Classic Multibit 0.5.18 recovery with 16 words passphrase help please

[BlackHatCoiner]

I have entered my 16 words and I have one that is flagged in 'orange' and I am given an alternative option saying that this word doesn't exist in the wordlist.  Message is xxxx is not in the worldlist, do you mean xxxx ?

Is "xxxx" the 16th word of your seed phrase? I'm afraid that the seed phrase was generated with Multibit HD and not with Classic. As NeuroticFish said, in Classic there wasn't such option. Using a single seed to generate addresses was then included in HD ^{(hierarchical deterministic)} which makes much more sense to me now. Nicky, are you sure that it was the Classic one that gave you these 16 words?

Should I keep the word the way I entered it (but I have the orange flag) or should I replace it with the word they suggest which has one letter different (maybe I wrote it wrong in the first place, my hand writing is quite bad...)?

If it flags you a message in that orange frame it means that you've entered something invalid. As you said, you've entered a word that doesn't exist in the Multibit's wordlist.

[NeuroticFish]

I have entered my 16 words and I have one that is flagged in 'orange' and I am given an alternative option saying that this word doesn't exist in the wordlist.  Message is xxxx is not in the worldlist, do you mean xxxx ?

Should I keep the word the way I entered it (but I have the orange flag) or should I replace it with the word they suggest which has one letter different (maybe I wrote it wrong in the first place, my hand writing is quite bad...)?

The fact there's the orange text is not good.
Let's try with what it suggest, or maybe you can find yourself any alternative good word, based on what you see in that handwriting.
The point is to try all you can until you find an address that has either funds, either transactions.

[Lucius]

When I got help for the setting of my wallet Multibit Classic in 2014 with the tech guy in the Vap cafe in London Shoreditch, he strongly insisted that all of us taking time to write carefully the 16 words that was generated and to keep them in a piece of paper safely.

I can only confirm that I used MultiBit Classic and that this crypto wallet did not have the option to backup through seed, but the only options were to copy the wallet file or to extract the private keys that the wallet generates and keep them safe. Is there any way to contact that man and try to find out exactly what those 16 words represent?

[NickyGH]

Hello,

I thought that I had Multibit classic, but after reading all posts, I am not sure anymore. I tried to copy the layout of my Multibit via Snipping tool in this post, but I didn't manage... Sorry about this. However, it seems that with Multibit HD seems more common to recover bitcoin, so I hope this is what I have.

Lucius: No, can't find the may who helped us back in 2014 to set up the wallet and told us to keep those 16 words. It was a 'one day event' that you book through meeting website for events with people of similar interest. This one was for novice people willing to have help to get a wallet with Multibit.
I can however, remember very well that he said that those 16 words were to be kept in case we had to recover the wallet and those words in we loose it, we was like loosing our bitcoin and we needed them to recover the bitcoin if needed.

NeuroticFish: It flash each word in orange and offers me an alternative word instead. How weird. I could understand if I written badly one word (because of one wrong letter) but it does that for each of them... I tried to replace with the alternative suggested for few words, but it keep going on. So I got back to my initial words (the way I wrote them) ignoring words suggested to see.
Then I went to the Derivation Path section and selected 'Multibit HB' in client: I have in orange top of the page the message: 'Invalid Root Key'.

Thank you again for your time and help. I really appreciate also your patience...

Nicky

[NickyGH]

Hello,

This is how my multibit wallet looks like:


https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/MultiBit


So, if somebody has the same layout, they can confirm if this is classic or HD.

Thank you.
Nicky

[Lucius]

Lucius: No, can't find the may who helped us back in 2014 to set up the wallet and told us to keep those 16 words. It was a 'one day event' that you book through meeting website for events with people of similar interest. This one was for novice people willing to have help to get a wallet with Multibit.
I can however, remember very well that he said that those 16 words were to be kept in case we had to recover the wallet and those words in we loose it, we was like loosing our bitcoin and we needed them to recover the bitcoin if needed.

