Author

Topic: Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet - page 108. (Read 586402 times)

Jan
legendary
Activity: 1043
Merit: 1002
January 19, 2014, 04:07:31 AM
I'm loving mycelium wallet and am recommending it to people who ask me what to use.

I've got a question about broadcasting transactions from mycelium wallets.

Sometimes when I send a transaction it takes a while before it is broadcast to the bitcoin network.

I've noticed that whenever this delay happens, the delayed transaction is always announced just after a new block is found.

My questions are

- is it really a delayed broadcast or am I mistaken in my deduction from my observations?
- why is the delay happening?
- is it unique to mycelium or is it something that can happen on any wallet?

This has affected me in a contrived test environment when sending lots of transactions in a row (and is how I have been able to correlate a delayed broadcast with a new block being found).

I almost wrote it off as something that won't affect real-world use cases, but this did affect me today in real life when I bought something at a shop with mycelium, then ten minutes later I bought another thing at a different shop and the second transaction didn't broadcast. I loaded blockchain.info and saw the last block was about 20 minutes old. As soon as the new block was found, my second transaction was announced.

First transaction - https://blockchain.info/tx/2ce67ec3f2e5d63625d809bc0f513036273dce6fd68691590eb940ef02e79c6f
Second transaction - https://blockchain.info/tx/bfe8801f7779ca18dbb6f387784f2d898f00e0929e80b28d27c36780558f5c75

I should clarify when I say 'broadcast to the bitcoin network' I mean that I can see the transaction with zero confirmations on blockchain.info or in the destination coinjar.com wallet. When it is 'delayed' I cannot see the transaction on either of these services at all.

Any help in understanding this is much appreciated.
Thanks for all the details.

Let me explain how transaction broadcasting works on our side:
Our servers are connected to 500+ nodes each. Whenever Mycelium pushes a transaction to our servers it is immediately broadcasted to half of those nodes (250). From there it is proliferating the network and eventually gets echoed back to us through the other 250 nodes. We use this data to calculate a proliferation rate, which can be used for calculating a "confirmation confidence" (along with other observations) for zero confirmation transactions. Right now this data is not displayed in Mycelium.
When we broadcast a transaction we get the first echoes back after about half a second, and reach >90% proliferation within a few seconds.

I have on several occasions observed that blockchain.info misses unconfirmed transactions, this is a general trend and unrelated to Mycelium. Other developers I have spoken to have made similar observations. I think it is a bug on the blockchain.info side, or maybe they just skip some transactions when their system is overloaded. In the end it all gets resolved when the transaction finally confirms.

If you see the same behavior with coinjar it could be because they use blockchain.info as their backend system. I really have no idea what they do though.

Let me know if there is any thing else.
 
mav
full member
Activity: 169
Merit: 107
January 18, 2014, 05:48:08 AM
I'm loving mycelium wallet and am recommending it to people who ask me what to use.

I've got a question about broadcasting transactions from mycelium wallets.

Sometimes when I send a transaction it takes a while before it is broadcast to the bitcoin network.

I've noticed that whenever this delay happens, the delayed transaction is always announced just after a new block is found.

My questions are

- is it really a delayed broadcast or am I mistaken in my deduction from my observations?
- why is the delay happening?
- is it unique to mycelium or is it something that can happen on any wallet?

This has affected me in a contrived test environment when sending lots of transactions in a row (and is how I have been able to correlate a delayed broadcast with a new block being found).

I almost wrote it off as something that won't affect real-world use cases, but this did affect me today in real life when I bought something at a shop with mycelium, then ten minutes later I bought another thing at a different shop and the second transaction didn't broadcast. I loaded blockchain.info and saw the last block was about 20 minutes old. As soon as the new block was found, my second transaction was announced.

