where is my wallet on android ?

[incubus]

Hello,

i use the same wallet - that i use on windows - on android now.
Looks like it works, but i don't get, how ?

on windows i have my wallet-file "wallet_default" - but where is my wallet on android ? i can't find it.
Is it on the device or kept in the cloud somehow ?
Isn't it a security risk ? Actually on android i'd like to have a "read-only" mode to this wallet - is that possible (i just want to see my actual balance - i don't want to do transactions with the android device).

incubus

[btcven]

/sdcard/electrum.dat

[incubus]

you're right - electrum.dat looks like a wallet file. Thank you.

but i still have some questions:
1. so the wallet files are on the device - ok. But are the wallets also in the cloud somehow ? If not, how can this wallet sync (betwwen 2 devices) work ?
2. i can only have 1 wallet file with electrum on android ?
3. a read-only mode on android is not possible - is it ?
   i use the same wallet - on PC i want to use it as a real wallet - on android i just want to watch it ...

thank you.

[btcven]

1. so the wallet files are on the device - ok. But are the wallets also in the cloud somehow ? If not, how can this wallet sync (betwwen 2 devices) work ?

Electrum uses a deterministic wallet, so the private keys can be deterministically derived from your seed on each device. The wallet file carrying the seed (so the private keys) is kept in the device. Servers only give you the transactions history and broadcast transactions.

2. i can only have 1 wallet file with electrum on android ?

As of right now, you are right. If you want to have different wallet files in Android, you'll need to rename the electrum.dat to other name and rename the other wallet file to electrum.dat each time you want to switch wallet files (there's no multi-wallet support or wallet file switching in the current version).

3. a read-only mode on android is not possible - is it ?
   i use the same wallet - on PC i want to use it as a real wallet - on android i just want to watch it ...

When creating the wallet in the Android phone, you have to enter the Master Public Key of your wallet that is in the PC. This will give you a seedless wallet (no private keys) in the phone, you'll be able to create new receiving addresses but you won't be able to spend from it.


A new version of Electrum for Android is being developed, with lots of features.


PS: Have you had problems installing Electrum 1.8.1 in Android? There's a known problem with the QR code scanner due to a broken SL4A and latest Android OS versions

[incubus]

Hello,

thank you. that made a lot things clear to me ;-)

actually i deleted everything from my phone in the meanwhile since i thought:
when the wallet is /sdcard/electrum.dat - then this is a security risk: every app that has access to the sdcard (most) - have access to my wallet.

But as you described this is a seedless wallet - so if anybody get's this wallet - he can not pay anything out of this wallet - right ?
so the risk isn't that big.
I guess this explain's why i got a "invalid password" message when i tried to do anything with that wallet on android. I just got the error message - without even asking for password.

But anyway: I think it would be better if electrum (android) would store the wallet in the app-data - not on the sdcard. So other apps can not access this wallet-file (at least when the device isn't rooted).

By the way: besides this "invalid password" - problem i did not had any problem's with installation. barcode worked - i used zxing or goggles.

Do you know anything about the progress with the new-developed client ? will it be a native app or phyton again ?
i would prefer a native app - so the wallet's don't have to stay on sdcard - i think that's a big security risk - at least when we use real wallets (not seedless).

[btcven]

It will run as a native App using Kivy, it will even get into the Play Store I guess.

The wallet file, if carrying the seed, have the option to encrypt it, so no problem for it to be accessible by anything.

I think it is kept in the sdcard so people don't delete it by mistake. Also, if the phone crashes, you will be able to get the file out (not like in this case https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=415298.0).