Electrum 4.3.2 - Two-factor authentication that has never been set up (no seed)

[mickjaggeraja]

Hi,

After upgrading to version 4.3.2, Electrum wallet requires two-factor authentication. But I never set it up, i.e. I don't have it paired with Google Authenticator. Is there any way to set up Google Authenticator and Electrum Wallet now to make 2FA work? Or the other way around, so that Electrum Wallet does not require 2FA, as it did before? I should add that I don't have a seed! And I do have the password for my wallet.

[hosseinimr93]

It's impossible that a standard wallet turns into a 2FA wallet.
My guess is that you have created a 2FA wallet before and now you are opening a wrong wallet. Click on "File" at top of the window and then select "Open" to check if you have any other wallet.

[NeuroticFish]

I should add that I don't have a seed! And I do have the password for my wallet.

* As said, a wallet doesn't turn to 2FA wallet just like that. However, if you've made tests and now opened a test wallet, or the wallet file got corrupted for whatever reason, I don't know...
* No matter how you created your wallet, Electrum pretty much force you write the seed and re-enter it to continue. So, if that wallet is indeed yours, maybe you think a bit deeper and find those seed words; then you can restore your wallet from seed.

[Charles-Tim]

The seed phrase is your wallet, if lost, you may lose your coin forever. Always properly backup you seed phrase in two or three different locations that area safe to attacks and damages.

A standard wallet can never become a 2FA wallet, follow hosseinimr93 suggestion and see if you have other wallets on the same app. If it is on mobile device, click on the three dot menu icon at the top right corner of the wallet and select 'wallets'. You will be able to see other wallets, if there are.

[AB de Royse777]

I should add that I don't have a seed! And I do have the password for my wallet.

It's not good practice not to write the seed but only to relay on the wallet file. Double check if the file is missing. As other users already said you are loading a wrong wallet.

[Husna QA]

After upgrading to version 4.3.2, Electrum wallet requires two-factor authentication. But I never set it up, i.e. I don't have it paired with Google Authenticator. Is there any way to set up Google Authenticator and Electrum Wallet now to make 2FA work? Or the other way around, so that Electrum Wallet does not require 2FA, as it did before? I should add that I don't have a seed! And I do have the password for my wallet.

Updating Electrum to the latest version does not convert a non-2FA wallet into a 2FA wallet.
Try reinstalling a previous version of Electrum when you can still open your wallet without 2FA. If it turns out that it also requires 2FA, I think you are opening the wrong wallet file.

To disable a 2FA wallet, you must use the seed of the wallet to restore the wallet.

[mickjaggeraja]

I only have one wallet, it's an old wallet, I set it up many years ago and haven't used it in about a year now. Before that, everything worked. I open the wallet using the password, I can see everything, everything seems to work, but when I want to send a payment the wallet asks for 2FA. Which really wasn't happening before. Of course I'm trying to find the seed, but so far no luck. Anyway, there is no icon in the wallet to show the seed like I see on someone else's.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Look in the title bar of your Electrum wallet and read what it says. It should have the name of your wallet followed by the wallet type in square brackets. Something like "default_wallet [standard]" or "My wallet [2fa]". What does yours say?

Next click on Wallet -> Information. What does it say next to the headings "Wallet type", "Script type" and "Seed available"? Does it then show you a keystore with 3 keys to choose from, or does it simply show you a master public key?

Wallets cannot change from one type to another, so if this wallet is indeed a 2FA wallet then it has always been a 2FA wallet. Have you made a transaction out of it before?

[hosseinimr93]

I open the wallet using the password, I can see everything, everything seems to work, but when I want to send a payment the wallet asks for 2FA. Which really wasn't happening before.

Are you saying that you have made transaction from the same wallet without entering 2FA code before?
As I already said in my previous post, this is impossible. The wallet has been 2FA since the creation date.

Anyway, there is no icon in the wallet to show the seed like I see on someone else's.

That's normal.
If it was possible to export the seed phrase of a 2FA wallet, that would defeat the purpose of 2FA.

[nc50lc]

I only have one wallet, it's an old wallet, I set it up many years ago and haven't used it in about a year now. Before that, everything worked. I open the wallet using the password, I can see everything, everything seems to work, but when I want to send a payment the wallet asks for 2FA. Which really wasn't happening before.

One realistic scenario is (for Windows only): you might had set-up the 2fa wallet on a portable version before, then switched to a non-portable version & created your non-2fa wallet.
Then to update, you've downloaded v4.3.2 portable version (saved to the same directory as the first).
Since the portable version uses a different data directory, it failed to find your non-2fa wallet and only found your old 2fa wallet in the portable wallet directory.
Same thing will happen in vice-versa scenario (non-portable 2fa->switched to a portable version & created a non-2fa wallet->updated to non-portable version).

For that, try to download both portable and stand-alone versions and see which one can find your correct wallet.
Or just search for electrum_data folder, the portable version's wallet should be in "wallets" folder inside it.
But it seems like there's bitcoins that you're trying to spend from the 2fa wallet which can't be spent without the seed or 2fa device.

Aside from that scenario, nothing.
Wallets wont suddenly change from standard to 2fa.

[Abdussamad]

if you have google authenticator on your phone look for an entry title trustedcoin. that's the 2fa code you need.

if you can't find anything like that your only option is to contact trusted coin and ask them to reset the 2fa for you. they say on their site that they won't help but people have gotten them to help in the past:

https://trustedcoin.com/#/contact-us