Restoring is not a transfer. Your funds never lived on the old phone; they live on the blockchains, controlled by keys the phrase derives. That is why a broken, lost or wiped phone is a device problem rather than a money problem, provided the phrase is intact.
Restore on the new device
- 1
Install SpendTheBits on the new phone and open it.
- 2
Tap Restore wallet rather than Create wallet.
- 3
Sign in with the same email you used before.
This reattaches your public profile — your @handle, contacts and history — to the restored wallet.
- 4
Enter your recovery phrase in order.
The app checks the BIP-39 checksum as you type, so a mistyped or transposed word is caught before it can silently derive a different, empty wallet.
- 5
Enter your passphrase if you set one.
Without it, the same phrase derives a different set of addresses, which will show up as an empty wallet rather than an error.
- 6
Wait for the balance sync to finish across all chains.
History is rebuilt from public chain data, so it can lag balances by a few moments on busier chains.
- 7
Wipe the old device if you still have it, once you have confirmed the balances.
Good to know
- An empty wallet after restoring almost always means a missing passphrase or a typo in the phrase — not lost funds. Check the addresses against a block explorer before doing anything drastic.
- If a balance is missing on only one chain, that is usually a sync issue rather than a restore issue. Pull to refresh, then check the chain's own explorer.
Frequently asked
No. The recovery phrase alone is sufficient. The old device holds no unique data — it held a copy of keys the phrase can derive again anywhere.
Most commonly, a passphrase was set and not entered, or one word was mistyped. Both produce a valid but different wallet. Re-check the phrase and passphrase before assuming funds are gone, and verify one of your known addresses on a block explorer.
Yes. The phrase is a standard BIP-39 phrase, so any compatible wallet can derive the same keys. This is the practical meaning of self-custody: you are not locked into this app.
Get SpendTheBits
A fully non-custodial wallet for 13 chains, free on iOS and Android. Your keys never leave your phone.