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I am the proud owner of this wallet: 0xb34e464673ee9867E330FBef628b7571a169fe74

But I can't get to my funds. Even though I have the recovery phrase. I installed Metamask in my browser and used it to open the wallet. Weird thing is, even though it seems to work, the wallet doesn't show any funds, and the address on top of the wallet is different from the one I mentioned (and want access to).

So I'm thinking that either:

  • I made a mistake and the recovery phrase is not that of the wallet I want to open. That's unlikely, because I wrote everything down in a short manual, and I'm normally not that careless; or

  • I should somehow just keep on generating new addresses in Metamask until the one with the funds magically pops up. Feels weird, but the answer in this thread seems to suggest that. (See under 2 in that answer.)

Can anyone help me with this? I'd very much appreciate it!

Skuser
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  • How did you generate the seed phrase? Which wallet did you use? Even though wallets use similar format (12 english words) some of them aren't compatible (Brave isn't compatible with metamask). Also there were wallets that had bugs and generate the wrong address. You should always try to validate the seed phrase recovers the same address. – Ismael Oct 10 '21 at 18:25
  • I believe it was generated by Metamask. I succeeded in opening it there again, but then the address on top of the Metamask wallet didn't correspond with the wallet I was trying to open. It's weird, because I'm pretty sure I used the correct recovery key. – Skuser Oct 11 '21 at 07:13
  • You could use https://iancoleman.io/bip39/ to test changing the derivation path. – Ismael Oct 11 '21 at 15:59
  • I opened it! "Brave isn't compatible with Metamask," you wrote. That was new to me. It did the trick. Thanks a lot! – Skuser Oct 12 '21 at 15:24
  • It would be nice if you can write an answer with the result, so it can help others. – Ismael Oct 13 '21 at 14:49

1 Answers1

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Two possible explanations.

Chains

You are probably using a different Ethereum chain. The id of the chain (or "network") you're connected to should be 1 if you want to interact with Ethereum Mainnet.

See these links:

Derivation Paths

Otherwise, you may have used a different derivation path. I recommend installing MyCrypto where you can choose among a host of different derivation paths, and even input your own.

This Medium article dives deep into the concept of derivation paths: HD Wallets and Derivation Paths: Explained.

Paul Razvan Berg
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  • Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to answer. I have to admit though, my knowledge of these matters is so tiny I didn't really understand it. Do you think eventually I could get access to my wallet? Would you suggest I try both explanations? I clicked the links, but I have so little basic knowledge, I didn't know what to do. – Skuser Oct 10 '21 at 15:53
  • You have to put in some effort to understand how crypto works. Read these articles: Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) Wallet and What are Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) Wallets?. – Paul Razvan Berg Oct 10 '21 at 16:43
  • If you're not comfortable with being your own bank, delegate your money to a private fund manager you trust. – Paul Razvan Berg Oct 10 '21 at 16:43
  • I've been in the space for 8 years, it's just that my knowledge of the technical side of things is tiny, especially compared to people here. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression. Sometimes I think something should work and then it doesn't, to my surprise. Like in this instance. I know the recovery phrase, so I should be good... but then it turns out I still can't access my funds. Up to now I haven't succeeded in checking whether the chain id is 1 (I think it is though, but don't know where to check), before I try suggestion 2, which to me sounds even more difficult. – Skuser Oct 10 '21 at 18:10
  • Oh, sorry. It's just that I don't know what additional details to append to my answer - what I said is all I know. If you're confident that your seed phrase is the same as the one you had originally, then you should eventually be able to recover your money. Good luck. – Paul Razvan Berg Oct 10 '21 at 18:13
  • That's a relief. I will just keep on trying. And I'll keep looking into the options you presented. Sometimes it just takes a while before things click. Thanks a lot, Paul! – Skuser Oct 10 '21 at 18:29