Is it possible to run the Electrum wallet offline in such a manner?

[KiaKia]

I know that Electrum is one of the coolest bitcoin wallet out there but I want to be sure of one thing about keeping wallet safe and secured, it's possible to open a new bitcoin wallet using Electrum after installation without online access, I tried this and it worked, my question is if one want to keep the wallet offline this way is it possible?

Like after having your recovery seed and wallet address you remove the wallet while it's offline, no internet connection and whenever you move funds into the wallet you use explorer to check balance, doing this, does it mean it's truly offline?

I remember paper wallet in such a manner, this question came to life after a discussion with someone who is also a crypto investor, This is just for educational purposes only.

[OmegaStarScream]

Sure. There's nothing wrong with that. But instead of using a block explorer to constantly check the balance (which you might be receiving to different addresses) use the Master public key instead. Import it to Bluewallet in your mobile device, that way you can generate receiving addresses, and keep track of your balance.

If you also want to spend from that offline wallet, check this guide here: https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html

[hd49728]

I know that Electrum is one of the coolest bitcoin wallet out there but I want to be sure of one thing about keeping wallet safe and secured, it's possible to open a new bitcoin wallet using Electrum after installation without online access, I tried this and it worked, my question is if one want to keep the wallet offline this way is it possible?

Like after having your recovery seed and wallet address you remove the wallet while it's offline, no internet connection and whenever you move funds into the wallet you use explorer to check balance, doing this, does it mean it's truly offline?

You have to do it with following steps.

Download Electrum wallet.
Verify its signature.
Turn off Internet connection.
Create your wallet offline.
Backup your wallet seed phrase.
Delete that wallet file on your computer.

But using Block explorers to check your transaction history, wallet balance is not recommended. It is not good for your privacy because block explorers can be owned by third parties and can use data when you check your wallet on the explorer to track you. They can even sell data to other guys then data breach start to spread more.

[Guide] Download and verify Electrum wallet

[Charles-Tim]

I know that Electrum is one of the coolest bitcoin wallet out there but I want to be sure of one thing about keeping wallet safe and secured, it's possible to open a new bitcoin wallet using Electrum after installation without online access, I tried this and it worked, my question is if one want to keep the wallet offline this way is it possible?

Before you download and install Electrum, make sure you have reinstalled the device OS. I mean you should make sure you format the device. Remove the WiFi card and Bluetooth.

Like after having your recovery seed and wallet address you remove the wallet while it's offline, no internet connection and whenever you move funds into the wallet you use explorer to check balance, doing this, does it mean it's truly offline?

It is still a paper wallet. You can use a watch-only wallet with it. https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html

You can delete the wallet and use a watch-only device to be checking your balance.

If you use a blockchain explorer or watch-only wallet to check the funded address or balance, the wallet is not connected online.

Only what makes your wallet connect online is if you expose or import your seed phrase or private key on online wallet. You will use only master public key for watch-only wallet and it makes it safe for the purpose.

[pooya87]

Import it to Bluewallet in your mobile device, that way you can generate receiving addresses, and keep track of your balance.

Only if you are using IOS otherwise Electrum also has an android version for smart phones which should be the preferred option as you won't have to deal with possible differences in the two implementations.

[Findingnemo]

question is if one want to keep the wallet offline this way is it possible?

Yes, it is possible and it has been called 'air-gapped or cold storage.'.

Here is one of my posts which briefs how to do it.

Download the latest version of Electrum from https://electrum.org/#download and then verify the signatures before installing it.

[GUIDE] How to Safely Download and Verify Electrum

Then copy the downloaded file to your air-gapped device and install it, then restore your wallet with your seeds "Standard Wallet -> I already have a seed".

Then go to  "Wallet -> Info" and get your "Master Public Key"

After this go to your device which is connected to the internet create the "watch-only" wallet (Standard Wallet -> "Use a Master Key)

By this method device will be never connected to the internet so you no need to worry about your seeds being exposed to malware or anything.

You may not see your addresses in your offline device, in that case, you need to manually create the address instead of connecting it to internet which definitely voids the purpose of keeping the wallet offline.

[KiaKia]

Noted  Thanks for dropping your opinions and I have just learned something new today, I used to believe that paper wallet is different but with the way you guys explain it seems the difference is opening online or offline, depending on the user's choice.

One more question.

If it's this possible to open a Bitcoin wallet offline is it possible to also import your recovery seed into another crypto wallet in such an offline manner? Will it still work?

[Findingnemo]

If it's this possible to open a Bitcoin wallet offline is it possible to also import your recovery seed into another crypto wallet in such an offline manner? Will it still work?

Yes as long as the wallet supports the recovery phrases.

[Joeyp]

If it is for just educational purposes only, look here about sparrow wallet - https://sparrowwallet.com/docs/best-practices.html#summary. It is about sparrow wallet, but I think you will like explanations there.

[pooya87]

If it's this possible to open a Bitcoin wallet offline is it possible to also import your recovery seed into another crypto wallet in such an offline manner? Will it still work?

Another point of having a "recovery" phrase is to be able to import it in other wallets to recover it for example in case the initial wallet you used stopped working. But you have to see which seed phrase algorithm they are using, for example BIP39 is used by more wallets than Electrum algorithm and a lot more than AEZEED which is very unpopular.

Being offline or online doesn't make a difference in this recovery process since it occurs locally on your system. However, you it is discouraged to import the seed generated with one wallet into another because of both security and privacy reasons. For example in Electrum you know that you are connecting to specialized full nodes that are mostly run by individuals and possibility of some spy ones but in some other SPV clients we already know they are relying on a single server run by a centralized entity. So your level of privacy is not the same.