Electrum 2FA Wallet Recovery: Lost Authenticator or TrustedCoin

An Electrum two-factor wallet uses TrustedCoin to co-sign transactions. Losing the phone that generates authentication codes is different from losing the wallet’s recovery phrase. This guide explains how Electrum’s 2FA works under the hood and which recovery route fits what you still have: the seed, the wallet file and its password, or a working authenticator.

How Electrum’s 2FA works

Electrum’s two-factor option is a plugin built on TrustedCoin’s co-signing service, and it turns the wallet into a 2-of-3 multisig wallet. Every address needs two of three keys to spend. Two of the keys are derived from your seed; the third belongs to TrustedCoin. Only one of your two keys is stored in the wallet file (TrustedCoin FAQ).

When you send bitcoin, Electrum signs with the key in the wallet file and asks for a six-digit code from your authenticator app; Electrum’s setup screens name Google Authenticator. It sends the partly signed transaction and the code to TrustedCoin, which adds its signature only if the code is valid. The code is generated on your phone, not sent to it by text message. TrustedCoin charges a small co-signing fee, added as an extra output whenever your prepaid transactions run out.

Three consequences matter for recovery:

• TrustedCoin can’t move your coins. It holds one key of three and only co-signs a transaction your wallet has already signed.
• Your seed holds two keys, which is enough to spend without TrustedCoin. Electrum’s setup screen says your coins are not locked in the service and can be withdrawn without the remote server by restoring from the seed.
• Electrum shows the seed of a 2FA wallet only once, when the wallet is created. Afterwards the Seed menu item is grayed out, because the seed can switch the second factor off, so an open wallet can’t show it to you again.

Identify which part of access is missing

Note where the difficulty occurs: opening the wallet, obtaining an authentication code, or signing a transaction. The wallet password unlocks the local file; the authenticator supplies a temporary code for the co-signing service. Neither is the wallet seed.

Before restoring, preserve the wallet file and any existing authenticator backup. Electrum keeps wallet files in the wallets folder of its data directory: %APPDATA%\Electrum on Windows and ~/.electrum on macOS and Linux (Electrum FAQ). Record the error message and whether the original installation still opens. This helps distinguish a lost phone from a problem with the wallet itself.

Recovering a 2FA wallet with your seed

If you have the seed, use a new, separate wallet file in the official Electrum application so the original remains available. In Electrum 4.8.2, the current release, the restore runs like this:

1. Create a new wallet and choose Wallet with two-factor authentication as the wallet type.
2. After the disclaimer, choose I already have a seed and enter the seed only in Electrum. If you extended the seed with custom words when you created the wallet, enter those too.
3. On the Restore 2FA wallet screen, choose Keep to go on using TrustedCoin, or Disable to store both of your keys in the wallet file and spend without the co-signer.
4. If you chose Keep, accept TrustedCoin’s terms. On the Authenticator secret screen, enter a code if your authenticator still works, or click Request OTP secret to get a new secret and scan it into your authenticator app.
5. Compare a known receiving address and the transaction history before relying on the restored wallet.

A standard-wallet restore is not a substitute for the two-factor wallet type. Electrum’s two-factor documentation tells you to select the two-factor option because it makes Electrum read this special variety of seed.

What if TrustedCoin is unavailable?

If TrustedCoin is offline or stops operating, a wallet whose seed you still have is not locked. Electrum’s documentation says your coins stay secure even if TrustedCoin is compromised or taken offline, as long as you have the seed: restore it as described above and choose Disable. The same documentation says this option is meant for when you no longer want to use TrustedCoin or the service has a problem. No manual multisig reconstruction is needed, and disabling also ends TrustedCoin’s co-signing fee.

What changes without TrustedCoin

Restoring this way puts two private keys on the same computer. The wallet can spend without the remote co-signer, but the original separation no longer protects it. This does not turn the existing addresses into ordinary single-key addresses.

Restoring spending access and retaining the remote co-signer are different decisions. Choose Keep if you want TrustedCoin’s protection back with a new authenticator; choose Disable if you want to stop depending on it. To end up with an ordinary single-key wallet, create a new standard wallet with its own seed and send the coins to it.

