Best way to move wallets (2FA) from old pc to new pc

[carbitcoin]

I mean can I backup and restore or it is more secure to use the seed
Another question can you create standard wallet then add 2FA later on or you have to create 2FA wallet from the beginning...

[OmegaStarScream]

Here are the possible ways to restore your coins: https://bitcoinelectrum.com/how-to-recover-access-to-the-bitcoins-in-your-2fa-wallet

And as for your second question, then no, you have to create a 2FA wallet from the beginning. You cant do it after creating a standard wallet.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I mean can I backup and restore or it is more secure to use the seed

You can do either. It's more secure to simply back up the wallet file and transfer it to your new computer though. This is because your seed phrase contains everything needed to bypass Electrum's 2FA and spend the coins, so if it was stolen by some malware on your computer or seen by someone while you are accessing it then an attacker could use it to spend your coins. Your wallet file, on the other hand, only contains one of the necessary private keys, and if it is stolen then an attacker would still need to be able to provide the correct 2FA code to spend your coins.

Using the wallet file rather than the seed phrase also means you don't have to go through the process of setting the 2FA up again on your new computer.

[Charles-Tim]

o_e_l_e_o has perfectly answered your question.

Another question can you create standard wallet then add 2FA later on or you have to create 2FA wallet from the beginning...

No, you can not create a standard wallet and later add 2FA to it. But as o_e_l_e_o has perfectly answered your question, you can import the backup seed phrase and disable the 2FA in a way it will be become 2-of-2 multisig wallet.

[LoyceMobile]

I would copy my .electrum directory (on Linux). That includes all settings and address labels.

[o_e_l_e_o]

you can import the backup seed phrase and disable the 2FA in a way it will be become 2-of-2 multisig wallet.

*2-of-3 wallet.

Electrum 2FA wallets are 2-of-3. When you create a wallet, the wallet contains one private key, and TrustedCoin store another. Whenever you want to sign a transaction, you sign it using the private key in your wallet and the private key that TrustedCoin hold for you. If you recover from your seed phrase and disable 2FA, the wallet is still 2-of-3, but your wallet will now contain two private key (both derived from the same seed phrase), allowing you to spend your coins without interacting with TrustedCoin at all.

Once a multi-sig address has been created, it is not possible to change the type of multi-sig it is since that would mean changing the locking script, in the same way we can't turn a legacy address in to a segwit one, even if they both use the same private key.

[Charles-Tim]

Electrum 2FA wallets are 2-of-3. When you create a wallet, the wallet contains one private key, and TrustedCoin store another. Whenever you want to sign a transaction, you sign it using the private key in your wallet and the private key that TrustedCoin hold for you. If you recover from your seed phrase and disable 2FA, the wallet is still 2-of-3, but your wallet will now contain two private key (both derived from the same seed phrase), allowing you to spend your coins without interacting with TrustedCoin at all.

That is true, I have checked that just after I bypassed the 2FA, I still saw the three master public keys. Thanks.

[Abdussamad]

I mean can I backup and restore or it is more secure to use the seed
Another question can you create standard wallet then add 2FA later on or you have to create 2FA wallet from the beginning...

just backup the wallet file via file > save backup and transfer it to the new pc. open it via file > open or by clicking on the choose button in the opening screen.

you can't convert a standard wallet into a 2fa wallet.

[carbitcoin]

Thanks for all your replies and FYI, I'm using windows OS.  After I made a backup of my wallet to usb drive from my old computer then where I have to save the copy the backup wallet in new computer, is there special directory to save or electrum application will move/copy the backup wallet automatically to the proper directory once I open (via file > open) the backup wallet (from USB drive) in electrum application which is installed on new computer.

[o_e_l_e_o]

I don't use Windows, but unless it has changed since this documentation was written, then the default directory for Electrum wallets will be (replace XXX with your account name):

Code:

C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets

If in doubt, then simply open Electrum, click on File -> Open, and it will open the default wallet directory. Put your wallet file in there.

If you open the file directly from your USB drive, then it will stay on your USB drive. Electrum will not move it across.

[BitMaxz]

Thanks for all your replies and FYI, I'm using windows OS.  After I made a backup of my wallet to usb drive from my old computer then where I have to save the copy the backup wallet in new computer, is there special directory to save or electrum application will move/copy the backup wallet automatically to the proper directory once I open (via file > open) the backup wallet (from USB drive) in electrum application which is installed on new computer.

Based on my experience if you open the wallet file with Electrum while it is in a removable USB flash drive the backup wallet won't automatically generate and move to the proper directory.
You need to move/copy the wallet file to the right folder under appdata\roaming\electrum\wallets or it should be here below

Code:

C:\Users\(YourUserNAme)\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets

[nc50lc]

-snip- I'm using windows OS.  After I made a backup of my wallet to usb drive from my old computer then where I have to save the copy the backup wallet in new computer, is there special directory to save or electrum application will move/copy the backup wallet automatically to the proper directory once I open (via file > open) the backup wallet (from USB drive) in electrum application which is installed on new computer.

The former is quite true but it's more of a "default" directory rather than "special" directory since you can load a wallet from any directory.

Once you loaded a wallet from a different directory, it will automatically load that wallet and browse to that dir when loading (File->Open) another wallet.
Even if a wallet from a different directory automatically opens when starting Electrum, it's not moved or copied to the default directory.
In case of Removable Drives, after plugging it out: "load" will revert back to the default data dir and Electrum will lose track of the previously loaded wallet.

Another question can you create standard wallet then add 2FA later on or you have to create 2FA wallet from the beginning...

You can't but Electrum has multi-wallet support.
With that, you can just create a new 2FA wallet, then send your funds from the standard wallet there.
Take note that Electrum's 2FA wallet is backed by a third-party which incur cost per 20 or 100 transactions (more info here)

[carbitcoin]

Thanks for you all for your very helpful replies...now I understand that I have to transfer backup file from USB drive to C:\Users\(YourUserNAme)\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets....but can I copy default_wallet from same folder C:\Users\YourUserNAme)\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets in old computer without using backup feature in file menu of Electrum application then just paste/transfer to same directory in new computer or I have to use backup feature in file menu?

[hosseinimr93]

now I understand that I have to transfer backup file from USB drive to C:\Users\(YourUserNAme)\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets....

I would move the wallet file to the default location too. But note that you don't have to move the backup file to the default location. You can move the backup file to any location you want.

but can I copy default_wallet from same folder C:\Users\YourUserNAme)\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets in old computer without using backup feature in file menu of Electrum application then just paste/transfer to same directory in new computer or I have to use backup feature in file menu?

There is no difference. Both can work as a backup.
When you click on "Save backup", electrum actually create a copy of your wallet file.

[carbitcoin]

now I understand that I have to transfer backup file from USB drive to C:\Users\(YourUserNAme)\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets....

I would move the wallet file to the default location too. But note that you don't have to move the backup file to the default location. You can move the backup file to any location you want.

but can I copy default_wallet from same folder C:\Users\YourUserNAme)\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets in old computer without using backup feature in file menu of Electrum application then just paste/transfer to same directory in new computer or I have to use backup feature in file menu?

There is no difference. Both can work as a backup.
When you click on "Save backup", electrum actually create a copy of your wallet file.

Thanks a lot for the assistance