Topic: mBTCs on old Android wallet (Read 1027 times)

The QR code is just the address in QR form (it's easy to scan).
If you have not backed it up or backed your entire phone up between the time of it being installed and uninstalled those coins will be lost.

If you backed up your entire phone at that point however, it is possible to recover the wallet from that?

Hi ranochigo

Yes i did wipe the phone and no i did not make any backup, assuming back then that the QR code would be enough, same as the QR code for 2FA: if you save the QR code then you can wipe the phone, which worked for me in restoring the 2FA after the wipe for the services that needed it. So I assumed the QR code for the bitcoin wallet would be as good.

I rememebr now why I uninstalled it: it was very slow and crashed a lot

Bye bye 20 mBTC...

As far as I can tell, that Bitcoin wallet doesn't send any private keys out of the phone automatically.
They cannot do anything about it. You need to have the private key to access the wallet.

Have you ever reset/wiped your phone before? If you can't see the BTC amount being shown in the wallet, you likely may have wiped the phone together with the wallet. Do you remember making any backups of it?

Hi,

A couple of years ago I used to have the following app installed: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet

I still have the wallet address and a QR code (not sure what it does, maybe just the address in QR format).

Back then I left 20 mBTCs in the wallet because the transaction cost was maybe 30 mBTC (now I remember it was actually 3 mBTC only).

I reinstalled the app and was hoping it would give me the same address (and also the same mBTC in it), but it gave me instead a new address with 0 in it.

I wrote to technical support and they replied pasting the FAQ:

Q: An incoming payment doesn't get spendable for a longer time.
A: The Bitcoin network is running at its capacity limit since a couple of months. Overloads happen frequently, and this means payments get delayed. Don't worry, your payment will usually get confirmed. If it's urgent, you can increase the fee: Transaction > Options > Raise fee.

Q: An outgoing payment doesn't get confirmed for a longer time.
A: The reason is the same as for the previous question. As a sender, if you have time critical payments you should use Send coins > Options > Fee > Priority to pay a higher fee. The fee can also be increased after sending (Transaction > Options > Raise fee).

Q: I'm missing a payment.
A: Most of the time, this happens because your device isn't connected to the internet properly. Try switching to a different WLAN or maybe switch to cellular mobile data. Then reopen the app. If your payment still doesn't appear, use Options > Report issue and don't forget to add the Bitcoin transaction ID of the missing payment (a link to the transaction on a block explorer is also fine).

Q: My Bitcoin address keeps changing.
A: Your current address changes with each received payment. This is done to protect your privacy. But don't worry, all old addresses stay valid.

Q: I want to undo or cancel a payment.
A: We're afraid this is not possible. Bitcoin payments are not reversible. If you know the recipient, all you can do is kindly ask him or her to send the Bitcoins back to you.

I think the response before last is sort of valid, seems like they have the provate keys for that wallet address. I know 20 mBTC is not much but for the sake of learning, is this enough information now for me to restore the wallet or do I have to demonstrate my ID to them (even then how would they know that wallet was on my phone (still the same phone though))?