Electrum wacthing only wallet | Bitcointalksearch.org

BitMaxz

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Quote from: RaveP on February 16, 2020, 10:10:39 AM

The key that i have is a public one (start with bc1....) and this one come's from a wallet i created but I turned the wallet into a "Watching only" one i dont even know how, i know i already said that but i'm clearly a newbie so yeah, my bad.

The key (public) is a receiving one from the wallet where my money is but reading at your comments, i don't think i'll be able to move these BTC from the wallet since i can't find the seed or pirvate key i had for this wallet.

So you mean that you created the wallet on Electrum and then created a new wallet and accidentally put the bc1(Public key) and created it as another wallet(Which is watch-only wallet).

Can you try to check this path if you are using windows.

C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets (or %APPDATA%\Electrum\wallets)

For Linux and Mac.

~/.electrum

If it shows multiple files inside that folder Usually "default_wallet" or any name you might be accidentally created another wallet.
You can restore them back by going to restore/new and then browse the wallet file folder and check them one by one and maybe you can find the bc1 address(where you received the BTC) to any wallet file from the wallet folder.

hosseinimr93

legendary

Activity: 2380

Merit: 5213

Quote from: RaveP on February 16, 2020, 10:10:39 AM

The key that i have is a public one (start with bc1....) and this one come's from a wallet i created but I turned the wallet into a "Watching only" one i dont even know how, i know i already said that but i'm clearly a newbie so yeah, my bad.

The key (public) is a receiving one from the wallet where my money is but reading at your comments, i don't think i'll be able to move these BTC from the wallet since i can't find the seed or pirvate key i had for this wallet.

As you yourself said, you can do nothing if the only thing you have is a public key.
If you don't have the private key of an address, you don't own the funds stored in that. What proves that you are the owner of bitcoins stored in an address is private key. From now on, be more careful. Never deposit to an address which you don't have its private key.

RaveP

newbie

Activity: 8

Merit: 1

The key that i have is a public one (start with bc1....) and this one come's from a wallet i created but I turned the wallet into a "Watching only" one i dont even know how, i know i already said that but i'm clearly a newbie so yeah, my bad.

The key (public) is a receiving one from the wallet where my money is but reading at your comments, i don't think i'll be able to move these BTC from the wallet since i can't find the seed or pirvate key i had for this wallet.

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4363

Quote from: RaveP on February 12, 2020, 07:55:11 PM

In fact, the key i found is the one that has been used to send to BTC to the "watching only" wallet and it's not a private one like i though.

It seems you are still very confused as to the differences between private keys, public keys and addresses.

A private key... (in WIF format) starts with a "5", "L" or "K" and looks something like:

Code:

5KMUW3epPCabCcJqXsfBBg5c2bnZ4y2a8Qfo6YLrjoS8UfQy3HB
L41NPChv8z7FxEqjDGbVx7VKc4Y4YWHwDhUETTLeXuwuzmpmcDjw
KyioE9wswGdT46bfx2fwcK2rApY9w91rkyzfjtQiy4eZnmWfGNgX

A public key... well that's generally just a string of HEX and looks something like:

Code:

uncompressed 130 HEX chars using [0-9A-F]:
04A627FBEA459A726926F1956898A67EBA5EC47EA53C1FE0D6977077F162D3FA16A6EE7FE9E46554A756110E4506A0334C9A4E5C1C46643654B191B734350A0F8B

or

compressed 66 HEX chars using [0-9A-F]:
03A627FBEA459A726926F1956898A67EBA5EC47EA53C1FE0D6977077F162D3FA16

Public keys can also be encoded as Addresses and begin with "1", "3" or "bc1" and will look something like this:

Code:

18tW1FHLv21JQtdLCpYSpQUSQiqrbE5Vbo
38fxhsGvmuxxWzDMvjdvKLEZ9JgKSMSVGa
bc1qdpav4z3k095hn9ypt7xfsfnjut7gguz2gtf6gx

Which of the above do you have? private key? public key? or address? Huh

Pmalek

legendary

Activity: 2730

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OK lets sum up.

All you have is your public key. It was generated in another software, not Electrum. You never said which one. Do you still have the wallet software that you used to generate the original public key? What happened to it, why can you no longer open or use it?

