Bitcoin address gone after reinstaling Electrum wallet?

[Octasoft]

I uninstalled my PC,and then sent bitcoins from another wallet to my Electrum wallet. That was before i restored my Electrum wallet with the 12 phrase seed that i have written down on a paper. I took for granted that my previously bitcoin addresses would be intact.To my suprise,the usual Electrum bitcoins address that i normally use,was gone and my saldo is 0. I watched the blockchain and obviously the transaction went trhough and the bitcoins got in the wallet address,but i cant acess the bitcoins after reinstalling my Electrum wallet. Obviously,someone now have the bitcoins i sent. Is there a way to retreive them to my restored wallet,or are they lost forever? Can anyone explain how this could happen,please?

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[OmegaStarScream]

If the wallet is synced with the servers and the following command is returning false:

Code:

ismine('your_address_here')

Then you must've sent the funds to someone else.

If you're sure you copied your own address, then I'd try and copy/paste another bitcoin address, maybe you've got clipboard malware.

[jackg]

Have you checked on a block explorer to see if the funds went in that address or not? The OP is quite vague. There's a chance you had malware before/downloaded a fake wallet which gained control of your keys or changed the address you input on the other wallet.

Additionally, what wallet did you use? Are you sure the withdraw was processed/actually sent and confirmed.

You could also search the final address funds were sent to on a block explorer to see if anything significant comes up (like if it has deposits from other people).

Are you sure your restored the right seed and has the rest of your history for that wallet fully loaded and looking correct?

[DireWolfM14]

There are a couple of things that could have happened to cause your issue, but don't give up just yet.  Please answer the questions below and we may be able to help you.

1. Are the coins that you sent still in the the address where you sent them, or have they moved?
2. Does the address you sent the bitcoins to start with a 1, 3, or bc1?
2. Does the restored wallet have addresses that start with a 1, 3, or bc1?
3. Was the 12-word seed phrase created with Electrum or some other method?

[Octasoft]

Have you checked on a block explorer to see if the funds went in that address or not? The OP is quite vague. There's a chance you had malware before/downloaded a fake wallet which gained control of your keys or changed the address you input on the other wallet.

Additionally, what wallet did you use? Are you sure the withdraw was processed/actually sent and confirmed.

You could also search the final address funds were sent to on a block explorer to see if anything significant comes up (like if it has deposits from other people).

Are you sure your restored the right seed and has the rest of your history for that wallet fully loaded and looking correct?

I used the service Safello to send the bitcoins to my Electrum wallet. When i have reinstalled the Electrum wallet,the bitcoin address that i have had before was gone.

There are a couple of things that could have happened to cause your issue, but don't give up just yet.  Please answer the questions below and we may be able to help you.

1. Are the coins that you sent still in the the address where you sent them, or have they moved? When looking at the blockchain the coins moved to another wallet.
2. Does the address you sent the bitcoins to start with a 1, 3, or bc1?
2. Does the restored wallet have addresses that start with a 1, 3, or bc1?
3. Was the 12-word seed phrase created with Electrum or some other method?

1.No,the coins went first to the address that i wanted,but then they moved.
2. It starts with a bc1.
3.The restored wallet starts with bc1.
4. The 12-word seed phrase was created from Electrum when i first started the wallet,and it is the same. When i tried to restore the wallet with the 12-word seed phrase,there was no coins there.

I find it hard to belive that there should be clipboard malware involved,since i have a reinstalled PC,and the Antivirus and Malwarebytes detects nothing such.

[jackg]

Can you find the link you downloaded electrum from? It should be in your browser history.

Also were the funds taken after you installed the wallet or before it (you could use your download history to confirm this). On most browsers download history is stored in your history and you should be able to see a link or right click on the list item in your history to find it.

[hosseinimr93]

When i have reinstalled the Electrum wallet,the bitcoin address that i have had before was gone.

Are you sure of that? Take note that you don't have a single address. Your wallet contains numerous addresses.
Go to "Addresses" tab and check if you see the address there. If "Addresses" tab is not available, click on "View" at top of the window and select "Show addresses".
For checking this, you can also go to "Console" tab and as mentioned by OmegaStarScream in the first reply, use ismine command.

