Recovery guides and case studies
How wallets actually get lost, and how I get them back. Written by the person who does the work.
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What you'll find here
Everything on this page comes out of actual recovery work. When a wallet lands on my bench in Denver I keep notes on what the file looked like, what I tried, which approach worked, and which turned out to be a dead end. Those notes become these articles. None of it is a rewrite of somebody else's post.
The sections below are failure types, not dates, because a forgotten password, a seed phrase that restores an empty wallet, a corrupt or deleted file, and a device that will not boot are four different problems no matter which wallet you were running. Jump to the one that matches your situation, or use the wallet buttons at the top to narrow every section to Bitcoin Core, Blockchain.com, Electrum, MultiBit, Trezor, Ledger, or phone wallets at once.
Where to start
- You have a wallet.dat.
- Read recovering a corrupt or deleted Bitcoin Core wallet, then how I work a forgotten wallet.dat password. Between them they cover most of what actually goes wrong with Bitcoin Core files.
- You have a file but don't know what it is.
- Drop it into the wallet file inspector. It names the format and tells you whether the file is encrypted, intact, or truncated. It runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
- Your seed phrase restored an empty wallet.
- Start with derivation paths, gap limits, and passphrases before concluding the coins are gone. That explains far more empty restores than theft does.
- You're about to pay somebody for help.
- Read how to tell a legitimate recovery service from a scam first. It is the piece I would want a stranger to read before wiring money to anybody, me included.
Nothing tagged for that combination yet.
Forgot a password, PIN, or passphrase
The file or device is fine. The secret that opens it is missing.
6 guidesLost your Blockchain.com Wallet ID? How to get it back, and what it cannot unlock
The Wallet ID is not the way back into a Blockchain.com wallet; here is how to get it and what it cannot unlock.
13 min read · Updated Sep 2026 TrezorLedgerYou forgot the passphrase, not the seed: recovering a 25th-word wallet
The seed restores, every word validates, the balance is zero: that is the optional passphrase, and it has its own odds.
10 min read · Sep 2026Ideas for remembering your forgotten Bitcoin password
Password recovery is won by remembering fragments, not by buying more hardware, so mine your own habits first.
7 min read · Updated Aug 2026 Bitcoin CoreHow I Recover a Forgotten Bitcoin Core wallet.dat Password
A forgotten passphrase is not a lost wallet: the keys are still in the file, and the job is aiming the search well.
Aug 2026 Blockchain.comBlockchain.com backup file won't decrypt? wallet.aes.json, 'decrypt failed', and legacy phrase fixes
A decrypt failed error is almost always a mismatch between file, password and tool, so triage which one you have.
7 min read · Jul 2026 Case studyBlockchain.comHow I Brute Force Blockchain.info Wallets
How I actually run a targeted brute force on an encrypted wallet.aes.json, and what makes it an hour or hopeless.
7 min read · Jan 2022Wallet file is corrupt, deleted, or unreadable
wallet.dat, wallet.aes.json, Electrum and MultiBit files: what they are and how to get them open.
9 guidesElectrum won't open your wallet: corrupt wallet files, forgotten passwords, 2FA and multisig
Electrum fails in four different ways, and the expensive mistake is treating a file problem as a password one.
11 min read · Updated Sep 2026 MultiBitElectrumHow to import a MultiBit wallet into Electrum, or sweep its keys: Classic and HD, step by step
Moving coins out of abandoned MultiBit software into Electrum, by import or by sweep, for Classic and for HD.
8 min read · Updated Sep 2026 Bitcoin CoreHow to recover a corrupt, deleted, or unreadable Bitcoin Core wallet.dat
Every common way a wallet.dat goes wrong, from a deleted file to a failed salvage, with the fix for each error.
7 min read · Updated Sep 2026 Blockchain.comwallet.aes.json: what the Blockchain.com backup file actually is
One filename, several wrapper versions and two layers of encryption: what is actually inside a wallet.aes.json.
13 min read · Sep 2026 Bitcoin Corewallet.dat: what the Bitcoin Core wallet file actually is
wallet.dat is a Berkeley DB or a SQLite database; this names the two formats and what every record inside holds.
13 min read · Sep 2026 Bitcoin CoreBitcoin Core restored but no balance: why it shows zero, and how to get your coins back
If the wallet opened, your keys are fine: a zero balance is a node that has not been told to find your history.
9 min read · Aug 2026Your wallet file is deleted, not corrupt: what to do in the first hour
A deleted wallet file is being erased while you research it, so stop writing to that drive before anything else.
10 min read · Aug 2026 MultiBitMultiBit wallet files: locations, formats, backups, and derivation paths
MultiBit Classic and MultiBit HD were different products; this maps every file, location and derivation path.
11 min read · Jul 2026 Case studyPhone walletsHow to Extract a Crypto Wallet Seed from an iPhone
Jailbreak, SSH in, dump the keychain and find the seed: pulling a wallet off an owner-authorized iPhone.
2 min read · Jan 2022Seed phrase problems
Empty restores, missing words, Shamir shares, and backups that never worked.
4 guidesLost a Trezor Shamir share? What SLIP-39 can and cannot recover
SLIP-39 keeps its promise in both directions, so below your threshold a lost share is final; check before you pay.