You thought you had your private key and a seed but as it turns out you have none of that.
When you created the original wallet did it not give you a private key to write down? a seed with 24 words. Did you not write this down anywhere, save it on your PC in a file or somewhere online, on your mobile, etc?

nc50lc

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Self-proclaimed Genius

Quote from: RaveP on February 12, 2020, 07:55:11 PM

Is there a way that with the public key i have from the transaction or the adress that the BTC got sent to to recover something ?
Or at least get find something that could help me.

Not a chance with the current technology,
if that's possible, then re-used bitcoin addresses will be at risk of getting hacked by random people.

The public key cannot be used to recover the private key, unless you have a "no-bullshit" quantum computer.
Much more the address, you have to find a solution to reverse SHA256 and RIPEMD160 in order to get just the public key to get into the next step (previous sentence).

RaveP

newbie

Activity: 8

Merit: 1

In fact, the key i found is the one that has been used to send to BTC to the "watching only" wallet and it's not a private one like i though.

After looking up all my wallet, i couldn't find the one that I used to send the BTC the wallet. Is there a way that with the public key i have from the transaction or the adress that the BTC got sent to to recover something ?
Or at least get find something that could help me.

Even though i know read the informations you gave me and i thank you all for that but i dont think i will ever seen these BTC again.

hosseinimr93

legendary

Activity: 2380

Merit: 5213

Quote from: RaveP on February 12, 2020, 11:26:20 AM

I managed to find the private key i used to import the money to the "Wacthingonly" wallet but i need all the private key no ? I can"t move the money from the wacthing only at all.

What you used for creating a watch-only wallet was not a private key.
For creating a watch-only wallet, the only thing you need is public key.
How did you get that address?

If you have only a public key, you can do nothing.
If you have the private key, as o_e_l_e_o said, create a new wallet, select "Import bitcoin address or private keys" and then enter your private key.

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18771

Please read the replies above.

A watch only wallet will always be a watch only wallet. You will never be able to spend funds from a watch only wallet.

If you have found the private key, then you need to create a new wallet, import your private key, and then spend the funds from that new wallet.

Open Electrum, type a new wallet name in the box and click next, select "Import Bitcoin address or private keys", paste your private key in the box, and click next.

Your private key will need to be in WIF format (starting with a 5), and this is assuming your address is in legacy format (starting with a 1). If this isn't the case, let me know and I can talk you through those steps too.

RaveP

newbie

Activity: 8

Merit: 1

I managed to find the private key i used to import the money to the "Wacthingonly" wallet but i need all the private key no ? I can"t move the money from the wacthing only at all.

If i can't i guess will give up my wallet.

HCP

legendary

Activity: 2086

Merit: 4363

Quote from: RaveP on February 10, 2020, 06:29:18 PM

Sadly i still havethe problem. I dont think i'ill find the seed of the watching only wallet. Can take a old wallet and sent it to or is that impossible ?

If you have the original wallet file, that contains the private keys for the address(es) you have received BTC to, then you will be able to send using that wallet file.

Again, if you DO NOT have the private key(s) or a way to recover the private key(s) for instance, by restoring using the seed mnemonic (aka 12 words) or by using a version of the wallet file that has the private keys in it... then you will NOT be able to access those BTC.

Quote from: RaveP on February 10, 2020, 06:29:18 PM

When itry to se,d BTC from the wallet, i can select preview but not sign or broadcast. Why is that?

Because you don't have the private keys in the wallet to be able to sign the transaction (and you cannot broadcast an un-signed transaction). Roll Eyes

RaveP

newbie

Activity: 8

Merit: 1

Sadly i still havethe problem. I dont think i'ill find the seed of the watching only wallet. Can take a old wallet and sent it to or is that impossible ? When itry to se,d BTC from the wallet, i can select preview but not sign or broadcast. Why is that?

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18771

Quote from: RaveP on February 07, 2020, 05:38:28 PM

I think the private key i used if the one that i took from another wallet so can move my BTC.

If you still have the other wallet, then just open it and use it. Private keys can be in multiple wallets at once. Just because you can see your funds in Electrum doesn't mean they aren't accessible from elsewhere.

Quote from: RaveP on February 07, 2020, 10:30:01 PM

but still have all my seed safe (i think).

Your watch only wallet will forever be a watch only wallet - you can't enter a private key or seed phrase in to. You need to create a brand new wallet from scratch and import either a private key or a seed phrase to create a spending wallet for the same funds. Follow the instructions above from nc50lc to import a private key to a new wallet, or the ones from hugeblack to import a seed phrase to a new wallet.

