My recovery phrase is not working. How can I restore my wallet?

Question

I have my original recovery phrase for my wallet that I've always had on the same piece of paper in my safe and now, when restoring, it says the recovery phrase is incorrect. How can I restore my wallet?

Answer 1

First up: Don't give your passphrase to anyone else, even if they claim to be helping you.

I had a similar situation. It turns out I misread my own handwriting, and put in a different word (in my case 'file' rather than 'tile').

The way I discovered this was by:

• Making a file of all the BIP39 words in my language (English):

export const bip39EnglishWords = [
  "abandon",
  "ability",
  "able",
  ...<snip>...
  "zone",
  "zoo",
];

• Checking each of my passphrase words to make sure they where in the list:

import { bip39EnglishWords } from "./english-words";
const log = console.log;
const rememberedWords = [
  // Put your words here
];

rememberedWords.forEach((rememberedWord) => {
  const valid = bip39EnglishWords.includes(rememberedWord);
  if (!valid) {
    log(`Found bad word: '${rememberedWord}' is not valid`);
  }
});

Running npx esrun check-passphrase.ts showed:

Found bad word: 'tile' is not valid

Ideally in the future wallets should highlight invalid words like this.

Answer 2

For assistance with this please contact Phantom support via Settings > Help & Support in your Phantom wallet app or extension.