Electrum 4.03 not used for awhile constantly synchronizing

[Alkaprim]

Hi, I have this 4.03 electrum installed on linux Mint that I haven't used for awhile. I could be a year or 2.
Use it as pure storage for my bitcoins, now I run the program today and it seems like it tries synchronize then it disconnects (the network icon is blue then briefly goes green then blinks red etc.) .
I let it run for 1 hour and still the same ?
Any suggestions?
Thank you.

[TryNinja]

You mean you have an Electrum wallet you haven't used in a while and you just recently updated it to 4.0.3, right? This version was only released last month.

First off all, make sure you downloaded it only ONLY from ELECTRUM.ORG.

Try going to Tools -> Network -> Uncheck "Select server automatically" -> Right click another server -> "Use as server". See if it synchronizes.

If that doesn't work, try closing the wallet and reopening it again. If it still doesn't work, close it, go to the Electrum directory (on Linux, go to Location and type ~/.electrum), deleting the "blockchain_headers" file and opening the wallet again. It will take a few seconds to synchronize and everything should work (hopefully).

[BitMaxz]

If the above does not work and if you are using the original one and having issue on connecting to any server maybe your Electrum is block from your network.

Changing the DNS might solve your issue.

If you don't know how to setup DNS you can follow the guide from this link below.

- https://support.opendns.com/hc/en-us/articles/228007167-Linux-Mint-Cinnamon

You can also use Google DNS(8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).

[Alkaprim]

You mean you have an Electrum wallet you haven't used in a whale and you just recently updated it to 4.0.3, right? This version was only released last month.

First off all, make sure you downloaded it only ONLY from ELECTRUM.ORG.

Try going to Tools -> Network -> Uncheck "Select server automatically" -> Right click another server -> "Use as server". See if it synchronizes.

If that doesn't work, try closing the wallet and reopening it again. If it still doesn't work, close it, go to the Electrum directory (on Linux, go to Location and type ~/.electrum), deleting the "blockchain_headers" file and opening the wallet again. It will take a few seconds to synchronize and everything should work (hopefully).

That what struck me also, I havent updated the wallet manually for sure , installed it at least 1 year ago possibly much more.
How come when I click on help/about tab it shows me version 4.0.3 ?
Can it somehow update auomagically on Mint?

[hosseinimr93]

How come when I click on help/about tab it shows me version 4.0.3 ?

Since the 4.0.3 version has been released recently, there's a high probability that you are using a fake version of Electrum. Do you remember where you downloaded Electrum from?
If I were you, I would remove the application, download it from Electrum official website and reinstall it. (Don't forget to verify your download.)

[BitMaxz]

That what struck me also, I havent updated the wallet manually for sure , installed it at least 1 year ago possibly much more.
How come when I click on help/about tab it shows me version 4.0.3 ?
Can it somehow update auomagically on Mint?

If it was installed last year and the version is 4.0.3 it might be a fake Electrum because the Electrum 4.0.3 just release 27 days ago last September 11.
So, there is a possibility that you are using a fake Electrum.

Much better uninstall this wallet and start again from the start and make sure that you download it directly from https://electrum.org/#download

And verify the Electrum to make sure you're not using fake Electrum you can follow the guide here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0

[joniboini]

My first time seeing a possibel fake wallet with exactly 4.0.3 version and not 4. Are you sure you never update it? Not even once running sudo apt-update or something similar? How exactly do you install it?

I second the opinion to verify your installation and re-download from the official source if you're unsure whether it is legit or not.

[naska21]

Hi, I have this 4.03 electrum installed on linux Mint that I haven't used for awhile. I could be a year or 2.
Use it as pure storage for my bitcoins, now I run the program today and it seems like it tries synchronize then it disconnects (the network icon is blue then briefly goes green then blinks red etc.) .
I let it run for 1 hour and still the same ?
Any suggestions?
Thank you.

This is only my guess but you might have  some issue with the old wallet format. The old client has different format and the new one is trying to reformat it but with now success. I would suggest to make a clean install and use the seed from your old wallet. Definitely you  should backup everything before proceeding to this or use another computer to install fresh 4.0.3 Electrum.

[Abdussamad]

You mean you have an Electrum wallet you haven't used in a whale and you just recently updated it to 4.0.3, right? This version was only released last month.

First off all, make sure you downloaded it only ONLY from ELECTRUM.ORG.

Try going to Tools -> Network -> Uncheck "Select server automatically" -> Right click another server -> "Use as server". See if it synchronizes.

If that doesn't work, try closing the wallet and reopening it again. If it still doesn't work, close it, go to the Electrum directory (on Linux, go to Location and type ~/.electrum), deleting the "blockchain_headers" file and opening the wallet again. It will take a few seconds to synchronize and everything should work (hopefully).

That what struck me also, I havent updated the wallet manually for sure , installed it at least 1 year ago possibly much more.
How come when I click on help/about tab it shows me version 4.0.3 ?
Can it somehow update auomagically on Mint?

depends on how you installed it. if you used your operating system's repos then yes it could have been updated automatically via that.

[sheenshane]

You can check the box "select server automatically" found on the red dot button if you aren't yet synchronizing to the node. And leave for a moment in your PC with an internet connection, it will synchronize later on.