I'll answer your last post first, and I can confirm that your link really shows the MultiBit Classic version of the wallet, and this is what the MultiBit HD version looks like :



However, if we know that the Classic version did not have the ability to create a seed, and that the HD version had a seed of 12/18 words, I wonder how it is possible that you have a seed consisting of 16 words

a simple 12-word passphrase written down protects all your bitcoins forever

[BlackHatCoiner]

However, if we know that the Classic version did not have the ability to create a seed, and that the HD version had a seed of 12/18 words, I wonder how it is possible that you have a seed consisting of 16 words

Could it be 15 words plus a passphrase?

Nicky, is there ANY word from your seed phrase that isn't included in this list: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039/english.txt ? (You can search the list with Ctrl+F5)

[NickyGH]

Hi BlackHatCoiner,

Thank you for the link.

I have checked all my 16 words from my phrase with the tip of Ctrl+F and none of my words are in this list. So, I tried all of them, and for each of them I had a sound (like an error sound) as word couldn't be found each time...

Don't know what that's mean at all...

Thank you
Nicky

[BlackHatCoiner]

So, I tried all of them, and for each of them I had a sound (like an error sound) as word couldn't be found each time...

This sounds weird. And they're all in the english dictionary?

[NickyGH]

Hi BlackHatCoiner,

Yes, they are. All of them. Like: newborn or pinpoint....

I was wondering if it would be worth considering using a 'bitcoin recovering data services' here in London to get professional to look into my broken laptop which has the initial Multibit Wallet. Maybe, from there the data recovery expert would be able to get my private keys and with this I could then use it to get my bitcoin in Electrum?

Problem is that would be difficult to trust somebody to do that: there might be some scams out there to take advance of people stuck technically and steal their bitcoins.... Or to end up with somebody who claim they can recover and they cannot, then the broken laptop would become totally redundant even for recovery...

Any recommendation on that very welcome.

I am so lost.

Whatever the outcome of all of this, I am immensely grateful to all of you in this forum who has kindly been trying to help me with my problem.

Thank you
Nicky

[NeuroticFish]

Another idea: can this 16 word list be the recovery for a Blockchain.info old wallet?
I don't know what words they have been using...

[HCP]

I have checked all my 16 words from my phrase with the tip of Ctrl+F and none of my words are in this list.

100% that your 16 words did not come from Multibit Classic nor Multibit HD.

16 words sounds like an old blockchain.info (now blockchain.com) password recovery phrase... especially given that none of the words are in the BIP39 list. The blockchain.info legacy password recovery used a completely different list to BIP39.

You can check your 16 words against the ones in this (very long) list: https://github.com/blockchain/unused-My-Wallet/blob/ddbb0995fbdb2b5f22bef9eb92a26e2bfefb6e00/mnemonic_words_v3.html


Note that this 16 word "recovery" phrase will NOT recover your wallet. It will only recover the password to your wallet.

Refer: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password


Unfortunately, if you don't have the original wallet.aes.json backup file from blockchain.info or some record of the "wallet id", then this 16 word phrase will be of very little use to you. Given that your old computer is "dead", then I'm going to guess you don't have the wallet.aes.json file...

Do you perhaps have access to the email address that was registered to blockchain.info and/or an old email from blockchain.info stored in your email account with either a record of your wallet-id or perhaps even an email with a copy of the wallet.aes.json backup file attached?

[NickyGH]

Hello,

That's all so weird the 16 words recovery phrase enigma....

I still have my broken laptop with me (which has the initial wallet where it was originally set up).

Have you heard of successful bitcoin recovery?
What do you think of this:
https://www.mjm.co.uk/specialist-services/bitcoin-recovery.html

Or, is somebody aware of trustworthy recovery service or bitcoin expert I could contact and could help me?

I live in London - Great Britain.

Thank you
Nicky

[BlackHatCoiner]

That's all so weird the 16 words recovery phrase enigma....

It doesn't make any sense to me. Back when you created it in that cafeteria, did that guy make it for you? Or he showed you how to do it? Have you keep contact with that guy? He may be the only one that knows what you'd done.

I still have my broken laptop with me (which has the initial wallet where it was originally set up).

Do you have access to the files of that laptop? How "broken" can you characterize it? Can you open it or not?

Have you heard of successful bitcoin recovery?
What do you think of this:
https://www.mjm.co.uk/specialist-services/bitcoin-recovery.html

I personally haven't ever heard such recovery service, but I guess they're trustworthy. If I were you, I'd go and take a look.

