Ledger Nano S balance suddenly double

[MegaAkker]

Never had any problems with my Ledger Nano S and been using it for 3 years, when today suddenly when I logged in my balance is double of what it last was. And this while there is no extra transaction visible.
I sent some funds away and the amount was deducted correctly, so not a double deduction now. Meaning right now my balance is even more than double of what it should be.

What is going on? Anyone ever had this problem? I suppose I don't actually have double of what I thought?

[1714105025]

1714105025

[1714105025]

1714105025

[1714105025]

1714105025

[nc50lc]

You may be looking at the fiat-equivalent amount since Bitcoin's price today is 2-3x its price 3 years ago (depending on the month).
Or are you talking about the balance in BTC?

[MegaAkker]

You may be looking at the fiat-equivalent amount since Bitcoin's price today is 2-3x its price 3 years ago (depending on the month).
Or are you talking about the balance in BTC?

Yes, the BTC balance.

[nc50lc]

It may be an issue with the cache...
Try to clear Ledger Live cache to update its balance, follow this tutorial: support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404381846929-Clear-cache-in-Ledger-Live

[Charles-Tim]

There has been error issues with using Ledger Live, I believe if you clear the cache as nc50lc posted, the error should be gone. You can use Electrum instead of Ledger Live which is easy to use with for bitcoin which will not give such error.

The electrum official website: https://electrum.org
To verify PGP signature: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.msg54223763#msg54223763

[NeuroticFish]

Yes, the BTC balance.

Ledger Live has quite a history of bugs. So, unfortunately, don't get too happy.
There was not long ago another user telling about a transaction getting doubled, see: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5398019.0

As said, clearing cache fixes this.
I will add 2 more things:

1. Consider using a more reliable wallet, like Electrum. It works very good with Ledger (I use that combination). You get Electrum from Electrum.org, you verify it, you run it with your Ledger (when you create the wallet you don't generate new seed nor enter your seed, instead you select "Standard wallet" then "Use hardware device"

2. This topic is hardware wallets related, please move it to Hardware Wallets section https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=261.0
The link on bottom-left of the page should help  

[dkbit98]

What is going on? Anyone ever had this problem? I suppose I don't actually have double of what I thought?

Ledger product can be crappy, that is what's going on.
Some people reported the same issue like you on ledger reddit with their devices, and clearing cache is not always helping (but you should do this first).
I think there could be some problems with API, synchronization and their nodes, because some coins are showing wrong value and others are totally missing.
You should drop Ledger Live app and use some alternative wallets with your device like Electrum, Wasabi or Sparrow.
There is always an option to move your seed words to some other brand of hardware wallets.

[bitmover]

It may be an issue with the cache...
Try to clear Ledger Live cache to update its balance, follow this tutorial: support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404381846929-Clear-cache-in-Ledger-Live

I just had this same problem now, and this post saved me.

I was getting crazy about a difference of 0.2 BTC showing in my Ledger Live and not in my Electrum.

I updated electrum and ledger live. Didn't work. Then I found this post and just cleared Ledger Live cache (I had to do it twice), and the 0.2 BTC just disappeared. Now electrum and ledger live have the same balance again.

You should drop Ledger Live app and use some alternative wallets with your device like Electrum, Wasabi or Sparrow.

I agree, ledger live is kind of crap.
But it is useful because I can see the balance of all my cryptocurrencies in one place. I don't have many, just BTC, ETH and some stablecoins in BNB and matic chains...

[Pmalek]

<Snip>

Was the balance wrong all over Ledger Live or just on the starting page when you first open it? How about the account overview when you click on the tab "Accounts"? Did LL display a wrong balance there as well for your Bitcoin accounts, with 0.2 BTC added to one of them? What about the USD value of your BTC holdings, was that affected as well? Sometimes it's just the crypto amount, other times it's the fiat value, and it can also be both.

[Lucius]

I agree, ledger live is kind of crap.
But it is useful because I can see the balance of all my cryptocurrencies in one place. I don't have many, just BTC, ETH and some stablecoins in BNB and matic chains...