Please answer the following questions as well.
1. Is your wallet synced? If your wallet is synced, the circle located at bottom right corner of the window should be green.
2. Do you see any transaction in the history tab or it's empty?

[Octasoft]

Can you find the link you downloaded electrum from? It should be in your browser history.

Also were the funds taken after you installed the wallet or before it (you could use your download history to confirm this). On most browsers download history is stored in your history and you should be able to see a link or right click on the list item in your history to find it.

it is https://electrum.org/#home

When i have reinstalled the Electrum wallet,the bitcoin address that i have had before was gone.

Are you sure of that? Take note that you don't have a single address. Your wallet contains numerous addresses.
Go to "Addresses" tab and check if you see the address there. If "Addresses" tab is not available, click on "View" at top of the window and select "Show addresses".
For checking this, you can also go to "Console" tab and as mentioned by OmegaStarScream in the first reply, use ismine command.

Please answer the following questions as well.
1. Is your wallet synced? If your wallet is synced, the circle located at bottom right corner of the window should be green.
2. Do you see any transaction in the history tab or it's empty?

While i select show addressess, alot of addresses shows up,both green and yellow,but the one that i sent bitcoins to is not there.

1.Yes,the circle in the right corner is green.
2.No, i dont see any transaction in the history tab.

[hosseinimr93]

While i select show addressess, alot of addresses shows up,both green and yellow,but the one that i sent bitcoins to is not there.

This means that the seed phrase you imported probably belongs to a different wallet which is empty.

There's another possibility which is unlikely of course.
Electrum shows 20 receiving addresses by default while there are more addresses.
Didn't you generate several receiving addresses before picking up an address? If so, it's possible that the address in question belongs to your wallet, but it's beyond the gap limit.
To increase the gap limit, you can use the following command.

Code:

wallet.change_gap_limit(50)

With this command, the gap limit increases to 50.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Seems like you have a valid seed phrase but for the wrong wallet. Short of you simply backing up the wrong seed phrase, I can think of three other possibilities:

• You used an additional passphrase (also known in Electrum as "extending the seed with custom words")
• You are accidentally restoring an Electrum seed phrase as a BIP39 seed phrase or vice versa
• If you are restoring it as a BIP39 seed phrase, you are using the wrong derivation path

[Octasoft]

While i select show addressess, alot of addresses shows up,both green and yellow,but the one that i sent bitcoins to is not there.

This means that the seed phrase you imported probably belongs to a different wallet which is empty.

There's another possibility which is unlikely of course.
Electrum shows 20 receiving addresses by default while there are more addresses.
Didn't you generate several receiving addresses before picking up an address? If so, it's possible that the address in question belongs to your wallet, but it's beyond the gap limit.
To increase the gap limit, you can use the following command.

Code:

wallet.change_gap_limit(50)

With this command, the gap limit increases to 50.

I am 100% sure that it is the correct seed to my wallet.

That could be so. How do i perform such comand? Where should i write that code?

Seems like you have a valid seed phrase but for the wrong wallet. Short of you simply backing up the wrong seed phrase, I can think of three other possibilities:

• You used an additional passphrase (also known in Electrum as "extending the seed with custom words")
• You are accidentally restoring an Electrum seed phrase as a BIP39 seed phrase or vice versa
• If you are restoring it as a BIP39 seed phrase, you are using the wrong derivation path

It should be for this wallet,but maybe restored it in the wrong way. Maybe i have restored it through wrong derivation path or made some other mistake. How should i make it right again? Any advice would be appreciated.

[DireWolfM14]

1.No,the coins went first to the address that i wanted,but then they moved.

That's not a good sign.  I hope I'm wrong but it sounds to me like your wallet may have been compromised.  Can you tell from a block explorer whether coins moved instantly or was there some delay?

Code:

wallet.change_gap_limit(50)

With this command, the gap limit increases to 50.

I am 100% sure that it is the correct seed to my wallet.

That could be so. How do i perform such comand? Where should i write that code?

In Electrum select the View menu and then select Show Console.  You can enter the command in the console.  You can also use the console to search for a specific address that lives beyond your gap limit with the command suggested by OmegaStarScream:

Code:

ismine('bc1xxx...xxx')

It should be for this wallet,but maybe restored it in the wrong way. Maybe i have restored it through wrong derivation path or made some other mistake. How should i make it right again? Any advice would be appreciated.