[NeuroticFish]

What do you think of this:
https://www.mjm.co.uk/specialist-services/bitcoin-recovery.html

I don't know from my experience, but at a simple check, the company looks legit and it's in business since 1999.
However, they are specialized in recovering data (files) from your hard drive, not your Bitcoin.
This means that:
* while they may get your files, you will still have to find out what to do with those
* there's no guarantee whether they'll try or not to get their hand onto your coins


The problem is that all the information you provided is ambiguous, to say the least:
* you said that you have a seed for Multibit, but it's not a seed for Multibit
* you implied that you had funds in the first Multibit (Classic or HD, who knows?)
If the funds are indeed yours, try to remember if you moved the funds from Multibit to Blockchain.info or from Blockchain.info to Multibit.

That's because the funds could be at Blockchain.info, and then the information you need may be in your old e-mails and you have a chance to get hold of the coins without risking recovery.
If the funds are in Multibit, it could also be of use to tell how you moved the old wallet to the new laptop 3 years ago.

[trigger1975]

Basically the problem is that there are no binaries of Multibit Classic somewhere on the internet, I've checked lots of sites. If there were, it'd be much easier to help him/her. The project is officially abandoned: https://github.com/Multibit-Legacy/multibit

Just a short notice, that you can find Multibit Classic binaries here (luckily archive.org has snapshotted the files as well)  

Windows: https://web.archive.org/web/20150315031609/https://multibit.org/releases/multibit-0.5.18/multibit-0.5.18-windows-setup.exe

Mac: https://web.archive.org/web/20150315033803/https://multibit.org/releases/multibit-0.5.18/multibit-0.5.18.dmg

Linux: https://web.archive.org/web/20150315032605/https://multibit.org/releases/multibit-0.5.18/multibit-0.5.18-linux.jar

The links are on the old FAQ page (right side) and there you also find the signatures.

https://web.archive.org/web/20150318124140/https://multibit.org/faq.html

But: did MultiBit Classic have some sort of recovery phrase?  I thought only MultiBit HD did have?  I have lost some change in my old MultiBit Classic wallet which I did archive on tape but lost access to the tape.  Still have access to a MultiBit Classic wallet backup from some days before the change addresses where created, so if there's a way to recover per hidden recovery phrase feature, I'd be very happy to learn how.

[NickyGH]

Hi trigger 1975,

It came back to me that my wallet was set up with the help of Jim Burton (in a Vap cafe - London Shoreditch) we were a small group of people, new to bitcoin and this was an hour session to get help as we were all novice.

I am very affirmative that Jim Burton insisted on taking the time to copy on a piece of paper 16 words that was randomly given (can't remember how) and he said that this would help to recover our bitcoin if we have issue like wallet lost or anything else (in my case my laptop is broken - but I still have it). Hence I was looking for a way to recover my bitcoin with my 16 words phrases. I searched the internet endlessly, really desperate.

Thank you for providing the web link for web.archive.org for the help page. (the last one) the other one are downloading and I don't know what to do with it.

Hi NeuroticFish,

After searching in pictures and some other helpful posts here, I can confirm that I have Multibit Classic.
How could my founds by in Blockchain? I remember very well them to be in my Multibit wallet in my broken laptop.
The company does bitcoin recovery: https://www.mjm.co.uk/specialist-services/bitcoin-recovery.html  - Please have a reed and let me know

Hi BlackHatCoiner,

My laptop is really broken. An asus Transformer notebook T100TA 2GB - Very light in weight and capacity...
The guy in the Vap cafe was Jim Burton... I have been searching for him in google but so far no luck. Still searching...

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate your expertise and time.

Nicky



 

[BlackHatCoiner]

I have some questions about your first post. You've written the text below:

I used to have few years ago a Multibit Classic bitcoin wallet in a computer that then stop working. I tried to delete some programmes to makes some space as it was only 2GB memory and was full, but I think that I did damage even further and this computer does not work anymore. In addition, the screen is black even when plugged in and switched on (I thing the hardware is damaged too) I used to have one bitcoin there.