10 min read · Aug 2026A guide to seed recovery for cryptocurrency wallets
A seed phrase is a structured object, so a misread word is usually searchable and a missing one often is too.
7 min read · Updated Aug 2026Your seed phrase restored an empty wallet: derivation paths, gap limits, and passphrases
An empty restore is a derivation problem until proven otherwise, not a theft, so check paths and gap limits.
7 min read · Jul 2026 TrezorShould You Choose a Single-Share Shamir or BIP-39 Seed Backup for your Trezor?
Single-share Shamir buys little security over BIP-39 on a Trezor and costs you third-party wallet compatibility.
3 min read · Jan 2025Hardware wallet damaged or locked
Trezor and Ledger devices that will not boot, will not unlock, or went through the wash.
4 guidesHow to restore a Trezor: lost PIN, wiped device, or broken hardware
A Trezor lockout comes down to two questions: do you still have the seed, and does the device still work.
8 min read · Updated Sep 2026 TrezorLedgerHow Do Hardware Wallets Work?
What a hardware wallet does and does not protect against, explained so that safe use becomes intuitive.
14 min read · Feb 2024 TrezorLedgerHow Hardware Wallet Users Lose Their Bitcoin
The ways hardware wallet owners actually lose coins, ranked by how often each one arrives on my bench.
3 min read · Feb 2024 Case studyTrezorHow to repair a Trezor Model T with a touchscreen swap
A Model T with a dead display and a lost seed, fixed by swapping the touchscreen assembly onto its own board.
2 min read · Feb 2021Stolen funds and scams
What can and cannot be recovered after a theft, and the scams that cause them.
8 guidesDeFi wallet scams and common crypto scams: the full list
A field guide to the scams that target self-custody wallets: how each one takes your money, and its tell.
6 min read · Updated Aug 2026Crypto Scam Report: What Changed in 2025
What the 2025 IC3 figures say about crypto fraud, including the 10,516 recovery-scam complaints in them.
Jul 2026 Case studyHow I Recover Stolen NFTs from Crypto Scammers 🥷🏼
Assets stuck in a compromised Ethereum wallet are the one theft case I can work, and this is how I work it.
3 min read · Nov 2022How To Tell If A Cryptocurrency Or DeFi Platform Is A Scam
Six questions, drawn from my survey of 2500 victims, that expose a crypto project before you fund it.
4 min read · Jan 2022Survey of Crypto and Defi Scams 2021 Whitepaper
The 2021 survey of crypto and DeFi scam victims I published with The Bitcoin Consultancy, kept for reference.
2 min read · Dec 2021 TrezorLedgerStop buying fake Bitcoin wallets!
Thousands of fake wallet.dat files are sold to people hoping to brute force them, and none of them hold coins.
3 min read · Feb 2021Help! My Bitcoin was stolen! Can you help?
A confirmed transaction cannot be reversed, so anyone selling stolen-coin recovery is the second scam.
6 min read · Jan 2021Watch out for these five common Bitcoin/cryptocurrency scams
The five scams my customers ask me about most, from fake trading desks to fake mining contracts.
3 min read · Aug 2018Getting help without getting scammed
How recovery services work, the odds by scenario, and how to tell a real one from a fake.
7 guidesHow to choose a crypto wallet recovery service: the criteria, and how the named ones compare
The criteria for choosing a recovery service, applied to the named ones that show up beside each other.
Sep 2026Are crypto recovery services legit? How to tell a real one from a scam
The checklist I would give a family member before they pay anybody for recovery work, including me.
Updated Sep 2026Cryptocurrency wallet and key recovery tools
The open-source tools that do real recovery work, and how to tell which part of the problem you have.
9 min read · Updated Aug 2026Get your crypto wallet back ASAP: what actually speeds up a recovery
Recovery is fast when the evidence is intact, and most of the damage I see was done in the first hour.
6 min read · Updated Aug 2026How to Hire a Bitcoin Recovery Expert
How to actually engage a recovery expert: what to have ready, what they do, and who to walk away from.
Jul 2026What are the odds of recovering your crypto wallet? Honest answers by scenario
The same scenario-by-scenario read I use on incoming cases, so you know your odds before paying anyone.
6 min read · Jul 2026How does a Bitcoin wallet recovery service work?
What happens between sending a locked wallet in and getting coins back, step by step and by scenario.
3 min read · Mar 2018Reading because you're locked out right now?
Skip the DIY. Free assessment, honest odds, no fee until your crypto is back.
Security and background reading
Older setup and security posts. Still accurate, but not about a live recovery.
Show 7 older posts
- How to Save on Bitcoin Transactions · Jan 2024
- How to Protect Yourself From DeFi Platform Hacks · Dec 2021
- How to safely store Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies · Oct 2019
- How to fix 'The transaction was rejected because it is too large' rejected transaction error in Electrum & Electron Cash · Sep 2019
- You’ve bought your first Bitcoin. Now what? · Feb 2018
- Customer Support Links for Popular Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Wallets · Dec 2017
- Essential Security Practices to Keep Your Bitcoin Secure from Hackers and Thieves · Dec 2017
Would rather have it done? Service pages by wallet
Bitcoin Core, Blockchain.com, Electrum, MultiBit, Trezor, Ledger, iPhone, seed phrase, forgotten password, corrupt file, hacked wallet, estate.