Need Help... Electrum to Electrum transfer and BTC gone

[Techguy75]

On 4/16, I purchased BTC from CEX.IO, and had the funds transferred into my Electrum wallet.  Once the funds arrived, I opened my other Electrum wallet, clicked on receive to get a receiving address, scanned the QR Code, and sent all funds from one wallet to the other.  When checking the receiving wallet, the address that was generated is not in my address list, and I am showing on block explorer the transaction has 389 confirmations.  I have spent hours trying to locate the missing funds, and have not been able to.

https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1N14wnnyHZdkET9yej4BGptSFc448kykFm

To answer your questions:

What OS are you using ?  Linux Ubuntu 18.04
What version of electrum are you using ? 3.3.4
Did you verify the signature of the file you have downloaded (to make sure you have the REAL electrum) ? YES
Is electrum synced (green / red circle at the bottom right) ? YES
Does your wallet contain the private key to the address you have posted ? I have checked all my Electrum wallets with the ismine command, and all results came back FALSE.

Any kind of assistance anybody can give me is greatly appreciated!

[1715361152]

1715361152

[1715361152]

1715361152

[1715361152]

1715361152

[DireWolfM14]

On 4/16, I purchased BTC from CEX.IO, and had the funds transferred into my Electrum wallet.  Once the funds arrived, I opened my other Electrum wallet, clicked on receive to get a receiving address, scanned the QR Code, and sent all funds from one wallet to the other.  When checking the receiving wallet, the address that was generated is not in my address list, and I am showing on block explorer the transaction has 389 confirmations.  I have spent hours trying to locate the missing funds, and have not been able to.

https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1N14wnnyHZdkET9yej4BGptSFc448kykFm

To answer your questions:

What OS are you using ?  Linux Ubuntu 18.04
What version of electrum are you using ? 3.3.4
Did you verify the signature of the file you have downloaded (to make sure you have the REAL electrum) ? YES
Is electrum synced (green / red circle at the bottom right) ? YES
Does your wallet contain the private key to the address you have posted ? I have checked all my Electrum wallets with the ismine command, and all results came back FALSE.

Any kind of assistance anybody can give me is greatly appreciated!

That's really weird, sorry to hear about your troubles.  What about this address: 1Bvb4zY6jnZMhDKY9F74eQeN1YCXo83uzN, is it a change address in your first wallet?

The only thing I can think of is that maybe you had an error with your camera when you scanned the QR code, or maybe you had another window open with a different QR code that the camera picked up.  A little dirt on your monitor or the camera lens could screw up your QR code as well.  I always double check my addresses, even when scanning a QR code.

According to the answers you gave to our predicted questions, it seems you have a secure set up with the real, safe version of Electrum.  The address that's housing your funds is stagnant, it doesn't seem like one used by a scammer.  If the address isn't yours I think your funds may be lost for ever.

[Techguy75]

The 1Bvb4zY6jnZMhDKY9F74eQeN1YCXo83uzN, is a change address.  I perform quite a few transactions, and always verify the address prior to sending.  Never had this issue before.  Is there anywhere else within the .electrum files that would hold any data that might point me in the right direction? 

[TryNinja]

The 1Bvb4zY6jnZMhDKY9F74eQeN1YCXo83uzN, is a change address.  I perform quite a few transactions, and always verify the address prior to sending.  Never had this issue before.  Is there anywhere else within the .electrum files that would hold any data that might point me in the right direction?  

So you verified the address you scanned before pressing the “Send” button? Did the address from the QR scan match with the one showing up in your wallet?

[Abdussamad]

You scanned the qr code using your phone? Is your phone rooted?

[Techguy75]

You scanned the qr code using your phone? Is your phone rooted?

Phone is not rooted.

[HCP]

In the "other" Electrum wallet (is it on a different device?) that you believe you generated the receive address from... If you use "File -> Open", how many files are displayed in the open file dialog window?

Electrum allows you to have multiple wallet files, so if you see more than one file displayed, it might be that you have simply used an address from a different wallet file.

Try opening each file shown to see if you can locate the address/coins.

[nc50lc]

Is there anywhere else within the .electrum files that would hold any data that might point me in the right direction? 

Like HCP, I also suspect that you've opened a different wallet file and didn't noticed the name in the title bar.

Open the "wallets" folder inside the ~/.electrum directory (default) and check if you have more than one wallet files.
Or do as HCP said, File->Open since it will open the directory where the last opened wallet was located.

If you're storing your wallet file in different locations or opened a wallet that wasn't in the default directory, browse to the default location manually.

[Techguy75]

So the missing BTC still has not been found.  I have restored all wallets from Master Keys, seeds, and any other way you can restore a wallet and still have not come up with anything.  I have been scanning QR codes in my profession for quite some time, and have never once had a mis scan.  Even when scanning a QR code on a phone with a shattered screen, the QR code is still accurate.  I think that this needs to be looked into by Electrum, because I believe it is a glitch in their programming.  I am not going to go into detail on my process, but this was simply taking from one of my Electrum wallets and transferring to another one of my Electrum wallets.  Any feedback, and assistance is appreciated. 

[djhomeschool]

First thing i noticed is that you did not send ALL funds because the transaction is showing two outputs, i am thinking one of them is an exchange address from the Electrum wallet you sent from.

[Techguy75]

First thing i noticed is that you did not send ALL funds because the transaction is showing two outputs, i am thinking one of them is an exchange address from the Electrum wallet you sent from.

