TL;DR: Have your 25-word seed phrase? Open any Monero wallet → Restore from seed → enter words → set restore height → wait for sync. Wrong balance? Restore height is probably too high — set it earlier or use height 0. No seed AND no wallet files? Your XMR is permanently lost.
Recovery Method 1: From Seed Phrase (25 Words)
This is the standard recovery path. Your 25-word mnemonic seed can restore your wallet on any device, any wallet software.
In Feather Wallet
File → Restore wallet from seed
Enter your 25 words — one word per field, or paste all 25
Set restore height — use your wallet creation date or block height. Lower = more scanning, but catches everything
Wait for sync — the wallet scans the blockchain from restore height to current. May take minutes to hours depending on height.
In Monero GUI
Open GUI → "Restore wallet from keys or mnemonic seed"
Enter 25-word seed
Set "Wallet creation date" or "Restore height" — use the date you first created the wallet
If you have the wallet files (.keys file + main wallet file), just open them in any compatible wallet software. You'll need the wallet password you set when creating it.
Feather: File → Open wallet file → select .keys file
Lost password for wallet files? There is no password reset. You need your seed phrase to create a new wallet and recover funds. If you've lost both the password AND seed phrase, your XMR is permanently locked.
Common Problem: Wrong Balance After Recovery
This is the #1 issue. Your restored wallet shows 0 XMR or less than expected.
Cause
Fix
Restore height too high
Restore again with lower height (or 0 for full scan)
Wallet not fully synced
Wait until sync reaches 100% — check bottom status bar
Wrong seed phrase
Verify each word carefully — one wrong word = different wallet
Used subaddresses
Generate subaddresses in restored wallet — they derive automatically
Wallet software bug
Try a different wallet (Feather, GUI, CLI) with the same seed
Remote node not synced
Connect to a fully synced node (node.community.rino.io or your own)
Pro tip: The most reliable recovery uses restore height 0 with a local node. It scans the entire blockchain (~160GB), taking several hours, but will find every transaction ever made to your wallet.
Extract Seed from Existing Wallet
If you still have access to your wallet but haven't saved your seed, extract it now:
Feather: Wallet → Seed
GUI: Settings → Seed & Keys → Show seed
CLI: type seed in the wallet prompt
Cake Wallet: Menu → Security → Show seed
Write it down on paper. Store it offline. Never save it digitally (no screenshots, no cloud, no notes app). See seed phrase guide for storage best practices.
What Can't Be Recovered
No seed + no wallet files + no private keys = permanently lost
Sent to wrong address = gone (Monero transactions are irreversible)
Scammed = no chargeback mechanism exists
There is no Monero "customer support", no password reset, no account recovery. This is sovereign money — you are your own bank.
Prevention Is Everything
The best recovery strategy is never needing to recover. Write down your 25-word seed on paper. Store it in two separate secure locations. Test your backup by restoring to a different device before you need to. Every XMR lost to bad backups was preventable.
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