First transaction - https://blockchain.info/tx/2ce67ec3f2e5d63625d809bc0f513036273dce6fd68691590eb940ef02e79c6f
Second transaction - https://blockchain.info/tx/bfe8801f7779ca18dbb6f387784f2d898f00e0929e80b28d27c36780558f5c75

I should clarify when I say 'broadcast to the bitcoin network' I mean that I can see the transaction with zero confirmations on blockchain.info or in the destination coinjar.com wallet. When it is 'delayed' I cannot see the transaction on either of these services at all.

Any help in understanding this is much appreciated.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
hero member
Activity: 668
Merit: 501
January 17, 2014, 08:12:43 AM
Hi!
First, congratulations to Mycelium devs! It's really a nice piece of software.

This post just to let you know of a minor kind of issue, in case it wasn't already known (I skimmed briefly the thread, but I may have missed it).

I noticed a big slow down showing the details of a transaction that I just got, to the point that Android asked if I wanted to terminate the app. Never happened before. Turn out it was a payment from a mining pool, and to tone down the fees it had a big amount of outputs (about 2500 or so). The entire transaction size was about 100KB.

So, surely an unusual situation and not really a problem. Maybe if a transaction is especially big / compex, Mycellium could just show up a brief summary and point to Blockchain.info, or something like that.

can you give me the Txid? or the address that you watched? what we can do is reduce the amount of data shown that is interesting (for example only show the watched address and add +2500 extra addresses)

for example, we show payouts of eligius mining pool in a nice way, where you only see your own info.

with further effort it is possible to write "endedless lists" in android where you have to scroll huge amounts.
member
Activity: 61
Merit: 10
January 17, 2014, 07:31:31 AM
Hi!
First, congratulations to Mycelium devs! It's really a nice piece of software.

This post just to let you know of a minor kind of issue, in case it wasn't already known (I skimmed briefly the thread, but I may have missed it).

I noticed a big slow down showing the details of a transaction that I just got, to the point that Android asked if I wanted to terminate the app. Never happened before. Turn out it was a payment from a mining pool, and to tone down the fees it had a big amount of outputs (about 2500 or so). The entire transaction size was about 100KB.

So, surely an unusual situation and not really a problem. Maybe if a transaction is especially big / compex, Mycellium could just show up a brief summary and point to Blockchain.info, or something like that.
legendary
Activity: 1680
Merit: 1035
January 16, 2014, 05:03:34 PM
Thank you Jan
Problem solved

Solved, as in your private key worked? Tell us you got your money back, and make all of us happier. There are too many stories out there of people losing their keys or passwords, and it all ending in nothing but tears.
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
January 16, 2014, 01:50:02 AM
OK. So I guess that you made an encrypted PDF backup. The "Backup Missing" indication doesn't go away until you have verified your backup using the randomly generated password, so if you have done this you would probably have written down the password somewhere as it is impossible to remember.

The backup contains two QR codes for each private key in the backup. One is the bitcoin address, the other is the encrypted private key.
If you import the bitcoin address you will get a read-only address that you cannot spend from.
If you import the encrypted private key you will have to enter the password.

Could it be that you imported the address instead of the encrypted private key?

Try this:
Go to the Keys tab, click the + button and scan the QR code of the encrypted private key in your backup and your pasword. Tell me what happens.

Thank you Jan
Problem solved
Jan
legendary
Activity: 1043
Merit: 1002
January 16, 2014, 01:46:25 AM
It is a bit unclear what is meant.
You say that you have the private key, and that you lost your password protected private key.
Do you have your private key, and is it encrypted with a password that you do not know?
Or, have you enabled the PIN in the wallet and forgot the PIN?
Please elaborate.

Sorry for confusing
Yes I do have private key in my skydrive but the encryption password seems lost.
If you have lost the encryption password there is nothing I can do.

Did the app show "Backup Missing" on the main screen before you flashed it?

"Backup Missing" only goes away if you have verified your backup, which requires you to scan the backup and type in the password. If you have done this you may have the password on a piece of paper somewhere. I would look around for it.
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
January 16, 2014, 01:36:50 AM
It is a bit unclear what is meant.
You say that you have the private key, and that you lost your password protected private key.
Do you have your private key, and is it encrypted with a password that you do not know?
Or, have you enabled the PIN in the wallet and forgot the PIN?
Please elaborate.

