Passcode doesn't work, yet I'm 100% its correct

[FlynnQuovarti]

So I open up my wallets today and uh oh, my passcodes don't work at all.
A few months ago, I added passcode-encryption to two different wallets on Bitcoin Core v0.15.1 and Litecoin Core v0.14.2.
Both have the same issue today: it simply says the passcode is incorrect and won't let me send transactions or change the passcode.
Also to clarify while its the same passcode structure for both, they are two different passwords.

I created a very deliberate passcode system and was very careful when doing so. All instructions were written down on paper so I wouldn't forget it.
I also made a new wallet with a similar passcode system and it worked as normal, so I am very perplexed right now
I even ran a python brute force to guess my passcodes with token typos just in case, but no luck so far.
My only conclusion is that somewhere between encrypting and backing up these wallet files, something went wrong, but I'm not sure what exactly.
One last thing worth mentioning is that both passwords include the characters "%" and "#", in case that could be causing an issue.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated, because aside from more brute-forcing I really have no idea what to do here.

Thanks.

[1715432628]

1715432628

[Deddsq]

Take out the hash and try everything I can about the password, for a fee write to medes@keemail.me

[Welsh]

If both wallets had the same password and they've both started to reject the password at the same time, then it's almost certain that you have either mistyped the password or your using a different password for the wallet than you did when you created/encrypted it.

You can use btcrecover to try and recover your password, it's an open source project which is suitable for cracking passwords when you know the majority of it. It's got built in functions for typos.

[FlynnQuovarti]

If both wallets had the same password and they've both started to reject the password at the same time

Not the same password for both, but the same structure for both. The chances of mistyping both are extremely low considering how careful I was.

What is the possibility the .dat file is merely corrupt and no password will be accepted?

[cr1776]

If both wallets had the same password and they've both started to reject the password at the same time

Not the same password for both, but the same structure for both. The chances of mistyping both are extremely low considering how careful I was.

What is the possibility the .dat file is merely corrupt and no password will be accepted?

Can you restore from a backup and try the passwords on both wallets?  If both don't work, then it is likely that you have the passwords wrong.  If they do work, problem solved.

[FlynnQuovarti]

Can you restore from a backup

Unfortunately there are no earlier versions of the wallets.
Once I encrypted the wallets, I emailed them to myself and those were the only backups I had.

[Welsh]

If both wallets had the same password and they've both started to reject the password at the same time

Not the same password for both, but the same structure for both. The chances of mistyping both are extremely low considering how careful I was.

What is the possibility the .dat file is merely corrupt and no password will be accepted?

I guess it could be possible. Normally when dealing with corrupted wallets, the command --salvagewallet cant be used, but this requires the wallet to be unlocked to be used. Pywallet may be able to discover if the wallet is corrupted or not, but I doubt it due to not having access to the wallet contents. It's more plausible that it's an issue with the password rather than the wallet being corrupted.

Maybe when entering the password you had NUM lock on, or a different input keyboard, German for example. This begs the question of; Since you have entered the password for the first time, have you logged in since to the wallet?

Pywallet: https://github.com/jackjack-jj/pywallet

[FlynnQuovarti]

Since you have entered the password for the first time, have you logged in since to the wallet?

Now that you mention it, I don't believe I have.

Although it is possible I messed up inputting the passwords, I was incredibly careful, and for it to happen to two different wallets is just incredibly bizarre.
I don't believe it is a minor typo however, as I've already extensively ran btcrecover on both wallets with a variety of different approaches to check for typos.

[cr1776]

Can you restore from a backup

Unfortunately there are no earlier versions of the wallets.
Once I encrypted the wallets, I emailed them to myself and those were the only backups I had.

Is there still a copy in the email?  Trash for example?

[FlynnQuovarti]

Can you restore from a backup

Unfortunately there are no earlier versions of the wallets.
Once I encrypted the wallets, I emailed them to myself and those were the only backups I had.

Is there still a copy in the email?  Trash for example?

The only wallets I have are the current encrypted ones. There are no other wallet.dat files anywhere, no backups or previous versions laying around.
I figured for security reasons I wouldn't keep an unencrypted wallet sitting on my harddrive.

[HCP]

Since you have entered the password for the first time, have you logged in since to the wallet?

Now that you mention it, I don't believe I have.

Although it is possible I messed up inputting the passwords, I was incredibly careful, and for it to happen to two different wallets is just incredibly bizarre.
I don't believe it is a minor typo however, as I've already extensively ran btcrecover on both wallets with a variety of different approaches to check for typos.

So you never "tested" the passcodes after setting them up to ensure they were working correctly?

As someone else has suggested, I would think that during the setup, you have either had numlock or capslock on, or some similar issue... I would not think this was an issue with the apps, as to have wallets from two different applications both have the same issue would indicate that the issue lies with your passcode "system" or the way the passcode was entered.

Do you remember if you created the passcodes using the menu option or the debug console?

[FlynnQuovarti]

Do you remember if you created the passcodes using the menu option or the debug console?

I used the menu.

[Metroid]

I have the same problem and I think is related to special characters. I will never put a special character ever again.

So you never "tested" the passcodes after setting them up to ensure they were working correctly?

In 2013 I did not bother about it, today testing after you encrypt is a must. Always keep a decrypted wallet just in case.