My seed or passphrase is not working

Preserve exactly what you have

Keep your original transcription intact. Note uncertain characters or word positions separately, without replacing the original with a guess. Identify which wallet generated the phrase before applying a recovery procedure.

Different wallets can use different seed schemes. Electrum has its own seed-version system; a phrase should not be treated as BIP39 solely because it contains familiar words. Follow the Electrum documentation for Electrum-generated seeds.

Distinguish the phrase from an extra passphrase

An additional passphrase is a separate input in supported wallets. Trezor explains that different passphrases lead to different hidden wallets; a typo can therefore open a different wallet instead of displaying a password error. A device PIN is a different control again. See Trezor’s passphrase explanation.

If the phrase is accepted but the balance is unexpected, check the original account and wallet settings before assuming the words are wrong. Use the empty-wallet guide to organize that investigation.

Prepare a useful recovery description

• Wallet application or hardware model that created the backup.
• Number of words and language, without sending the words themselves.
• Whether words are missing, uncertain or out of order.
• Whether an additional passphrase was used, without disclosing it.
• Whether you have a known receiving address from the original wallet.

Our related seed-recovery introduction links to focused BTCRecover workflows. Partial seed recovery depends on the uncertainties and available verification data. This site cannot reconstruct a completely unknown seed from a public address.