Unconfirmed transaction

[GaryP]

I sent some bitcoins to a new wallet that I have but I set the network fee too low(I know, I'm an idiot). It remained pending in there for 3 days then disappeared.

I've read that it will eventually be forgotten by the network and return to the original wallet and that that the transaction may not appear in your wallet but you will be able to send them again with a higher fee.

Is it just the transaction that may not appear? You will still see the bitcoins come back to the wallet?
 
Is there a possibility that they may never return?



I would appreciate anyone's help on this.

[GreatArkansas]

Can you share with us the TXN ID of your transaction? (if not it is okay).
Recently we encountered a lot of traffic on Bitcoin network which a lot of transactions are still pending, check here: https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,1w

What Bitcoin wallet did you use to send a transaction?
There are some wallets you can't update your transaction, like increasing the transaction fee for the transaction to get through. You can try to use Replace By Fee (RBF)    
"Replace-by-Fee": How to increase fee from Electrum?
This tutorial is using Electrum Bitcoin wallet, if you are not using Electrum, try to check if your wallet can be imported in Electrum and try to do the RBF method on your unconfirmed transaction.

[GaryP]

It was sent from the bitcoin wallet developers
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet&hl=en_GB&gl=US

I think this is the ID 21e118002a5ab28cd7f3c3947994f5d28db978e41cd5a8ce2980bc8cb283113f

[bL4nkcode]

Is there a possibility that they may never return?

No, your bitcoin will go back to your wallet address once the network drop your transaction but that would take several days, worst for week(s).

And yeah your transaction will take another days since it has only 4.539sat/byte fee and the transaction is not RBF enabled. So waiting is the only way, good thing if bitcoin price will just increase since you'll just take profit,worst if the opposite.

[GaryP]

Thanks for your help. I was just worried it may never show up again.

[GaryP]

Should I just shut down the wallet to stop it rebroadcasting the transaction?

[GreatArkansas]

Should I just shut down the wallet to stop it rebroadcasting the transaction?

Even you shutdown the wallet or uninstall it, your transaction is already in the network. Just like what bl4nkcode said, "waiting" is the only solution here.
Currently, recommended satoshi per byte on a transaction is around 23 sat/byte, that's why next time, you should use the recommended transaction fee or much higher so it will not be stuck and your transaction will be confirmed in just a short period of time, you can use this coinb fees or this nextime.

[GaryP]

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Should I just shut down the wallet to stop it rebroadcasting the transaction?

I don't know if Schildbach Wallet automatically rebroadcasts transactions or not, but either way, you will not be able to make a new transaction while that transaction remains visible in your wallet, even if it has been dropped from the mempool. You will need to delete that transaction from your wallet to be able to make a new one using the same inputs.

I would disconnect your internet so your transaction won't be rebroadcast when you open your wallet, then open your wallet and delete the transaction. Then you'll have to wait a few days or weeks for the transaction to be dropped from the majority of node's mempools (check on a couple of different block explorers). Once it has been dropped, you can make a new transaction using the same inputs and paying a higher fee.

[GaryP]

I can't see any way I can delete the transaction in the wallet I am using. The only thing I can see is 'Reset block chain, transactions and wallet balance'. Would this do the trick?

[o_e_l_e_o]

The only thing I can see is 'Reset block chain, transactions and wallet balance'. Would this do the trick?

This would certainly remove the transaction from your device, but your device would then resync all your address with the blockchain and would likely download the transaction again if it is still in some nodes' mempools. You will have to wait until the transaction is dropped from the mempool to do this. Make sure you back up your wallet first.

Looking closer at your transaction, it seems you then spend the change from this transaction with a bunch of other inputs in another transaction which also pays 5 sats/vbyte. Note that if the first transaction is dropped and you replace it with a new transaction, the second transaction will become invalid since uses inputs which will no longer exist, and will also need to be replaced with a new transaction.

[GaryP]

I don't know what that is. I have two transactions that are unconfirmed that were sent at the same time. The other was for a much larger amount.
e242ddba700e1ae9687d1463a518a953be61683fb1489836252fd37973fe223d

[GaryP]

Is there anyway I can tell when the network has forgotten about a  unconfirmed transaction? Sorry for all the questions.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Is there anyway I can tell when the network has forgotten about a  unconfirmed transaction? Sorry for all the questions.

When it disappears from a majority of block explorers.

The default time for a node to drop an unconfirmed transaction is 14 days, but individual nodes are free to change this limit. However, many nodes are dropping low fee transactions much sooner than this because their mempools are hitting their maximum allowable size in terms of megabytes. If you look at the default mempool display here (https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#BTC%20(default%20mempool),8h), you'll notice that already everything below 5 sats/vbyte has already been dropped. However, if you look at your transactions on blockchair.com, you'll see that they are placed around 80k out of 110k, meaning there are still 30k transactions below yours in terms of fee which would be dropped first.

So depending on if the mempool fills up some more, stays static, or empties, will result if your transaction either dropping quickly, dropping after 14 days, or confirming. Impossible to predict, you'll just have to keep an eye on your transactions on various block explorers.

[GaryP]

Thanks for all your help. I'll just wait it out.