with no funds using the 12 words.  I created another wallet on Electrum using my lost wallet address ID and it created a "Watching Only" wallet that does show the funds.

Try to do this:

1. In Electrum: File -> New/Restore -> Standard Wallet -> I already have a seed.
2. Write your 12 words from Copay.
3. Click "Options" -> Check 'BIP39 seed" -> Next.
4. Leave the field like that (m/44'/0'/0') and click next.

This wallet should be the same as the one you originally created in Copay. If it's not, then something is wrong (maybe the 12 words seed?).

That's exactly how I set up Electrum.   It just creates a empty wallet with no bitcoins on it.  I can't see how the 12 word seed is wrong.  When setting up copay for the first time on my Android phone, I typed the words in note pad immediately. The next step in the set up process asks me to select the 12 words in the order it was giving. I selected the 12 words in order by what was I typed in notepad, and completed the setup. I checked each word for spelling by comparing them to the word list. Each is spelled correctly and one space between them.   

[codewench]

Transferred the funds to my wallet. Everything processed smoothly and my copay wallet showed $76.
[...]
Now if I restore using only the phrase it creates a "Personal Wallet" with no funds in it.

I presume you can check on Coinbase for the address to which you sent the funds. In the Electrum where you entered your 12 seed words, enable the "Addresses" tab. Search those address for the Coinbase destination address. (Given the current situation, I presume that there won't be a match. Please do this so that we aren't doing the equivalent of diagnosing a computer that's not plugged in.)

I tried to find online Copay documentation. Alas, all I found is a FAQ covering a few issues. From various reviews and tutorials, it seems Copay asks to setup a send password the first time you attempt to send? If so, you may have confused the "setup password" for a "confirm password" dialog.

Further, it seems that Copay doesn't support any sort of (n+1)th "seed" word ala the hardware wallets. Thus, any Copay password is simply encrypting the wallet file. Can someone confirm this?

Just for grins, does the address you sent to start with a 1, a 3, or bc1 ? (The latter is an impossibility with Coinbase currently.)

Additional research seems to indicate that Copay doesn't use any sort of proprietary "derivation path", except when using it with a hardware wallet.

So - I think the situation is that the seed words you wrote down are not correct, or the order has gotten mixed up. Did you write them down in some way that could mix up the order? Like - did you write them in two columns and you are now accessing the columns differently? Also, are the words in alphabetical order? (Copay's confirm seed pane shows them sorted and you had to pick them in the proper order.)

[Spendulus]

If multiple blockexplorers shows that you have funds in your addresses, It means that they are there. Have you tried to recover them to Electrum? You can try that, just make sure you check the "BIP39 Option" while typing the seed.

Yes, I've tried Electrum. It does the same thing. Creates a wallet with no funds using the 12 words.  I created another wallet on Electrum using my lost wallet address ID and it created a "Watching Only" wallet that does show the funds.

In my experience by far the most common reason for typing a seed word sequence in and finding it creates a "wallet with no funds" is incorrect "m derivation sequence, e.g. like 'm/44/0/0' "

Some wallets give you control of this and some don't.

However this is easy to test, set up a Trezor with a few USD in value in a number of supported cryptos, then try to "restore" to various wallets and see what happens. Bet you find you get some wallets with zero balance.

I would suggest going back and reviewing the BIP39 proposal, and in particular, checking your words against the word lists therein.