Electrum Had Update 4.0.4

[blue Snow]

Electrum had update to version 4.0.4, new feature; can cancel unconfirmed rbf tx

https://electrum.org/#download

# Release 4.0.4 - (Oct 15, 2020)
 * PSBT: fix regression in 4.0.3 where UTXO data was not included in
   QR codes (#6600)
 * new feature: "Cancel tx" (#6641). The Qt/kivy GUI allows cancelling
   an unconfirmed RBF tx by double-spending its inputs to self.
 * Windows binary:
   - fix some issues with QR scanning by building zbar ourselves (#6593)
   - when using setup exe, also install a debug binary (#6603)
 * Ledger: fix "The derivation path is unusual" warnings (#6512)
   (needs Bitcoin app 1.4.8+ installed on device)
 * A few other minor bugfixes and usability improvements.

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[AB de Royse777]

I will be waiting a week before to try the new version. It's just something I have been practising from a long time. So, how is this cancelling unconfirmed RBF works? I know that I can cancel a tx if the input of the tx is still unconfirmed and if I update the first tx with higher fees.

[nc50lc]

# Release 4.0.4 - (Oct 15, 2020)
 * new feature: "Cancel tx" (#6641). The Qt/kivy GUI allows cancelling
   an unconfirmed RBF tx by double-spending its inputs to self.

I didn't expect this since it's a 7-days-old pull request, merged 2days ago.

So, how is this cancelling unconfirmed RBF works? I know that I can cancel a tx if the input of the tx is still unconfirmed and if I update the first tx with higher fees.

The same as "increase fee", it's making use of RBF flag (replaceable) of the to-be-replaced transaction.
But that button will create a replacement txn with an output that returns the fund back to the wallet instead of the receiver's.

I've checked the version (only on Testnet).
The button is named "Cancel (double-spend)", good choice of name in order not to mislead users,
since newbies will expect that it will delete (not replace) the transaction if it's only "Cancel".

[mikelsmith2020]

Is it safe to update it to 4.0.4?

[mikelsmith2020]

# Release 4.0.4 - (Oct 15, 2020)
 * new feature: "Cancel tx" (#6641). The Qt/kivy GUI allows cancelling
   an unconfirmed RBF tx by double-spending its inputs to self.

I haven't update to Electrum 4.0.4 yet, but hopefully there's short explanation about it or some people will assume Bitcoin transaction could be canceled.

Is it safe to update it to 4.0.4?

So far no one reported bug on Electrum version 4.0.4, so it should be safe as long as you update it correctly (download from official and verify it's signature).

Alright thanks!

[blue Snow]

Is it safe to update it to 4.0.4?

So far no one reported bug on Electrum version 4.0.4, so it should be safe as long as you update it correctly (download from official and verify it's signature).

Alright thanks!

someone had reported crash issue on 4.0.4 https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/6653

[NotATether]

Is it safe to update it to 4.0.4?

So far no one reported bug on Electrum version 4.0.4, so it should be safe as long as you update it correctly (download from official and verify it's signature).

Alright thanks!

someone had reported crash issue on 4.0.4 https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/6653

They didn't include any diagnostic information with their crash report, it's literally just

I use the v4.0.4 electrum of windows, when i closed the electrum, then crash infomations came up

Maybe this bug is easy to reproduce, I'll get Electrum 4.0.4 on a Windows VM and see if I can reproduce this bug.

EDIT: I could not reproduce this on Windows 10 2004 portable executable, did not get any errors from exiting one or two testnet wallets, or one mainnet wallet.

[joniboini]

someone had reported crash issue on 4.0.4 https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/6653

It is hard to know what exactly is the issue from report like this. He might be missing some dependencies, his AV might trigger a false positive for Electrum, his RAM could be faulty, etc. I'd rather ignore it until more info shows up.

[BitMaxz]

someone had reported crash issue on 4.0.4 https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/6653

It is hard to know what exactly is the issue from report like this. He might be missing some dependencies, his AV might trigger a false positive for Electrum, his RAM could be faulty, etc. I'd rather ignore it until more info shows up.

It's working fine to me without any issue in windows 7 32bit currently tested is the portable one.

The issue above it was the same as my problem with 4.0.2 everytime you close the Electrum it crash but it's working fine you just need to force close them and reopen the Electrum.

But this 4.0.4 solve my crash issue.

He might be using Ubuntu 18.04 which I heard super buggy. So there might be issue from the OS that cause wallet crash everytime he close the Electrum.

[HCP]

He might be using Ubuntu 18.04 which I heard super buggy. So there might be issue from the OS that cause wallet crash everytime he close the Electrum.

