'authentication needed: password or unlock' Error when trying to call smart contract method via web3

Question

I am trying to call the smart contract method (deployed on remote ethereum account) from my nodejs DAPP, and getting the following error-

Error: authentication needed: password or unlock
    at Object.InvalidResponse (D:\dapp\node_modules\web3\lib\web3\errors.js:38:16)

My web3 DAPP code looks like this-

var ABI = [abiinterface];
var contract = web3.eth.contract(ABI);
var contractInstance = contract.at(accAddress);

I have run the unlock code on my geth console using- personal.unlockAccount("address") which returned true, but still getting the 'authentication needed: password or unlock' error in the dapp. Any help or pointers are much appreciated. Thanks.

This does not really answer the question. If you have a different question, you can ask it by clicking Ask Question. You can also add a bounty to draw more attention to this question once you have enough reputation. - From Review — Richard Horrocks, Nov 23 '17 at 09:32
I already created new "Ask Question" to my problem. Just this problem like a mine. And i did not find solution for problem. My Ask Question — Zhanbolat Nurutdin, Nov 23 '17 at 10:00
This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post; instead, provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker. - From Review — Malone, Nov 23 '17 at 15:43

Rob Hitchens · Answer 1 · 2018-03-05T15:20:04.203

29

First, make sure you have an account.

web3.personal.listAccounts

If you get [] ...

web3.personal.newAccount()

Try again.

Then ...

web3.personal.unlockAccount(web3.personal.listAccounts[0],"<password>", 15000)

meaning unlock the first account with this password for 15,000 seconds (don't bug me for a while.)

The DAPP side should stop complaining about the lock.

Hope it helps.

edited Mar 05 '18 at 15:20

answered Jun 30 '17 at 07:50

Rob Hitchens

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2

The new account already exists, and I managed to unlock it using the geth console. Still getting the error on DAPP side. – rsingh Jun 30 '17 at 08:17
use MetaMask and select the unlocked account? – David Jan 13 '18 at 17:43

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 07 '18 at 05:16

I was facing similar issue earlier. Make sure the following 3 things are taken care of:

The account you are using is the first one from the list of accounts.(Or, if you are using some other account, make sure you have made the corresponding change in the nodejs code.)
Make sure you unlock this same account using web3.personal.unlockAccount(web3.personal.listAccounts[0],"MyPassword", 15000) In my case, it was the first account itself.
The account contains some ether.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 26 '21 at 15:48

This error is all about unlocking the account on your ethereum node. The difficulty is to spot the hidden cause. Some mistakes in web3js would cause the same issue :

For instance

web3.eth.personal.unlockAccount(_senderAddress, password, 0).then(
    ...                   
     )

would issue this problem as it won't wait for the unlocking. So use a callback or await.

web3.eth.personal.unlockAccount(_senderAddress, password, 0).then(
                    isunlocked => {
        }
})

'authentication needed: password or unlock' Error when trying to call smart contract method via web3

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