Bitcoin Core wallet password change

[tianxie]

I have a case where I run two different nodes with a copy of same wallet and same address. What happens if I change the passphrase on wallet #1, will the wallet #2 which runxs on different location with same address also change passphrase or this is locked to a specific file and not a address?

thank you for your help in advance.

[ranochigo]

No. Each wallet file is encrypted separately. Encrypting one file will not change the other file at all.

It's worth noting that the keypool for your wallet will be refreshed once the password is changed. For HD wallet, the HD seed of the client will also be changed. Thus, from that point on, the wallet files will generate completely different keys. Every time you update your wallet file, you have to replace all your backups. This is mostly to prevent future attacks if your past wallet files aren't stored properly.

[bartekjagoda]

No. Each wallet file is encrypted separately. Encrypting one file will not change the other file at all.

It's worth noting that the keypool for your wallet will be refreshed once the password is changed. For HD wallet, the HD seed of the client will also be changed. Thus, from that point on, the wallet files will generate completely different keys. Every time you update your wallet file, you have to replace all your backups. This is mostly to prevent future attacks if your past wallet files aren't stored properly.

So two people with the same wallet keys can have separate wallet passphrase locks?

[dmitrygerasimov]

Yes they can

[ranochigo]

So two people with the same wallet keys can have separate wallet passphrase locks?

It really depends on what you mean. There's two scenarios:
If two person import the key into their own Bitcoin Core client, the address will still be in their wallet when they change the password.

If the two person have the same wallet file and they change the password, the future addresses generated on both of the wallet files will be different.

In short, the password change will not affect the addresses that you already have. Only the addresses generated in the future will be different. That's why it's recommended to renew your backups with every password change.

[odolvlobo]

In case there is any confusion about terms:

• Address: Bitcoins are sent to an address. An address is derived from its public key. It is not a public key or a wallet.
• Private Key: Used to control the bitcoins at an address. A private key is not a password or a seed.
• Public Key: A public key is used in a transaction. It is rarely used directly by a person. A public key is derived from its private key. It is not an address.
• Wallet: A wallet contains and controls private keys and their associated addresses. A wallet is not an address. A wallet typically uses a seed to generate its private keys.
• Seed/Recovery Phrase: Used by a wallet to generate private keys and their associated addresses. A seed is not a passphrase or a private key. A seed is also known as a recovery phrase because all of a wallet's private keys and associated addresses are derived from its seed.
• Passphrase/password: A passphrase is used to encrypt a wallet, private key, or seed. A passphrase is not a private key or a seed. However, sometimes a seed will contain an extra word that is used like a passphrase.

Here are sets of terms that are frequently confused with each other:

• Public key <==> Address
• Address <==> Wallet
• Private key <==> Seed <==> Passphrase

Terms that should be avoided because they are ambiguous or probably being used incorrectly:

• Wallet address: A wallet does not have an address associated with it.
• Public address: Use of this term typically indicates a confusion between the terms "address" and "public key". All addresses are public.
• Public Key: Typically this term is mistakenly used in place of "address".

[TheWolf666]

The password is not encrypting the wallet itself, but it locks the sending action. That mean each wallet can be loaded and viewed, the password will be used/needed only when you try to spend.

Once you know that, you realize that an encrypted Wallet is a local information. The blockchain does not see the difference between the 2 wallets, this information is not shared. From outside, the peers and the network, encrypted wallet or not these wallets are the same.

But, if you try the password of wallet1 to unlock wallet2 for spending coins it will not work and vice versa.

The address used are not affected by the passphrase. The only thing affected as I said is the action of spending. Everything else is working normally. So if you generate an address on wallet1 and someone send money to this address, both wallet will receive the money, as they are the same wallet, locally protected by a different password.

I have a case where I run two different nodes with a copy of same wallet and same address. What happens if I change the passphrase on wallet #1, will the wallet #2 which runxs on different location with same address also change passphrase or this is locked to a specific file and not a address?

thank you for your help in advance.