Unlikely

I use the v4.0.4 electrum of windows, when i closed the electrum, then crash infomations came up

More likely something with his Windows setup causing issues... I am not having any issues with 4.0.4 on Windows 10 Pro 64bit, version 2004.

I had more issues just downloading and running the installer due to Windows defender popping up with all the usual warnings about it being an "uncommon download" or some such bullshit. I reported it as safe etc, but the same thing seems to happen with every new release

[AB de Royse777]

It's working fine to me without any issue

No issue here but I could not find "Cancel (double-spend)" button.



Few minutes ago I installed the latest version to try with one of my wallet and created two tx but in none of them I see the button exist.
One tx was created with the older version and the other one was created using this latest version.

Shame on me that I could not find it, I can assure that I have looked at every corner of the UI :-D

[nc50lc]

It's working fine to me without any issue

No issue here but I could not find "Cancel (double-spend)" button.
-snip-

The transaction must be created by your wallet (obviously) and it must be RBF flagged which is the case based from the image.
But the cancel button isn't actually a button, it's a right-click menu when you rclicked the transaction.
-edit-
Also, if you've sent to own address, the cancel option wont be available since there's no point in double spending a transaction that's being sent to oneself.

P.S.: I've found out that the wallet file will still be compatible with 4.0.3 when you opened it with 4.0.4.

[TheUltraElite]

Is it safe to update it to 4.0.4?

Give it a couple of weeks or so. If you are a regular user or depend upon your wallet to constantly pay and receive money a bug on the wallet can be a piss-off factor. But very less likely that there would be such a bug in an alpha release. You can read the changelog as posted and see if the new features are useful to you and if you really need them immediately.

With time though it is a wiser decision to update it when you can.

[dkbit98]

Latest Electrum update also fixes some bugs and one with Ledger, but it is released only two days ago and there is no critical bug demanding mandatory update.

Just as a safety measure I would not consider unconfirmed transactions as payment for BTC, but I don't think many people are using RBF feature.

[Pmalek]

I just forced myself to upgrade from 3.3.8 to 4.0.3 the other day and now there is another new release .
Interesting feature with the addition of a cancel transaction option and good to have. It immediately reminded me of MyEtherWallet's ability to cancel an unconfirmed transaction due to low gas by double spending the same to yourself with higher fees. 

[HCP]

I really wish they had not used the terminology "cancel transaction" though. It's bad enough as it is with newbies and less BTC-savvy folks who don't understand why they can't just cancel their transaction, and now you'll have one wallet which can supposedly "cancel" transactions and others that can't.

Not to mention, they'll want to know why they got charged a fee when they cancelled a transaction, and why the fee was so "large".

Perhaps "Override Transaction" might have been better? But even that isn't particularly great either... difficult to condense such a complex thing as "double-spending a transaction back to yourself, thereby overriding the original transaction" into a popup menu friendly term

[blue Snow]

I feel like that, I assume can cancel unconfirmed tx like Metamask wallet.

[Lucius]

I really wish they had not used the terminology "cancel transaction" though. It's bad enough as it is with newbies and less BTC-savvy folks who don't understand why they can't just cancel their transaction, and now you'll have one wallet which can supposedly "cancel" transactions and others that can't.

I wish Electrum had stayed at that user-friendly level it had until version 3.3.8, but the developers are obviously thinking in a different direction. I'm not sure how useful this last option is, but I'm sure it will be quite confusing for many. It may be desirable to have at least 2 user interfaces, one could be called standard and the other expert, while allowing users to easily switch from one to the other.

[khaled0111]

"Cancel tx" is a powerful tool and, if I am not mistaken, Electrum is the first wallet to implement it... But does a regular user really need it?!

All I can think of is how it's going to be massively abused by scammers.
Double spending required a little bit of knowledge, but now it became accessible for everyone. All it takes is few clicks.

However, showing only confirmed transactions (by default) on the history tab can mitigate the risks of double spending scams.

[Pmalek]

I wish Electrum had stayed at that user-friendly level it had until version 3.3.8, but the developers are obviously thinking in a different direction.

The first time I used the 4.0.x version I wasn't 100% sure how to send a transaction since they changed the entire process. In the past, you could select a few UTXOs and a right-click on spend from would open a new window where you enter the transaction details. Spend from has now been replace with spend, and a right-click on an output to spend does nothing except to highlight it. You have to click on the Send tab manually and enter an address to proceed. 

All I can think of is how it's going to be massively abused by scammers.

True, but the rule of waiting for a transaction to confirm 1-6 times when dealing with someone still applies.