Lost access to the 2FA code or authenticator

Losing the authenticator app, the phone it ran on or its secret does not lose the wallet, but TrustedCoin won’t give you the codes back. Its contact page says that if you have lost your authenticator, your only recourse is to restore the wallet from its seed, and that requests for a new authenticator code are ignored. Electrum shows the same advice when it asks for a code. A message offering to reset your 2FA by email or chat therefore does not come from TrustedCoin.

With the seed, restore the wallet and choose Keep, then Request OTP secret for a new authenticator, or choose Disable. Electrum signs that reset request with both keys from your seed, which is why the wallet file alone can’t do it. If codes are rejected rather than missing, stop guessing: TrustedCoin’s terms allow it to suspend an account for 24 hours after too many failed codes in a row.

Recovering a 2FA wallet without the seed

Keep the wallet file, its password and any authenticator backup. An email address or authentication code alone cannot replace the missing signing keys. Do not delete the wallet while troubleshooting.

The wallet file holds only one of your two keys, so what you can still do depends on the authenticator:

• The file opens and the authenticator works. You can still send. Create a new wallet, write its seed on paper, and move the funds there while TrustedCoin still co-signs.
• The file is locked by a forgotten password. Electrum can’t recover passwords (Electrum FAQ), so the route is a password search on a copy of the file, as for any Electrum wallet file. It only works if you remember enough about the password, and spending still needs a valid authenticator code and TrustedCoin’s co-signature.
• No seed and no working authenticator. The file’s single key can’t spend on its own, and a new authenticator can only be requested with the seed. Unless an authenticator backup survives, the funds can’t be moved.

For other file, password and installation problems, see the Electrum wallet recovery guide.

Crypto Recovers never holds the bitcoin a two-factor wallet controls, and no part of our fee is deducted from it. After access is restored, moving the funds to a new wallet you created is something you do yourself, as is paying the agreed fee separately, according to the contract. If a restore fails or you can’t tell which route applies, our Electrum recovery service can look at the case.

Official documentation

• Electrum: Two Factor Authentication
• Electrum: FAQ
• Electrum: Seed Version System
• TrustedCoin: FAQ

FAQ: Electrum 2FA wallet

Can TrustedCoin access my bitcoin?

No. TrustedCoin describes itself as a non-custodial co-signing service. It holds one of the three keys, can’t initiate a transaction, and only adds its signature to a transaction your wallet has already signed, after a valid authenticator code.

Is a 2FA wallet seed different from a regular Electrum seed?

Yes. It is made of the same kind of words as any Electrum seed, but Electrum’s seed version system gives two-factor seeds their own version number, with a separate one for the segwit variant that current versions create. The version tells Electrum to derive your two keys and TrustedCoin’s public key from the seed, which is why you choose Wallet with two-factor authentication when restoring. It is not a BIP-39 seed either; our comparison of seed standards explains the difference.

What happens to my 2FA wallet if Electrum or TrustedCoin shuts down?

Electrum is open-source software, so the wallet does not depend on a company staying in business; the outside dependency is TrustedCoin. If TrustedCoin shuts down, the seed still restores the wallet: restore it in Electrum and choose Disable, which needs no co-signer. Without the seed, a wallet that relies on TrustedCoin’s signature could no longer spend.

Can I convert a 2FA wallet to a regular Electrum wallet?

Not in place. Restoring from the seed and choosing Disable removes the need for TrustedCoin and its fee, but the addresses stay 2-of-3 multisig, with both of your keys on one computer. For an ordinary single-key wallet, create a new standard Electrum wallet with its own seed and send the coins to it.

Why is the Seed option grayed out in my Electrum 2FA wallet?

Electrum shows a two-factor wallet’s seed only once, at creation, because the seed can switch off the second factor. The option stays disabled afterwards, so if the seed was never written down, the wallet can’t show it again. While the file and the authenticator still work, move the funds to a new wallet whose seed you have backed up.