If it's a different derivation path you can let Electrum search for it.  When restoring the seed phrase, on the same page that asks about type of addresses you want to restore there should be a button to search for alternate derivation paths.

If you had applied a pass phrase (seed extension,) unfortunately it's up to you to remember it, otherwise you probably won't be able to restore the wallet.

Nevertheless, I'm still concerned about your claim that the coins moved from the address you sent them to.  That indicates to me that you may have been scammed some how.  Was this the first time you had sent coins to this particular wallet?

[hosseinimr93]

Maybe i have restored it through wrong derivation path or made some other mistake.

If the seed phrase has been generated in electrum and not somewhere else, it can't be different derivation path issue.

  

If it's a different derivation path you can let Electrum search for it.  When restoring the seed phrase, on the same page that asks about type of addresses you want to restore there should be a button to search for alternate derivation paths.

If the seed phrase has been generated in electrum and that's not BIP39, there is no page asking you the address type or the derivation path at all.
Once you enter an electrum's seed phrase, the wallet type is displayed and there is no way to change that.

Nevertheless, I'm still concerned about your claim that the coins moved from the address you sent them to.  That indicates to me that you may have been scammed some how.  Was this the first time you had sent coins to this particular wallet?

Maybe, OP is a victim of clipboard malware and the address he is looking for belongs to a hacker, not him.

[nc50lc]

4. The 12-word seed phrase was created from Electrum when i first started the wallet,and it is the same. When i tried to restore the wallet with the 12-word seed phrase, there was no coins there.

Take note that you can create multiple wallet files in Electrum, it's not limited to one.
The seed phrase may be correct and will restore your first wallet, but you may have been using a different wallet when you copied an address to receive your bought bitcoins.

1.No,the coins went first to the address that i wanted,but then they moved.

Also, even if it's sent to another wallet, the coin shouldn't be moved by itself otherwise, someone owns the key of that address.
If not clipboard malware, I suspect that it may be a watching-only imported Electrum wallet that you previously created with address that you've copied somewhere.
Your answer alone is enough to tell that it doesn't belong to your wallet.

The question is: who owns that address?
Review some chat/email/conversation to see if it's from someone you know (maybe someone you've sent bitcoin before, a contact or an exchange deposit address).

[Octasoft]

1.No,the coins went first to the address that i wanted,but then they moved.

That's not a good sign.  I hope I'm wrong but it sounds to me like your wallet may have been compromised.  Can you tell from a block explorer whether coins moved instantly or was there some delay?

Code:

wallet.change_gap_limit(50)

With this command, the gap limit increases to 50.

I am 100% sure that it is the correct seed to my wallet.

That could be so. How do i perform such comand? Where should i write that code?

In Electrum select the View menu and then select Show Console.  You can enter the command in the console.  You can also use the console to search for a specific address that lives beyond your gap limit with the command suggested by OmegaStarScream:

Code:

ismine('bc1xxx...xxx')

It should be for this wallet,but maybe restored it in the wrong way. Maybe i have restored it through wrong derivation path or made some other mistake. How should i make it right again? Any advice would be appreciated.

If it's a different derivation path you can let Electrum search for it.  When restoring the seed phrase, on the same page that asks about type of addresses you want to restore there should be a button to search for alternate derivation paths.

If you had applied a pass phrase (seed extension,) unfortunately it's up to you to remember it, otherwise you probably won't be able to restore the wallet.

Nevertheless, I'm still concerned about your claim that the coins moved from the address you sent them to.  That indicates to me that you may have been scammed some how.  Was this the first time you had sent coins to this particular wallet?

Thank you for explaining about the console. No,i have used this wallet for over a year without issues.

[Octasoft]

4. The 12-word seed phrase was created from Electrum when i first started the wallet,and it is the same. When i tried to restore the wallet with the 12-word seed phrase, there was no coins there.

Take note that you can create multiple wallet files in Electrum, it's not limited to one.
The seed phrase may be correct and will restore your first wallet, but you may have been using a different wallet when you copied an address to receive your bought bitcoins.

1.No,the coins went first to the address that i wanted,but then they moved.