Sorry for confusing
Yes I do have private key in my skydrive but the encryption password seems lost.
Jan
legendary
Activity: 1043
Merit: 1002
January 16, 2014, 01:35:01 AM
Do you mean you just have the public key?

If you have the private key it should load into your wallet normally, and you can then spend. If all you have is the public key then stop funding it. You cannot recover the private key from the public key.


Hmmm, I have the private key in skydrive (I backed it up a week ago) but after scanning the private key, it needs 16 digits password. This password seems lost.
Actually, I found the back up password but I doubt it was generated in which back up. I tried it, it's successfully verified but I'm still unable to send BTC.
OK. So I guess that you made an encrypted PDF backup. The "Backup Missing" indication doesn't go away until you have verified your backup using the randomly generated password, so if you have done this you would probably have written down the password somewhere as it is impossible to remember.

The backup contains two QR codes for each private key in the backup. One is the bitcoin address, the other is the encrypted private key.
If you import the bitcoin address you will get a read-only address that you cannot spend from.
If you import the encrypted private key you will have to enter the password.

Could it be that you imported the address instead of the encrypted private key?

Try this:
Go to the Keys tab, click the + button and scan the QR code of the encrypted private key in your backup and your pasword. Tell me what happens.

Jan
legendary
Activity: 1043
Merit: 1002
January 16, 2014, 01:26:19 AM
Hi

Need help please

I just flashed my phone and installing mycelium. I have the private key but unfortunately I lost my pass protected private key.
Is there any way to have access again to this address?
The problem is I just funded this address and need to pay something using this address.
Any help is appreciated


Best Regards

Do you mean you just have the public key?

If you have the private key it should load into your wallet normally, and you can then spend. If all you have is the public key then stop funding it. You cannot recover the private key from the public key.

It is a bit unclear what is meant.
You say that you have the private key, and that you lost your password protected private key.
Do you have your private key, and is it encrypted with a password that you do not know?
Or, have you enabled the PIN in the wallet and forgot the PIN?
Please elaborate.
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
January 16, 2014, 12:40:58 AM
Do you mean you just have the public key?

If you have the private key it should load into your wallet normally, and you can then spend. If all you have is the public key then stop funding it. You cannot recover the private key from the public key.


Hmmm, I have the private key in skydrive (I backed it up a week ago) but after scanning the private key, it needs 16 digits password. This password seems lost.
Actually, I found the back up password but I doubt it was generated in which back up. I tried it, it's successfully verified but I'm still unable to send BTC.
ffe
sr. member
Activity: 308
Merit: 250
January 16, 2014, 12:05:58 AM
Hi

Need help please

I just flashed my phone and installing mycelium. I have the private key but unfortunately I lost my pass protected private key.
Is there any way to have access again to this address?
The problem is I just funded this address and need to pay something using this address.
Any help is appreciated


Best Regards

Do you mean you just have the public key?

If you have the private key it should load into your wallet normally, and you can then spend. If all you have is the public key then stop funding it. You cannot recover the private key from the public key.
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
January 15, 2014, 11:02:05 PM
Hi

Need help please

I just flashed my phone and installing mycelium. I have the private key but unfortunately I lost my pass protected private key.
Is there any way to have access again to this address?
The problem is I just funded this address and need to pay something using this address.
Any help is appreciated


Best Regards
Jan
legendary
Activity: 1043
Merit: 1002
January 15, 2014, 07:39:41 AM
Is there a chance to see a Litecoin version?
We are right now focused on Bitcoin, and there are still a lot of improvements that we want to do. Adding Litecoin now would increase the complexity, and we really want to get one thing right first. However, Litecoin is a good candidate for a second currency going forward.
Jan
legendary
Activity: 1043
Merit: 1002
January 15, 2014, 07:36:17 AM
...