If you use Ledger HW, then you have to use Ledger Live from time to time, whether it is a firmware upgrade or coins app update, which many people obviously forget about. Regardless of whether I use Ledger in combination with Electrum when it comes to BTC transactions, I always make sure that I don't have outdated firmware and that all coin apps are up to date - and that can't be done any other way than with Ledger Live.

As for the problem with the balance, there are several examples on the forum that have encountered this problem, and the only positive thing is that the balance is always positively larger, which is far better than seeing at any time that you are missing 50% of what you have you had in your wallet.

[bitmover]

<Snip>

Was the balance wrong all over Ledger Live or just on the starting page when you first open it? How about the account overview when you click on the tab "Accounts"? Did LL display a wrong balance there as well for your Bitcoin accounts, with 0.2 BTC added to one of them? What about the USD value of your BTC holdings, was that affected as well? Sometimes it's just the crypto amount, other times it's the fiat value, and it can also be both.

One account (which is one wallet in Electrum, P2SH-SegWit) had the 0.2 BTC added to it.

The error was everywhere in the software. In the mainpage, in the account page, in USD and Crypto balance.

If you use Ledger HW, then you have to use Ledger Live from time to time, whether it is a firmware upgrade or coins app update, which many people obviously forget about. Regardless of whether I use Ledger in combination with Electrum when it comes to BTC transactions, I always make sure that I don't have outdated firmware and that all coin apps are up to date - and that can't be done any other way than with Ledger Live.

This is correct. I don't like to update the firmware, because it restarted my device before (without any warning). Luckily, i had the seed with me.

As for the problem with the balance, there are several examples on the forum that have encountered this problem, and the only positive thing is that the balance is always positively larger, which is far better than seeing at any time that you are missing 50% of what you have you had in your wallet.

I didn't know about this bug, and I was worried that Electrum was showing the wromg balance, or that I had some coins in some crazy change address/derivation path which electrum couldn't find, something like that.

[Pmalek]

As for the problem with the balance, there are several examples on the forum that have encountered this problem, and the only positive thing is that the balance is always positively larger, which is far better than seeing at any time that you are missing 50% of what you have you had in your wallet.

How about seeing a 0 balance all of a sudden? I had that happen to me a few years ago. Even though the glitch was only present for a few seconds and it happened while the software was synching with Ledger servers, you can imagine the feeling of suddenly seeing an empty portfolio. It's not for the faint of heart.

[Lucius]

This is correct. I don't like to update the firmware, because it restarted my device before (without any warning). Luckily, i had the seed with me.

This has never happened to me, although I know that my seed is correct and safe, so I am not worried about it. I remember the problems we had in the past with the firmware update on the Nano S, today it is fortunately a very quick and painless process. During one such update, the electricity went out, and the home internet went out with the electricity - of course the process was interrupted, but luckily the laptop has a built-in battery and I quickly connected to the mobile internet and finished the process.

How about seeing a 0 balance all of a sudden? ;

That's what I was most afraid of when I was using a desktop wallet, that some malware would empty my wallet - luckily I was as careful then as I am now - but I guess that's a dark thought that haunts anyone who has a significant amount of funds in any crypto wallet.

[NeuroticFish]

but I guess that's a dark thought that haunts anyone who has a significant amount of funds in any crypto wallet.

Imho really significant amounts should stay on cold storage, not even hardware wallets - especially those you have to update online every now and then and especially if one is knowledgeable enough to set that up. Am I too paranoid?

[n0nce]

but I guess that's a dark thought that haunts anyone who has a significant amount of funds in any crypto wallet.

Imho really significant amounts should stay on cold storage, not even hardware wallets - especially those you have to update online every now and then and especially if one is knowledgeable enough to set that up. Am I too paranoid?

The limit (and even whether you measure it in BTC or USD) above which you want to store coins in cold storage is different for everyone; their level of 'paranoia' and 'general security' setup.]

For instance, if you store your hardware wallet in a nuclear-weapon-safe bank vault under the concrete basement of your house in a quiet city downtown, risk of hardware attacks on it are much lower than if you live in Brazilian favelas with extremely bad 'physical building-layer security', where it's entirely possible someone enters your home through your wooden door while you're at work and steal the wallet to perform hardware attacks on it.