Also, even if it's sent to another wallet, the coin shouldn't be moved by itself otherwise, someone owns the key of that address.
If not clipboard malware, I suspect that it may be a watching-only imported Electrum wallet that you previously created with address that you've copied somewhere.
Your answer alone is enough to tell that it doesn't belong to your wallet.

The question is: who owns that address?
Review some chat/email/conversation to see if it's from someone you know (maybe someone you've sent bitcoin before, a contact or an exchange deposit address).

I only have one Electrum wallet. I owned that address from the start,and used it for over a year. I have used that bitcoin address many times without issues. I now convinced that a hacker/thief in some way has gained controll over that specific address. I think i have to realize that the coins is gone. 

I will follow your advice try to go back in time and review chat/email/conversation to see if it's from someone i know (maybe someone you've sent bitcoin before, a contact or an exchange deposit address). However,if i should found out who it is,then is it even possible in some to way to claim the bitcoins back?

[o_e_l_e_o]

So, just to clarify:

• You created a wallet using Electrum, and backed up the 12 word seed phrase (although you never tested that the seed phrase was correct)
• You used this wallet for over a year, receiving and sending coins normally without any issues
• You most recently sent some coins to this wallet from Safello (Did you see these coins arrive in your Electrum wallet normally?)
• You then recovered your Electrum wallet, and now have a completely different wallet with no transaction history at all
• But now according to blockchain explorers the coins you recently sent from Safello have been moved to another address?

Is this all correct? Can you answer my questions above?

I only have one Electrum wallet. I owned that address from the start,and used it for over a year. I have used that bitcoin address many times without issues.

Address? Or wallet? If you created a wallet using a seed phrase, then you should have many different addresses, not just a single one.

[Octasoft]

So, just to clarify:

• You created a wallet using Electrum, and backed up the 12 word seed phrase (although you never tested that the seed phrase was correct)
• You used this wallet for over a year, receiving and sending coins normally without any issues
• You most recently sent some coins to this wallet from Safello (Did you see these coins arrive in your Electrum wallet normally?)
• You then recovered your Electrum wallet, and now have a completely different wallet with no transaction history at all
• But now according to blockchain explorers the coins you recently sent from Safello have been moved to another address?

Is this all correct? Can you answer my questions above?

I only have one Electrum wallet. I owned that address from the start,and used it for over a year. I have used that bitcoin address many times without issues.

Address? Or wallet? If you created a wallet using a seed phrase, then you should have many different addresses, not just a single one.

* I created that Electrum wallet for over a year ago,and during the installation i received the 12 word seed phrase,which i wrote down on a paper,not stored online. I have uninstalled that wallet once before earlier this year,and then recovered it using the 12 word seed phrase. Then the bitcoins was there and all transactions history was there.
*Yes,using this wallet for over a year receiving and sending coins normaly without issues.
*I recently sent some coins to this wallet from Safello,and that was then i discovered that there was no coins incoming. The wallet is empty.
*I then recovered my Electrum wallet, and now have a completely different wallet with no transaction history at all,yes that is true. No history.
*Yes,according to blockchain explorer the coins i sent from Safello went to the bitcoin address that it was supposed to,but was then moved forward several times to other bitcoin addresses.

I have only one Electrum wallet,but in that i have many addresses marked in yellow and green colors,however the one i sent the coins to from Safello is not there,and the saldo is 0.

[o_e_l_e_o]

*I recently sent some coins to this wallet from Safello,and that was then i discovered that there was no coins incoming. The wallet is empty.

So you still had access to the original Electrum wallet when you received the coins from Safello, and they never arrived? Did you double check the address you sent to was correct and part of that wallet?

*I then recovered my Electrum wallet, and now have a completely different wallet with no transaction history at all,yes that is true. No history.

So using the same seed phrase back up you previously successfully recovered the correct wallet from, you are now recovering a completely different wallet, with zero history?

[hosseinimr93]

So, you have two different problems now.
1. You are recovering a wallet with different addresses.
2. There's an outgoing transaction from your address when you check it bitcoin explorers.

Take note that even if the fund has been stolen, you see the transactions (the one you received and the one made by the theft) in your history tab.
Recovering a wrong wallet and the fund being stolen are two different issues.