If a Bitcoin wallet no longer works will i lose my bitcoins ?

[BorealBit]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

[ikydesu]

First, for choose a wallet, visit this: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet click on every wallet option there and you can go to visit their web, there are full information about what your OS you should you used for the wallet.

"No longer works" it's mean stopped works? But before it stopped the wallet still can open? or it stopped in the first time?

I recommend you, use: Electrum 2.0

[Amph]

no you only need to have the wallet.dat and copy past it to new directory of your roaming, if ever a new version of those wallet will be release, in the case of an even more remote, and bad change, like wallet.dat format change(it may happen in the future)  we would get an advice much early before it will ever happen

you can't import the wallet from multibit to core for example but you can send bitcoin from that address to core with a simple transaction

[ranochigo]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

Install an older version. Otherwise, keep a plain text format of your private key (Starting with 5) and you should be safe as long as Bitcoin doesn't change the algorithm. The only thing not widely used is the format of deterministic wallet. Not every wallet follows BIP32 when generating a long keyphrase for the recovery process.

[BorealBit]

no you only need to have the wallet.dat and copy past it to new directory of your roaming, if ever a new version of those wallet will be release, in the case of an even more remote, and bad change, like wallet.dat format change(it may happen in the future)  we would get an advice much early before it will ever happen

you can't import the wallet from multibit to core for example but you can send bitcoin from that address to core with a simple transaction

So if i have a backup of a wallet.dat file from e.g. Electrum, I could use another wallet app/client like Armor to read/import that wallet.dat file?  This is what I am asking; I don't want my $ in the form of bitcoin depend on the continued existence of any single bitcoin wall app/client, because if that app/client no longer works with an operating system (as I have seen happen with some games), I would be SOL (screwed).

[ahmedjamal1998]

I just can't understand what do you mean by "no longer works" 

[Amph]

no you only need to have the wallet.dat and copy past it to new directory of your roaming, if ever a new version of those wallet will be release, in the case of an even more remote, and bad change, like wallet.dat format change(it may happen in the future)  we would get an advice much early before it will ever happen

you can't import the wallet from multibit to core for example but you can send bitcoin from that address to core with a simple transaction

So if i have a backup of a wallet.dat file from e.g. Electrum, I could use another wallet app/client like Armor to read/import that wallet.dat file?  This is what I am asking; I don't want my $ in the form of bitcoin depend on the continued existence of any single bitcoin wall app/client, because if that app/client no longer works with an operating system (as I have seen happen with some games), I would be SOL (screwed).

no walle.dat from different clients are usually not interchangeable

read this http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/12763/how-can-i-transfer-a-bitcoin-qt-wallet-to-electrum

[bitcoin1900]

I just can't understand what do you mean by "no longer works" 

His wallet may have been corrupted or he has deleted a no no file.

[shorena]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

If you want to store your coin long term, do so without the need of a (software)wallet. Use the private key on paper (Paperwallet) preferably with "BIP38" enabled. Thats a scheme that allows you to encrypt the private key with a password thus if someone with a photographic memory sees it you still have the coins. It is very unlikely that these wallets will no longer be importable into a programm. If it should even come to that you can  still pay the nerd of your choosing a little extra for manually encrypting and importing the private key for you and the wallet of your choosing.

If you want to store your coins for regular use you will only ever run into this problem if you either A use a service (e.g. blockchain.info) that might shut down or no longer be operational or if you B migrate to a new system. Now if you want to migrate to a new system you can move the coins from your old system to your current phone wallet (just create a transaction that moves all coins) and from there to the new system. That way you dont have to worry about the formats of each of the wallets. They all will always be able to create and receive transactions. Just use them to move to the next generation.

A 3rd option would be a hardware wallet, but I dont know how they fare in terms of longlivity.

---

I just can't understand what do you mean by "no longer works"  

His wallet may have been corrupted or he has deleted a no no file.

No they are worried that the software they use gets outdated and they no longer can access their coins.

[notlist3d]

no you only need to have the wallet.dat and copy past it to new directory of your roaming, if ever a new version of those wallet will be release, in the case of an even more remote, and bad change, like wallet.dat format change(it may happen in the future)  we would get an advice much early before it will ever happen

you can't import the wallet from multibit to core for example but you can send bitcoin from that address to core with a simple transaction

So if i have a backup of a wallet.dat file from e.g. Electrum, I could use another wallet app/client like Armor to read/import that wallet.dat file?  This is what I am asking; I don't want my $ in the form of bitcoin depend on the continued existence of any single bitcoin wall app/client, because if that app/client no longer works with an operating system (as I have seen happen with some games), I would be SOL (screwed).

I would get the private key.  With this make a paperwallet or usb drive with it (and might aswell backup wallet.dat to).

So make a few copies and store safely.  If something does go wrong you can easily move wallets with private key.  Do not store them online, or print at a public printer.

[jeroenn13]

I would get the private key.  With this make a paperwallet or usb drive with it (and might aswell backup wallet.dat to).

