How to install Electrum on iOS?

[jedlee]

Hi everyone, I have a question about Electrum wallet:

I want to install Electrum on an iOS device (iPhone/iPad), but I couldn’t find any official version on the App Store. Could you please clarify:

1. Does Electrum have an official iOS release? 
2. If not, what alternatives do you usually use on iOS ? 
3. For a cold wallet + watch-only setup, is there a reliable way to achieve this on iOS?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[igor72]

1. Does Electrum have an official iOS release? 

No.

2. If not, what alternatives do you usually use on iOS ? 
3. For a cold wallet + watch-only setup, is there a reliable way to achieve this on iOS?

Bluewallet.

[hugeblack]

Although I don't recommend it, you can use your Electrum seed with --> https://bluewallet.io/ and download it from here ---> https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bluewallet-bitcoin-wallet/id1376878040
This way, you can manage your AirGapped wallet or create a new wallet and link it to your hardware wallet.

[rdluffy]

Hi everyone, I have a question about Electrum wallet:

I want to install Electrum on an iOS device (iPhone/iPad), but I couldn’t find any official version on the App Store. Could you please clarify:

1. Does Electrum have an official iOS release? 
2. If not, what alternatives do you usually use on iOS ? 
3. For a cold wallet + watch-only setup, is there a reliable way to achieve this on iOS?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Always check on Electrum official website first: https://electrum.org/



Do you have a hardwallet?
Do you have a PC or laptop available to create a cold wallet, or do you only have an iOS device?

[nc50lc]

2. If not, what alternatives do you usually use on iOS ?  
3. For a cold wallet + watch-only setup, is there a reliable way to achieve this on iOS?

Based from your other threads, you're already using Blue Wallet, correct?
Unfortunately, it's the best alternative that you can use but as you experienced, you're limited to Text/File transaction export/import since the QR isn't compatible.

Your alternative is to switch the offline wallet to something that can output a QR code that Blue Wallet supports instead.
Sparrow Wallet is one good alternative, it can output both old and new animated QR code, Blue should be able to read it.
And it's very easy to import Electrum wallets to Sparrow.

1. Does Electrum have an official iOS release?

It's QML code suggests that it can be updated to support building for iOS.
However, it's not complete, that's even an understatement since it's not even half close to being ready.
I can't see any hint on the developers (or at least the main QML Electrum developer) on prioritizing it as well.

[Pmalek]

Although I don't recommend it, you can use your Electrum seed with --> https://bluewallet.io/ and download it from here ---> https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bluewallet-bitcoin-wallet/id1376878040

But OP can't generate an Electrum seed on his iOS device because Electrum doesn't work on iOS. He would need an Android phone or a desktop computer to create an Electrum wallet and then import that seed into his Blue Wallet on iOS. I am also not a fan of going down that path or using the same hot wallet seed in multiple software.

Besides Blue Wallet, there are a few more software wallets that are compatible with iOS. Those are the Blockstream App (rebranded Blockstream Green), Envoy, Stack Wallet, and Nunchuk.

[Mia Chloe]

But OP can't generate an Electrum seed on his iOS device because Electrum doesn't work on iOS. He would need an Android phone or a desktop computer to create an Electrum wallet and then import that seed into his Blue Wallet on iOS. I am also not a fan of going down that path or using the same hot wallet seed in multiple software.

Even if Electrum was available for iOS I still won't advise it. I've come across countless blogs  about apple having multiple security issues and bugs concerning wallets they still haven't been able to fix till now. I think one major thing I don't fancy much about apple is that iOS is too closed source an OS.

Do you have a hardwallet?
Do you have a PC or laptop available to create a cold wallet, or do you only have an iOS device?

Op should use blue wallet if that wallet he's creating is gonna be used as a hot wallet then there isn't much concerns but if op is planning to use it as a Hodling wallet he could be exposed to multiple risks.

[Pmalek]

Even if Electrum was available for iOS I still won't advise it. I've come across countless blogs  about apple having multiple security issues and bugs concerning wallets they still haven't been able to fix till now.

What kind of bugs? Do you have reasons to believe that Bitcoin wallets created on an iOS device are unsafe or less safe than those created on other systems and why?

Apple has always been a closed and controlled system while Android was much more open. That's going to change as well from next year. I don't know if you have heard of it, but Google will require all Android developers of software to verify their identities using a new development platform. This is planned in September 2026 and going forward. That can affect everything you download on your Android, regardless if from the Play Store or .apk files from other sources. If the developer of the app isn't verified, you won't be able to run the app on Android-certified devices.

If a bitcoin or crypto wallet developer refuses, it will be more challenging to use their software for the average person. Sideloading of apps would be brought down to a minimum. However, Google has already confirmed that installing apps that haven't been verified will still be possible using command prompt and the Android Debug Bridge.

[Pmalek]

@Astt12
Thank you very much for the AI-generated wall of text you blessed us with. We humans often get tired speaking amongst ourselves so it's good from time to time to hear what robots and machines have to say on certain topics. A little tip: next time when you want to paste AI-written garbage on the forum, read it before you do. It's easy to spot what you did.

[OcTradism]

I want to install Electrum on an iOS device (iPhone/iPad), but I couldn’t find any official version on the App Store. Could you please clarify:

1. Does Electrum have an official iOS release?  
2. If not, what alternatives do you usually use on iOS ?

Electrum wallet software is not available for iOS as you was given this information in above replies. If you want to find Bitcoin wallet softwares for your favorite OS, use this website and some filters
https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

You can get quick recommendations from some sites.
Best Bitcoin mobile wallets.
Recommended Bitcoin wallets.

After having some wallet brands, you can check reviews about them too
https://walletscrutiny.com/

3. For a cold wallet + watch-only setup, is there a reliable way to achieve this on iOS?

Choose a wallet brand you want to use, and learn how to use it, how to make wallet backups, also how to recover a wallet.
How to backup a seed phrase.

[Pmalek]

FYI @jedlee

Cake Wallet is a multicurrency wallet that works on iOS, but it's a software that can generate two types of seeds for Bitcoin: BIP39 and Electrum. If for some reason you insist on an Electrum seed, you can create one using Cake Wallet. You will have to go into advanced settings to change the seed type from BIP39 to Electrum during the wallet creation process.

[BitMaxz]

If you are still looking for more alternatives, check the airgap.it they have an airgap vault and an airgap wallet for iOS that support Bitcoin and other coins. They also have open-source code; just scroll down to the bottom from that site.

I have past experience with this wallet, not in iOS, but in my Android device. It works if you have two separate mobile phones with cameras to scan unsign/sign transaction via qr code.