Don't post your seed or private key here.

hugeblack

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Quote from: RaveP on February 07, 2020, 10:30:01 PM

I saw a comment saying that i could create an imported wallet with the seed but it creates a "watchingonly" wallet and i cant even find the key to restore the wallet so i dont really know.

Ignore it. Click on file - - - - > New/Restore - - - > any name - - - > - - > standard wallet - - - - > I already have a seed - - > enter your seed.

If all the words are correct then you will be able to continue. else check all the words.

How did you create a watch only wallet?
Verify you have downloaded the wallet from the correct link (electrum.org. Verify signature) and that it is updated with the latest version.

pooya87

legendary

Activity: 3472

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Quote from: RaveP on February 07, 2020, 10:30:01 PM

I saw a comment saying that i could create an imported wallet with the seed but it creates a "watchingonly" wallet and i cant even find the key to restore the wallet so i dont really know.

"seed" is a set of words that look like this (from BIP-39 test vectors):

Code:

legal winner thank year wave sausage worth useful legal winner thank yellow

if you have a similar thing and use that, you shouldn't get a watch only wallet. if you are entering something and end up with that, then that thing is NOT a seed phrase.

RaveP

newbie

Activity: 8

Merit: 1

I think i definitly lost my private key but still have all my seed safe (i think). But when i try to put a seedon the watchingonly wallet, i i simply cant clic, cant clic on "seed" right under "password", like anyother optinon, the case is grey.

I saw a comment saying that i could create an imported wallet with the seed but it creates a "watchingonly" wallet and i cant even find the key to restore the wallet so i dont really know.

How do you creater an "importer wallet", i cant find the selection in option to create one.

Thanks anyway for they even if im still stuck.:/

nc50lc

legendary

Activity: 2618

Merit: 6452

Self-proclaimed Genius

Quote from: RaveP on February 07, 2020, 05:38:28 PM

I think the private key i used if the one that i took from another wallet so can move my BTC. The thing is that i cant put a seed or a private key on my watching olny wallet. I don't know where i can put these to takeback my wallet or at least make it a standard wallet.

I dont try to promote anything i'm just new to the btc, but i acutally think i go scammed. Yeah i knowthe URL of the cryptomixer site looked weird but at this point i wasnt paying very much attention to that.

There's no scam happened based from your replies, if it is a scam then the bitcoins shouldn't be sent to your watch-only in the first place.

You can create another Electrum wallet by clicking "File->New/Restore" and make an "imported wallet" using that private key that you believe where the address from your watch-only wallet came from.
When creating a wallet, select: 'Import Bitcoin addresses or private keys' then paste the private key (click "info" to know what to add based from the address type).

-edit-
This sounds like an improvised scenario due to the inconsistencies (you're scammed, but received the funds), please clear this up.
Take note: Electrum developers don't have access to stored funds and wont be able to directly help recover lost funds.

PrimeNumber7

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If you have the private key or seed, you can create a new wallet with that private key or seed. Once you do this, you can spend your coin.

RaveP

newbie

Activity: 8

Merit: 1

I think the private key i used if the one that i took from another wallet so can move my BTC. The thing is that i cant put a seed or a private key on my watching olny wallet. I don't know where i can put these to takeback my wallet or at least make it a standard wallet.

I dont try to promote anything i'm just new to the btc, but i acutally think i go scammed. Yeah i knowthe URL of the cryptomixer site looked weird but at this point i wasnt paying very much attention to that.

Now i'm stuck with my watching only wallet where i cant do anything with it because i can enter any private key or seed or smth, i don't know what to do:/

bitmover

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Quote from: RaveP on February 07, 2020, 11:06:38 AM

The things is that accidently made my wallet into a "watching only" by accident.

There is no way to accidentally make a watch only wallet.
A watch only walley is a wallet which you inserted only your public addresses or public key, which are the information you need to receive coins.

If you had the private keys, the information need o spend coins, you would have created a normal wallet.

You were scammed by that mixer probably, which gave you only the public keys information.

You can check your email again and see if they gave you the private keys as well. If that's the case you can retrieve your funds. If you don't have the private keys, your money is lost forever.

Topic: Electrum wacthing only wallet (Read 435 times)