So make a few copies and store safely.  If something does go wrong you can easily move wallets with private key.  Do not store them online, or print at a public printer.

I recommend doing what notlist3d says. Best option to restore coins if the client doesnt work.

[subSTRATA]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

Install an older version. Otherwise, keep a plain text format of your private key (Starting with 5) and you should be safe as long as Bitcoin doesn't change the algorithm. The only thing not widely used is the format of deterministic wallet. Not every wallet follows BIP32 when generating a long keyphrase for the recovery process.

never store backups of your private keys in plain text, you never know if your machine might be breached. im pretty confident in keeping my deveces malware-free, but i like to encrypt my private key backups using a pgp key used only for my private keys. the private key for the pgp key is kept on an offline device.

[odolvlobo]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

Most wallets have a backup or recovery feature. Do not use a wallet that does not have a backup or recovery feature. You will be ok if you back up the wallet (or the seed) before you send bitcoins to it.

[BorealBit]

I just can't understand what do you mean by "no longer works" 

Years ago I played Diablo, then Diablo II, great games by Blizzard (makers of World of Warcraft); on Windows XP.  When I wanted to play those games again using my newer Windows 7 PC I could not; the operating system of Windows 7 no longer allowed it. Same for iTunes-- would not install in 64 bit version of Windows 7 without a serious hack most could not do.

So I am saying what if something similar happened with a Bitcoin wallet associated with a specific Bitcoin wallet client software-- what if the operating system upgrade caused the Bitcoin wallet client software to no longer work, like what happened with the Diablo game? One would then need to switch to a different bitcoin wallet client software program-- but then what happens to one's BTC money, can the wallet data file from the now non-functioning software somehow be pulled/imported/read into a newer wallet client that does work on the upgraded operating system? If not one would kinda be screwed. With digital data I would want to know the BTC money would not be lost in such a case. I suppose the best thing might be to be sure one has a cold storage paper backup of one's BTC, but then I am not even sure how to do that yet with my Android wallet but there is probably a way (a topic for another post).

[jeroenn13]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

Most wallets have a backup or recovery feature. Do not use a wallet that does not have a backup or recovery feature. You will be ok if you back up the wallet (or the seed) before you send bitcoins to it.

Yup with services like bitcoinpaperwallet.com it could be very easy to print one or more private keys and just send the BTC to it. Make sure you are not disconnected from the internet.

[Muhammed Zakir]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

Most wallets have a backup or recovery feature. Do not use a wallet that does not have a backup or recovery feature. You will be ok if you back up the wallet (or the seed) before you send bitcoins to it.

Yup with services like bitcoinpaperwallet.com it could be very easy to print one or more private keys and just send the BTC to it. Make sure you are not disconnected from the internet.

Are you telling me to generate paper wallets online?

@Everyone: Please don't do what he says. Bitcoinpaperwallet.com uses codes taken from BitAddress.org. You can use either of them. But don't use them or generate private keys online.

[DannyHamilton]

- snip -
can the wallet data file from the now non-functioning software somehow be pulled/imported/read into a newer wallet client that does work on the upgraded operating system?
- snip -

The answer to your question is:  It depends.

If you choose an open source wallet (such as Bitcoin Core) where the format of the wallet data file is publicly available and not proprietary information, and where that format is well known, then it will always be possible to extract the necessary private keys from the data file (assuming you know the password if you encrypted it).  If a new O/S comes along and nobody is willing to update the software to run in the new O/S then you could find a software tool to extract the private keys in some other O/S and then import those keys into whatever client software you choose for the new O/S.

If you choose a closed source proprietary wallet, where the format of the wallet data file is a closely held secret and has not been cracked, then you take the risk that the vendor of that wallet will refuse to support some new system and will refuse to supply the necessary tools to extract the private keys from the wallet.

[g1974ak]

Noob here.    If I have bitcoins in a specific bitcoin client wallet (e.g. Amor, or Multibit HD, etc) and for some reason that wallet and its associated software client on my phone or pc no longer works (perhaps no longer supported by the operating system-- I have seen that happen with games, e.g. Diablo I, Diablo II games would not run on Windows 7), how would I get my bitcoin money? I don't understand if a bitcoin wallet from one specific software client is portable for importing into a different software client.  Of course one should backup one's wallet, but that won't do any good if the software client that creates the backup does so in its proprietary data file format.  Cold storage is one option I suppose, would that work, but still what if one did not want cold storage and its theft risks? Confused, and this seems important to me at least, so i know I would not lose my $ because of software no longer working.

If don't work nothing happens. The wallet soon will be again online and you will have your bitcoins. Only if the owners are thiefs and stole your bitcoin then your bitcoins are lost.

[Somekindabitcoin]

If you mean online wallet and it's shut doen then they are lost, you were scammed.
But if you mean desktop wallet, why is not working? If you can't turn it on try to reinstall it and enter your passwords again. If you lost your password then your BTC are lost, I'm sorry...

[talkbitcoin]

if you have any sort of back up especially if you have the private keys you can easily access the funds