So in short, I have to give you the 'stupid but true' reply: 'it depends'..
(I would argue though, that if you have extreme levels of physical security around a hardware wallet, it becomes less usable, hence there might be no reason for having it anyway; no real advantage over just securing a paper seed phrase in a similar fashion.)

[bitmover]

but I guess that's a dark thought that haunts anyone who has a significant amount of funds in any crypto wallet.

Imho really significant amounts should stay on cold storage, not even hardware wallets - especially those you have to update online every now and then and especially if one is knowledgeable enough to set that up. Am I too paranoid?

The limit (and even whether you measure it in BTC or USD) above which you want to store coins in cold storage is different for everyone; their level of 'paranoia' and 'general security' setup.]

Personally,  I don't trust my skills to set up a cold storage.
I feel much safer using a hardware wallet.

I believe most hacks related to hardware wallets are user mistakes. I am more vulnerable to those while setting up a cold storage than using a hardware wallet.

Just keep your seed in a paper in a safe place with a back up in other safe place.

[dkbit98]

I agree, ledger live is kind of crap.
But it is useful because I can see the balance of all my cryptocurrencies in one place. I don't have many, just BTC, ETH and some stablecoins in BNB and matic chains...

There is really no need to use buggy ledger live for this purpose unless you want to tell your balance to ledger and all their third party partners, and even then you are often getting a wrong balance value.  
You can easily track balance of your coins with some app that is respecting privacy and it's not connected to ledger servers, maybe Rotki.com would be good open source alternative.
Not to mention ledger is constantly releasing unsecure version of their app and you can't verify it's signatures... what kind a sick joke this this is?!
Sole purpose for keeping ledger live should be for firmware and app updates, but if you don't care about privacy and security, go for it and ''trust'' them.

[Cricktor]

Not to mention ledger is constantly releasing unsecure version of their app and you can't verify it's signatures... what kind a sick joke this this is?!

Do you speak of their mobile apps? Because for desktop there's this page: https://www.ledger.com/ledger-live/lld-signatures
I must say I was puzzled that on the download page for Ledger Live I couldn't find a link to the checksums page. Maybe I was blind but usually I'm able to spot such obvious things pretty easy. Why on earth do I have to use the search on Ledger's website to find proper checksums. That's ridiculous. (Don't worry, I don't have a Ledger Nono...)

I guess they invest quite some money in marketing and a slick'n'shiny website and not in software and hardware quality. Well, I know what I won't buy for sure. The issues with Ledger Live are a bad joke.

Sorry for my rant but it kind of bugs me that quite often Ledger is used nearly as a synonym for hardware wallets. Just why!? OK, their price is quite competitive. You get what you pay for!

[dkbit98]

Do you speak of their mobile apps? Because for desktop there's this page: https://www.ledger.com/ledger-live/lld-signatures

I am speaking about all of their software circus releases, and this was publicly confirmed by their co-founder aka reddit moderator btchip.
You can try to download the software and validate signature on your own, good luck doing that, can't wait to see your results

This is better explained in on of the posts from their reddit page, called Unacceptable from a security company!:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ledgerwallet/comments/w3faco/unacceptable_from_a_security_company/

There is also post from same guy made one month ago with the same issue:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ledgerwallet/comments/vmg174/help_ledger_support_needs_to_update_their_website/

This statement from btchip is something everyone needs to see:

I think you answered your own question there. It is indeed to provide confirmation and peace of mind that the update is indeed authentic at the moment you're downloading it, which doesn't mean that it'll still be when you run it.

[Cricktor]

<snip>

Lol, this is worse than expected. I haven't had the need to check their Ledger Live software validity personally but now I'm embarrassed to have posted a dysfunctional Ledger website page link which the company refuses to keep up-to-date and provide current checksums for validation on their own website. I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams the rotten policy and company mood which Ledger reveals by their staff (if btchip is actually a co-founder of Ledger) and I'm speechless and even more confident to never consider Ledger crap at all.

Why do people through money at such a company, unbelievable.