Electrum Seed Phrase Explained: Electrum Seed vs BIP-39

An Electrum seed phrase is not a BIP-39 recovery phrase. Modern Electrum takes its words from the same 2,048-word English list that BIP-39 wallets use, but each system checks the words and turns them into keys by its own rules. If you have tried to restore an Electrum wallet in another app, or to import a phrase from Ledger or another BIP-39 wallet into Electrum, you have probably seen the result: the wallet calls the seed invalid. That does not mean the words are wrong.

Which format you have decides which wallets accept your seed phrase, which options to choose when you restore it, and how a recovery works if a word is missing or wrong.

What makes Electrum’s seed different from BIP-39

BIP-39, the standard used by Ledger, MetaMask and many other wallets, builds a checksum into the words. Under the BIP-39 specification, a few bits from a SHA-256 hash of the random data are added before the words are chosen, so the last word is partly calculated from the others: 4 checksum bits in a 12-word phrase, 8 in a 24-word phrase. Ledger explains that this is how its devices can detect a mistyped phrase.

Electrum works differently. Since version 2.0 it runs the whole phrase through a keyed hash (HMAC-SHA512) and reads the first hexadecimal characters of the result. Those characters are the seed’s version number, and a phrase is valid only if they match a registered version. The Electrum Seed Version System and Electrum’s source code define four:

So a valid BIP-39 phrase is almost never a valid Electrum seed, and the reverse is rare too. Even a phrase that passes both checks opens two unrelated wallets, because Electrum turns the words into a seed with the salt “electrum” while BIP-39 uses “mnemonic”. Neither phrase is wrong; they follow different rules.

Why Electrum chose its own format

Electrum was created by Thomas Voegtlin in November 2011, about two years before BIP-39 was proposed. Its first seeds, used until version 2.0 in March 2015, encoded the random number directly into words from a fixed list, which ties every later version of the software to exactly that list.

Version 2.0 moved to seeds whose keys and version number both come from a hash of the phrase. Electrum’s documentation gives two reasons for not adopting BIP-39 instead: BIP-39 still needs its word list to compute the checksum, and a BIP-39 phrase carries no version number. Without one, the wallet has to know, or guess, which address type and derivation path you used, and a wrong guess shows an empty wallet instead of an error. The BIP-39 specification itself now lists the missing version as a shortcoming.

Electrum’s prefix makes the seed self-describing: when the hash starts with 100, Electrum knows at once that it is a SegWit wallet and which derivation to follow. The cost is compatibility with wallets that only understand BIP-39. Electrum imports BIP-39 phrases so users can reach funds in other wallets, but it does not create them.

Seed phrase not working in Electrum: what to check

When Electrum refuses your words, work through these causes:

• The phrase is BIP-39. It came from a Ledger or another BIP-39 wallet. Select BIP39 seed under Options and Electrum accepts it.
• The phrase is SLIP-39. Since June 2024, Trezor Safe devices create a 20-word Shamir (SLIP-39) backup by default. Electrum imports it with the SLIP39 seed option.
• A word is misspelled, missing or in the wrong place. One changed word usually breaks either check.
• It is a pre-2.0 Electrum seed. Old seeds use a different word list, so a word missing from the BIP-39 list may still be correct.
• It is a two-factor seed. It restores as a Wallet with two-factor authentication; see Electrum 2FA recovery.

A missing seed extension never makes Electrum reject the words. Electrum accepts the seed and opens a different, empty wallet, as explained under seed extensions below.

How to tell whether your seed is Electrum or BIP-39

Start with where the words were created

Start with the application that originally generated the phrase, not just the wallet in which you last used it. A phrase created by another wallet and later imported into Electrum remains a phrase in that original format. If you created the wallet in Electrum and never imported words from elsewhere, you have an Electrum seed. Words from a hardware wallet or another app are most likely BIP-39, or SLIP-39 for a recent Trezor.

An old installation, the wallet file and notes about the device or software version can help establish this history. A known public receiving address gives you something to compare after restoration without exposing the phrase.

Test the phrase in Electrum

Use Electrum downloaded from electrum.org, on a computer you trust. In the desktop app, create a new wallet, choose Standard wallet and then I already have a seed, and type the words with no options changed.

1. If Electrum accepts the words, it shows the detected type, for example Seed Type: segwit, standard or old. You have a native Electrum seed.
2. If not, click Options and select BIP39 seed. A BIP-39 phrase is now accepted. If BIP39 checksum failed appears, Electrum still lets you continue, but the restored wallet will almost certainly be empty.
3. If neither works, the phrase most likely contains a misspelled, swapped or missing word. Check each word against the BIP39 wordlist, and compare any word that is not on it with Electrum’s pre-2.0 list. Our guide to an invalid mnemonic phrase covers further checks.

Keep the original record unchanged while you test. If the words belong to a hardware wallet you still have, connect the device with Use a hardware device instead of typing its phrase into a computer. A BIP-39 checker rejecting an Electrum seed does not prove the seed is wrong, and you should never paste a real phrase into an online checker.

Electrum’s wordlist

Electrum 2.0 and later use the standard English BIP-39 list of 2,048 words; the file in Electrum’s source code is identical to the one published with BIP-39. Only the validation and key derivation differ.

Electrum versions before 2.0 used a different list of 1,626 words, and only about half of them also appear on the BIP-39 list. Words such as “actually” or “anything” exist only on the old list, so a 12-word phrase containing them is not BIP-39 and is most likely an old Electrum seed. Modern Electrum still recognizes these seeds automatically: type the words and it detects the old format.

