How to Recover a Wallet from Seed Phrase

How to restore a wallet from your 12 or 24-word seed phrase: recommended order, derivation paths, and chain-specific quirks.

What you'll need (prerequisites)

• Self-custodial wallet
• A second device for verification
• Block explorer (Etherscan, Solscan, etc.) familiarity

Step-by-step

1. Step 1: When wallet recovery is needed

   You restore from your seed phrase when the original device is lost, stolen, broken, factory-reset, or you are moving to a new wallet. The seed phrase — not the device — holds your funds, so the same words rebuild the exact same accounts anywhere. Have your complete, correctly ordered phrase ready before you begin.

2. Step 2: Get a trusted wallet from an official source

   Install a reputable wallet app only from its official website or a platform app store, or buy a new hardware wallet sealed from the manufacturer or an authorized reseller. Verify the URL and publisher carefully — fake wallet apps exist to steal the phrase you are about to enter. Never use a second-hand hardware device that arrives pre-configured.

3. Step 3: Choose Restore / import from recovery phrase

   Open the new wallet and select the option labelled "Restore wallet," "Import," or "Recover from recovery phrase" rather than "Create new wallet." On a hardware wallet this is the "Restore from recovery phrase" flow offered during device setup. This tells the wallet to rebuild your existing keys instead of generating a brand-new seed.

4. Step 4: Enter the words in order, on the device

   Type the words in exact sequence, minding spelling against the BIP39 wordlist. On a hardware wallet, enter every word on the device itself — never on a connected computer or website. If a companion app ever asks you to type the phrase into a web form or browser, stop: that is a phishing attempt.

5. Step 5: Verify derived addresses and set a new PIN

   After restoring, confirm the wallet shows your expected receiving addresses and balances; if an account looks empty, check the derivation path, account index, or address type. Set a fresh PIN or password on the new device. You may also need to re-add the specific coin apps or networks you used before for balances to appear.

6. Step 6: If the phrase was ever exposed, migrate to a new seed

   Recovery restores the same secret, so if that phrase was ever photographed, typed online, or seen by anyone, treat it as compromised. Generate a brand-new wallet with a new seed on a clean device and move all funds there. Retire the old phrase permanently — anyone who has it keeps access forever.

Common errors and fixes

• Approval can't be revoked due to insufficient gas. Revoke transactions cost the same gas as a normal token transfer. Top up the wallet with a small amount of native gas token before revoking.
• Funds already drained. On-chain theft is generally irreversible. Document everything, file police / IC3 / Chainalysis Reactor reports, and contact the protocol team if a known exploit. CEX-side funds may be recoverable if the attacker on-ramped to a regulated exchange.
• Suspected key leak but no losses yet. Move all funds immediately to a freshly created wallet. Burn the old seed. Audit every device the seed touched (browser extensions, cloud backups, email).
• Cannot identify the malicious contract. Use Etherscan's "advanced filter" to filter by token approvals and unusual contract calls. Run the suspicious tx through Tenderly to decode the call.
• Phishing email looks real. Always verify by typing the URL manually. Real exchanges and protocols never email asking for seed phrase, password, or 2FA codes — full stop.

FAQ