You are absolutely right that is a change address from the wallet I sent from.  Another thing that I am baffled about is that on the wallet I was sending to, I clicked on the receive button, and scanned the QR Code with the camera on my phone.  I have done this same process countless times, and have never had an issue.  I have since backed up all my wallet files, reformatted my computer and went to Debian 9, and utilizing cold storage wallets.  I need to locate it, but their was another user that posted with just about the same problem.

[djhomeschool]

First thing i noticed is that you did not send ALL funds because the transaction is showing two outputs, i am thinking one of them is an exchange address from the Electrum wallet you sent from.

You are absolutely right that is a change address from the wallet I sent from.  Another thing that I am baffled about is that on the wallet I was sending to, I clicked on the receive button, and scanned the QR Code with the camera on my phone.  I have done this same process countless times, and have never had an issue.  I have since backed up all my wallet files, reformatted my computer and went to Debian 9, and utilizing cold storage wallets.  I need to locate it, but their was another user that posted with just about the same problem.

So apart from the address problem did you select to send ALL your funds but somehow it did not?

[Techguy75]

First thing i noticed is that you did not send ALL funds because the transaction is showing two outputs, i am thinking one of them is an exchange address from the Electrum wallet you sent from.

You are absolutely right that is a change address from the wallet I sent from.  Another thing that I am baffled about is that on the wallet I was sending to, I clicked on the receive button, and scanned the QR Code with the camera on my phone.  I have done this same process countless times, and have never had an issue.  I have since backed up all my wallet files, reformatted my computer and went to Debian 9, and utilizing cold storage wallets.  I need to locate it, but their was another user that posted with just about the same problem.

So apart from the address problem did you select to send ALL your funds but somehow it did not?

I am fairly new to Cryptocurrency, only been using Electrum since February of this year, and until this incident I didn't fully understand the "CHANGE" address.  On this transaction I received   0.08793133 BTC when transferring them to my other address I selected the MAX button and that is how a small portion got left behind. 

[BitMaxz]

This is what I think why the transaction doesn't show. If you correctly scan the QR code from Electrum wallet(desktop wallet) maybe the wallet which is generated from Electrum is not under your gap limit?

WARNING: Addresses beyond the gap limit will not automatically be recovered from the seed. To recover them will require either increasing the client’s gap limit or generating new addresses until the used addresses are found.

You need to increase the gap limit until you find the used addresses with balance.
Try this code below in console.

Code:

wallet.storage.put('gap_limit',50)

[anu1908]

https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1N14wnnyHZdkET9yej4BGptSFc448kykFm

this address looks new and there's no other address associated with it: https://www.walletexplorer.com/wallet/565b8cf4c0899c8f/addresses

can you try to export or use it with bitcoin core and see if is_mine show that the address is yours?

I think that this needs to be looked into by Electrum, because I believe it is a glitch in their programming.

the problem is if we can't replicate the problem then it's not possible to know where is the glitch.

This is what I think why the transaction doesn't show. If you correctly scan the QR code from Electrum wallet(desktop wallet) maybe the wallet which is generated from Electrum is not under your gap limit?

it's weird that wallet explorer don't show the other 50 addresses if he does have a lot of address.

[djhomeschool]

https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1N14wnnyHZdkET9yej4BGptSFc448kykFm

1. this address looks new and there's no other address associated with it: https://www.walletexplorer.com/wallet/565b8cf4c0899c8f/addresses

can you try to export or use it with bitcoin core and see if is_mine show that the address is yours?

I think that this needs to be looked into by Electrum, because I believe it is a glitch in their programming.

the problem is if we can't replicate the problem then it's not possible to know where is the glitch.

This is what I think why the transaction doesn't show. If you correctly scan the QR code from Electrum wallet(desktop wallet) maybe the wallet which is generated from Electrum is not under your gap limit?

2. it's weird that wallet explorer don't show the other 50 addresses if he does have a lot of address.

1. Wallet explorer can only tell if another address is associated with it once it made a transaction involving same wallet change addresses so that's not a reference.
2. Not true, that's perfectly normal. If you use 20+ addresses in Electrum and restore from seed (as OP did) it will only show the first 20 again untill you raise the gap limit.

[bob123]

Was your 'first' electrum wallet a mobile wallet ? Or how did you scan the QR to send the funds ?

In case you were sending from desktop wallet to desktop wallet: Can you briefly describe the process ?

If you use 20+ addresses in Electrum and restore from seed (as OP did) it will only show the first 20 again untill you raise the gap limit.

That's now how the gap limit works.
The gap limit describes a look-ahead. It tells electrum how many (empty) addresses it has to check before stopping searching further.

For example (with a gap limit of 20):
1) If you have used the first 25 addresses, and restore the wallet, electrum will check the first 45 (25 used + 20 gap limit) addresses.
2) If you have used the 1, 2nd and 21st address and restore the wallet -> electrum will check the 1st, 2nd -> then up to 22 (finds funds at your 21st) -> then up to your 41st address.

[Abdussamad]

There have been a few instances in the past of wallets showing addresses that the wallet didn't have the private keys for. Most of these were traced to a file corruption bug that was fixed in recent versions. In addition to that in recent versions there's a check done within the software to ensure that any addresses it displays on the receive tab are derived from the wallet master public key (which is in turn derived from the seed). It's not fool proof because if you have malware it can do whatever it likes but it's there anyway.

Was your wallet installed on a USB flash drive? Have you done a file system check recently? Maybe using badblocks or fsck?