Electrum-LTC and other forks

Electrum itself supports only Bitcoin. Its FAQ explains that wallets for other coins built on its code are separate projects with their own maintainers.

Electrum-LTC, the Litecoin version, uses the same seed format, word list and key derivation as Electrum. The same seed therefore produces the same private keys in both apps, but each app shows its own address format and only looks at its own blockchain. An Electrum-LTC seed restored in Electrum for Bitcoin opens a valid but empty wallet; restore it in Electrum-LTC to see your litecoins.

Electron Cash, the Bitcoin Cash wallet forked from Electrum, still restores Electrum seeds but now creates BIP-39 phrases by default. Restore a fork’s seed in the app that created it.

Seed extensions (the 13th word)

Electrum lets you add custom words to your seed and calls them a seed extension: the option Extend this seed with custom words under Options, when you create or restore a wallet. People often call it the 13th word, although it can be any text. Other wallets call it a passphrase, and for an imported BIP-39 phrase this option is where you enter one.

The extension changes every key, so the same seed with a different extension, or with none, produces a completely different wallet. Without the right extension, the correct seed restores a valid but empty wallet, and Electrum shows no error. Its wizard warns that the extension must be saved together with the seed. Seeds from before Electrum 2.0 cannot have one.

A seed extension is distinct from the password that encrypts the local wallet file. When restoring from the complete seed information, you can set a new password for the new wallet file. That does not replace an unknown seed extension: changing the extension changes the keys derived from the seed.

If you cannot remember your seed extension, recovery becomes a passphrase search: candidates are tested with the complete seed until one produces the addresses you expect, much like password recovery. See our guide on recovering a forgotten wallet passphrase.

What this means for recovery

Restoring a native Electrum seed

A native Electrum seed restores in Electrum, or in the fork that created it. A wallet that only supports BIP-39, a Ledger device included, will reject it or derive different, empty addresses. To move your bitcoin to another wallet, restore in Electrum first, then send the coins to a receiving address in the new wallet.

Restoring a BIP-39 phrase in Electrum

With BIP39 seed selected, Electrum asks for the script type and derivation path. It offers legacy (p2pkh), p2sh-segwit (p2wpkh-p2sh) and native segwit (p2wpkh), each with a suggested path that you can override. Choose the type the original wallet used. The Detect Existing Accounts button scans known derivation paths for history and lets you pick the one that holds your coins. If the original wallet used a different path, the restore shows a zero balance even though the words are right.

If the restored wallet is empty

If the restored wallet looks empty, compare a known receiving address before changing anything. Check the seed format, extension and wallet type first. For an imported BIP-39 wallet, the original address type and derivation path also matter. Keep the original wallet file while investigating.

If the expected addresses match but transactions are missing, check synchronization before trying a different phrase. Address discovery may also matter when unused addresses separate the addresses you used: Electrum stops looking after 20 unused addresses in a row, the gap limit described in the Electrum FAQ. Follow Electrum’s documentation rather than running unfamiliar console commands or repeatedly modifying the original file. Our page on a zero balance after restore walks through the same checks.

If words are missing or wrong

If the seed is incomplete or contains errors, the format decides how it can be reconstructed. Candidates for the uncertain positions are filtered by the format’s own check, then confirmed against a known address. For an Electrum seed the filter is the version check, which rules out a wrong candidate before any key is derived; BIP-39 uses its checksum, and a pre-2.0 seed has none. Identifying the seed type is therefore the first step in any recovery case.

Crypto Recovers works with seeds that are missing up to four words; our guide to recovering missing seed words explains the method. A seed that is completely lost, with no wallet file or other material, cannot be rebuilt by anyone.

Seed issues you cannot solve yourself

Several uncertain words, a wrong word order, a forgotten extension or a phrase of unclear origin can need more than another restore attempt. Crypto Recovers has done recoveries since 2019 and works with every Electrum seed format, from pre-2.0 to current SegWit seeds: we identify the format, then test candidates offline against a known address, under a written agreement. First contact needs none of your secrets, so never put seed words, a password or a wallet file into a form, an email or a website. The first assessment is free, the work runs on a no recovery, no fee basis, and our Electrum recovery service explains how a case is assessed.

Official documentation

• Electrum Seed Version System
• Electrum: Frequently Asked Questions
• Electrum: Two Factor Authentication
• BIP-39: Mnemonic code for generating deterministic keys

FAQ: Electrum seed phrase

Can I convert an Electrum seed to a BIP-39 seed?

No. The two formats validate the words differently and derive keys differently, and there is no conversion between them. To switch, create a new BIP-39 wallet, back up its phrase, and send your coins from Electrum to it.

Does Electrum support 24-word seed phrases?

Yes, for restoring. Electrum’s wallet wizard creates 12-word seeds, but it restores 24-word BIP-39 phrases from other wallets: click Options and select BIP39 seed. Longer Electrum seeds can also be created with the command-line make_seed command, and Electrum recognizes those without the BIP-39 option.

What is the Electrum seed checksum?

Electrum has no separate checksum word. It hashes the entire phrase and checks that the result starts with a registered version number, such as 01 for a standard wallet or 100 for SegWit, which confirms the words and the wallet type in one test. A random phrase passes the standard check about once in 256 tries, against about one in 16 for a 12-word BIP-39 checksum.

My Electrum seed works but shows the wrong balance. Why?

A native Electrum seed sets its own wallet type, so check for a seed extension first: without the one used at creation, the seed opens a different, empty wallet. Then let Electrum finish synchronizing and consider the gap limit of 20 unused addresses. For an imported BIP-39 phrase, a script type or derivation path that differs from the original wallet is the likely cause; Detect Existing Accounts can find the right one.