Like Electrum v.s. Armory, it's just a question of convenience v.s. security. Personally, I prefer convenience of Mycelium for spending cash (especially with its advanced key management), but don't like Electrum for the same reasons you mention, and prefer Armory for security. The thing that caught my interest for Mycelium was when Jan came up to our table, whipped out a folded business card out of his wallet, opened it to reveal a private key QR code, used Mycelium to scan it into the phone's memory, spent a few coins without having to wait for it to sync up, and then had Mycelium wipe the private key from the memory again. Having your private key in an unhackable paper cold storage form in your wallet was pretty cool!

As for the community, the Bitcoin community is very high on reputation and trust. The Mycelium guys aren't lacking in that at all. Plus there is nothing in the API that can allow them to do anything bad with your money, other than just keep you from spending it through their servers. Not a very big concern, I don't think.

Did he spend it in another phone for the demo? bluetooth or nfc? My issue was is if there is no hidden agenda why not open up the api to the public? If I had access to it i would package it up with devcoin qt so that every user would run its own node like any other nodes...


Yes that demo is pretty cool so the added feature is the ability to scan in pvt keys and fund your wallet?
There is no hidden agenda. It is very simple really. We are trying hard to make the best mobile wallet, and are going to add optional payable features. All users can use Mycelium as a fast and secure mobile wallet for free, and we hope that some users will use some of the payable features (right now there are none)
The server side represents a significant investment of time and money, which started two and a half years ago with BitcoinSpinner. We are not interested in giving that away for free. We are a responsible company that pays our employees a salary.

Bitsofproof is another company that has made a similar backend solution, and as far as I remember the sources are open. Check it out, maybe it is better for your needs: http://bitsofproof.com/
legendary
Activity: 1017
Merit: 1003
VIS ET LIBERTAS
January 15, 2014, 03:55:02 AM
Is there a chance to see a Litecoin version?
legendary
Activity: 2044
Merit: 1005
January 15, 2014, 02:21:19 AM
Bitcoinj uses checkpoints to avoid downloading the entire chain.. since noone can possibly use the wallet today we can set the earliest checkpoint to today. So that solves the problem of having to download large amounts of data especially if the checkpoints are updated as time goes on.

I am just saying that the private API is not really something the community here will welcome.. its nothing like using an exhcange api to access rate data.

Like Electrum v.s. Armory, it's just a question of convenience v.s. security. Personally, I prefer convenience of Mycelium for spending cash (especially with its advanced key management), but don't like Electrum for the same reasons you mention, and prefer Armory for security. The thing that caught my interest for Mycelium was when Jan came up to our table, whipped out a folded business card out of his wallet, opened it to reveal a private key QR code, used Mycelium to scan it into the phone's memory, spent a few coins without having to wait for it to sync up, and then had Mycelium wipe the private key from the memory again. Having your private key in an unhackable paper cold storage form in your wallet was pretty cool!

As for the community, the Bitcoin community is very high on reputation and trust. The Mycelium guys aren't lacking in that at all. Plus there is nothing in the API that can allow them to do anything bad with your money, other than just keep you from spending it through their servers. Not a very big concern, I don't think.

Did he spend it in another phone for the demo? bluetooth or nfc? My issue was is if there is no hidden agenda why not open up the api to the public? If I had access to it i would package it up with devcoin qt so that every user would run its own node like any other nodes...


Yes that demo is pretty cool so the added feature is the ability to scan in pvt keys and fund your wallet?
Jan
legendary
Activity: 1043
Merit: 1002
January 15, 2014, 01:57:39 AM
Hello

I have a problem importing my celium address to blockchain. Is mycelium import not supported with blockchain?
If you want to import the private key from Mycelium to blockchain.info you have to use the single key export mechanism. Swipe to the Keys tab, select your address, and click export. From there you can get it as text or a QR-code.
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
January 15, 2014, 12:49:17 AM
Hello

I have a problem importing my celium address to blockchain. Is mycelium import not supported with blockchain?
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