I was trying now and I'm connected to 10 nodes using server " electrum.blockstream.info ". If still aren't working in that way, for sure there's a problem of downloading the files. Just re-install and run again or just follow as suggested above. You can use this tutorial given by the Electrum web page. How to Verify an Electrum Download on Windows

[TryNinja]

depends on how you installed it. if you used your operating system's repos then yes it could have been updated automatically via that.

That's probably what happened. I deleted the config file and Electrum had it disabled by default.

[quadxxxxx]

Hello,
the same problem I have under Windows10 (2004)
I have a working Electrum version 3.3.8 and wanted to update to 4.0.4,
after installation (downloaded from electrum.org and good verify)
after recovery of seed Electrum is synchronized permanently.
I have changed server various have deleted the blockchain_headers, have change the DNS.
nothing works, on another computer I have version 4.0.3, this synchronized since September 15th and the blockchain_headers file is getting bigger and bigger.
antivirus and firewall are disabled.
Do you have another idea ?

[BitMaxz]

Do you have another idea ?

Well, if you already tried all suggestions above it might have a bug that's why it won't connect to any server.
Much better wait for a new release and stay with 4.0.3 which working in your PC/Laptop.

If you have a seed backup you can uninstall the 4.0.4 version and download the 4.0.3 installer from here https://download.electrum.org/

[o_e_l_e_o]

I have changed server various have deleted the blockchain_headers, have change the DNS.
antivirus and firewall are disabled.

Have you ensured the proxy setting within Electrum itself is disabled? (Tools - Network - Proxy)
Is the other computer which is synchronizing fine on the same network as the computer which is not synchronizing? (This rules out any issue with your connection or router)
Are you trying to connect via a VPN or Tor?

You could try writing your logs to file (details here: https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum-docs/blob/master/faq.rst#how-to-enable-debug-logging) and either taking a look yourself or sharing with us - it might shed some more light on the situation.

[quadxxxxx]

all versions from 4 on synchonize constantly with me und proxy,
and proxy is not enabled on my electrum, electrum 3.3.8 but works perfectly
and yes the other computer (notebook) is in the same network, and I have also reinstalled windows on a third computer
also I have tried it in a virtual machine, a test with mobile data also did not succeed.
VPN or tor, I have not tested

[HCP]

...
I have a working Electrum version 3.3.8 and wanted to update to 4.0.4,
after installation (downloaded from electrum.org and good verify)
after recovery of seed Electrum is synchronized permanently.
...
nothing works, on another computer I have version 4.0.3, this synchronized since September 15th and the blockchain_headers file is getting bigger and bigger.
...

What sort of transaction history does this wallet have? Do you have hundreds/thousands of transactions and "used" addresses? If so, it's likely that the servers you are connecting to, are "timing out" your requests due to the large amount of data you are attempting to sync "at once".

When you upgraded, you should not have needed to "recover from seed". You should have been able to simple install version 4.0.4 and it should have used your old wallet file. If you click "File -> Open" can you see your old wallet file?

[bob123]

What sort of transaction history does this wallet have? Do you have hundreds/thousands of transactions and "used" addresses? If so, it's likely that the servers you are connecting to, are "timing out" your requests due to the large amount of data you are attempting to sync "at once".

I believe there is some kind of throttling mechanism between the electrum client and server to guarantee a somewhat good user experience while also blacklisting spammers, or am i wrong?

If there isn't an extremely large number of addresses, electrum should sync pretty fast i'd assume.

[quadxxxxx]

Yes there are hundreds of transactions, I think that’s what the wallet is for.

I can click "File -> Open" and open the wallet file from Electrum 3.3.8,
after some time I can see my transactions, but electrum keeps syncing and does not stop.
Is the only way to create a new wallet and transfer everything there?

[o_e_l_e_o]

Yes there are hundreds of transactions, I think that’s what the wallet is for.

It could be the issue. There have been a number of users with wallets with either a large number of addresses, a large number of transactions, or both, who have experienced problems syncing or the wallet freezing up entirely. For example:

https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/2540
https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/4183
https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/5813

The easy way to test if this is the case is simply to create a brand new wallet with the affected client and see if it syncs properly. If it does, then it is likely your wallet size which is the issue.

[HCP]

I believe there is some kind of throttling mechanism between the electrum client and server to guarantee a somewhat good user experience while also blacklisting spammers, or am i wrong?

The "default" server (for lack of a better term), ie. ElectrumX has some mechanisms in it that will limit a client connection if said client goes over some certain limits with regards to number of requests and (from memory) the amount of data in a given period of time.

Once a specific client/IP exceeds the set limits, it is effectively "ignored" until the time out interval has passed... It's explained "more betterer" in the ElectrumX documentation regarding "Resource Usage Limits": https://electrumx.readthedocs.io/en/latest/environment.html#resource-usage-limits


I'm fairly sure, I seen other instances before of users with wallets that have hundreds/thousands of transactions/used addresses... and when attempting an initial sync they seem to overwhelm ElectrumX servers (with default settings) and end up "syncing forever" as they keep getting "timed out".

Short of migrating to a different wallet, solutions would appear to be:
1. Run your own node/Electrum server setup and set the limits to suit
or
2. Find a friendly Electrum Server admin who can temporarily change the limits so your wallet can sync