3 years ago, I bought another laptop (with 4 GB memory). I downloaded the Multibit wallet and it's the 0.5.18 classic version. I cannot see any bitcoin on the balance. It's show 0 BTC.

1) On your first computer, do you remember what exactly you deleted? I know that it's been years, but you may remember something important. Was your deletion for example the cause of your computer's crash?
2) You say that you had a bitcoin there, on your first pc. Are you completely sure that you had used Multibit Classic to receive that one bitcoin? For example, do you remember generating an address or an invoice for your receival? I've written you on my first reply how an address looks like. (1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa).
3) After 3 years, once you bought the new laptop and installed Multibit classic again, what did you do to after the installation? How did you expect to show you a balance since you hadn't imported the old wallet?
4) Is there anyone else besides Jim Burton that knows about this? A known/friend of yours that bought 1 bitcoin back then, in that meeting?


Please correct me if I'm somewhere wrong: You bought one bitcoin in a meeting some years ago. The tech-guy who introduced you bitcoin, told you to use Multibit Classic and sent you that bitcoin to your wallet. Later, he insisted that you have to be careful and write these 16 words, because you could recover your bitcoin this way if your computer ever stopped working. He never told you how to recover it, did he?

Nicky, it seems that these 16 words were generated by blockchain.info. I can confirm what HCP said. Here's a link for you to read: 16 word recovery phrase for blockchain wallet not working.

From a bitcointalk googling, I found out about this forgot-password link, I think that this is what you're looking for: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password?guid=

[HCP]

Still have access to a MultiBit Classic wallet backup from some days before the change addresses where created, so if there's a way to recover per hidden recovery phrase feature, I'd be very happy to learn how.

There is not "recovery phrase" feature available for MultiBit Classic... OP is adamant they were using MultiBit Classic and had a 16 word phrase. But those 2 things are mutually exclusive.

So, either they had MultiBit Classic and were also using another wallet like Blockchain.info (that is one of the only known wallets that used a 16 word phrase system) or the OP is simply remembering things wrong.

It would not surprise me if this "Jim Burton" guy had shown this group several wallets that they could use... like, use blockchain.info if you want a "web wallet", use multibit Classic if you want to use a local desktop wallet etc.

I am very affirmative that Jim Burton insisted on taking the time to copy on a piece of paper 16 words that was randomly given (can't remember how) and he said that this would help to recover our bitcoin if we have issue like wallet lost or anything else (in my case my laptop is broken - but I still have it). Hence I was looking for a way to recover my bitcoin with my 16 words phrases. I searched the internet endlessly, really desperate.

And I am very very VERY VERY "affirmative"... that those 16 words have nothing to do with your MultiBit Classic wallet. MBC never used word phrases as a method of wallet backup. MBC backup options were exporting the private keys or copy the wallet file. Those were the only options.

MultiBit HD used BIP39 word phrases, but they were either 12 or 24 words, it did not use 16 word phrases.

Have you tried the blockchain.info password recovery form as I suggested earlier: https://login.blockchain.com/wallet/forgot-password

Does your 16 word phrase work on that page?

[NickyGH]

Hi BlackHatCoiner and HCP,

I do not remember what I deleted from my previous laptop. I tried to 'remove' program from the control panel in order to make disk space but it didn't do the job... Now the computer is dead.

And the bitcoin I got in my Multibit Classic wallet in there was sent from Kraken which I had first bought my bitcoin. Then Jim Burton helped me to get it in Multibit Wallet at the Vap cafe.

NB. After a lot of searches, I found Jim Burton... Through Meetup.com website and I sent him a message. I hope he will respond to clarify the 16 words mystery (to me) and also let me know any recommendation or help if he can provide me. I explained about the dead laptop...

HCP: Jim Burton was the UK lead developer for Multibit. So the group meeting was only about Multibit Wallet. From what you say he may have shown Blockchain but I do not remember at all... It has been a while. I hope Jim Burton will let me know about this as well regarding if the 16 words are related he should know.

So, if he replied to me, I will let you know. Fingers crossed.

What a mess I have done.

Thank you again all of you for your kind help and time. You have been so patient with me because I am so inept and uneducated in technology etc. So really a huge thank you.

Nicky