MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase: How to Find, Use and Protect It

The MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase (SRP) is the 12 English words MetaMask generates when you create a wallet. It is the master key to that wallet: every account derived from it can be restored from those words on any device, in MetaMask or in another compatible wallet, together with the tokens and NFTs those addresses hold on the blockchain. MetaMask’s password is something else. It protects one installation, and changing it does not change the phrase or the accounts the phrase generates.

For a wallet created with a phrase, it is the one backup MetaMask cannot replace, because MetaMask keeps no copy. If the phrase is lost while the wallet is locked, the options narrow quickly, so write it down while you still have access.

What the MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase is

MetaMask generates the Secret Recovery Phrase, also called the seed phrase or mnemonic, at the moment you create a new wallet. It is not a password and not an account name. Under the BIP-39 standard, the words encode a large random number, and the wallet turns them into the cryptographic seed from which every account’s private key is derived. This only works in one direction: the seed and the keys come from the words, never the other way around.

The 12 words come from a standard list of 2,048 English words. Each word stands for a number from 0 to 2,047, so together the 12 words carry 132 bits: 128 bits of randomness plus a 4-bit checksum calculated from them. That checksum lets MetaMask catch most mistakes. MetaMask refuses any word that is not on the list, and a wrong or swapped word usually breaks the checksum, so the phrase is rejected. A 4-bit checksum cannot catch everything, though. Roughly one random error in 16 still passes, and the phrase then opens a different, empty wallet instead of yours.

Because the phrase follows BIP-39, it is not unique to MetaMask. MetaMask’s own import guide covers phrases exported from wallets such as Rabby, Trust Wallet, Phantom and Coinbase Wallet, and a MetaMask phrase works the same way in other wallets that support BIP-39 and derive Ethereum accounts along the same path. Your derived accounts belong to the phrase rather than to one installation of the software.

How long is a MetaMask seed phrase?

MetaMask generates a 12-word phrase by default. Twelve words carry 128 bits of randomness, which allows about 2¹²⁸, or 3.4 × 10³⁸, valid phrases. No computer can search that many, which is why a phrase that is completely lost cannot be guessed back.

Other wallets use longer phrases, and MetaMask accepts them on import: 12, 15, 18, 21 or 24 words, the lengths BIP-39 defines. A 24-word phrase carries 256 bits and is the length Ledger devices use. If a wallet was created with 24 words, enter all 24. The first 12 on their own are usually rejected, and in the rare case they pass the checksum, they open a different, empty wallet.

How to find your Secret Recovery Phrase in MetaMask

If MetaMask still unlocks and you know its password, you can reveal the phrase at any time. Do it before you reset, reinstall or replace anything. If MetaMask holds more than one phrase, start from an account that belongs to the phrase you want to back up. MetaMask’s reveal guide describes two routes on each platform.

In the browser extension

1. Click the account selector at the top of MetaMask, then the three dots next to an account that belongs to the phrase.
2. Click Account details, then Secret Recovery Phrase.
3. Answer the two short questions about self-custody.
4. Enter your password and click Next.
5. Press and hold Hold to reveal SRP.

The other route runs through the menu: Settings > Security and password > Manage wallet recovery. Select the phrase and click Reveal.

In the mobile app

1. Tap the account selector at the top of the wallet view, then the three dots next to the account.
2. Tap Account details, then Secret Recovery Phrase.
3. Enter your password, tap Next and hold the button to reveal the words.

The app also lists the option under Settings > Security and privacy > Reveal Secret Recovery Phrase.

Write the phrase down

Write the words on paper, in order, the moment they appear, and check each one against the screen. Do not take a screenshot, save the phrase in a notes app or email it to yourself. Any digital copy can be stolen through malware, a compromised cloud account or a data breach. Close the phrase display when you are done.

If you cannot unlock MetaMask

Without the password, MetaMask cannot show the phrase, and no one at MetaMask can reset the password for you. On a desktop computer, the phrase still sits in MetaMask’s encrypted vault in the browser’s extension data, and the vault opens only with that password. See the guide to a forgotten MetaMask password, and the section on losing the phrase below.

How to enter your Secret Recovery Phrase

To restore a wallet with the phrase, install MetaMask from metamask.io or from your browser’s or phone’s official store. On a fresh install, choose I have an existing wallet, then Import using Secret Recovery Phrase, enter the words and set a new password for that device. If MetaMask is already installed with another wallet, add the phrase through the account selector with Add wallet > Import a wallet instead of resetting MetaMask, because a reset wipes every wallet and account from that installation. MetaMask’s restore guide covers both cases.

Type each word in the exact order it was given to you, in lowercase, with one space between words. Work from your written copy and check the result word by word. MetaMask imports English phrases only, so a phrase written with another language’s BIP-39 word list cannot be imported.

If MetaMask rejects the phrase, check these causes, which MetaMask’s troubleshooting guide also points to:

• A misspelled or misread word. Every word must match the BIP-39 list exactly. “Acount” is not a BIP-39 word; “account” is. “Abandonn” is not; “abandon” is. If a word on your backup is not on the list, look for the closest match in the full BIP-39 word list.
• Swapped words. The order matters. Two swapped words usually fail the checksum, and if they happen to pass, they open a different wallet.
• The wrong number of words. A wallet created with 24 words needs all 24. Entering only 12 of them usually fails, and otherwise opens an empty wallet.

For a fuller diagnosis of a phrase MetaMask will not accept, see the guide to restoring an invalid mnemonic phrase.

Importing a 24-word phrase into MetaMask

MetaMask accepts 24-word phrases generated by other wallets. The accounts it derives match the accounts in the original wallet only when both apps use the same derivation path, the route a wallet follows from the seed to each account. For an imported phrase, MetaMask supports only the default BIP-44 path, m/44'/60'/0'/0, and offers no setting to change it. A wallet that numbers its accounts along another path shows different addresses from the same words, so those accounts look empty in MetaMask even though the funds are untouched on the blockchain.

Hardware wallet phrases need particular care:

• Ledger. Ledger devices use a 24-word phrase. Ledger’s app, Ledger Wallet (formerly Ledger Live), numbers its Ethereum accounts on a different path from MetaMask, so only the first account lines up. MetaMask can show the other accounts when you connect the Ledger device itself: the connection screen offers the Ledger Live, Legacy (MEW / MyCrypto) and BIP44 Standard paths.
• Trezor. The Trezor backup standards differ by model. A 24-word BIP-39 backup is the default on the Trezor Model One, and a 12-word one on the Model T and on Safe 3 devices from before June 2024. The Safe 5, the Safe 7 and newer Safe 3 devices default to a 20-word SLIP-39 backup, a different standard that MetaMask’s phrase import does not accept.

There is also a security reason not to type a hardware wallet’s phrase into MetaMask at all. Ledger’s security advice is never to enter a recovery phrase on a computer or smartphone, because the device exists to keep its keys off them. To use a Ledger or Trezor with MetaMask, connect the device instead. Every transaction then needs your approval on the device.

What the Secret Recovery Phrase restores

Keep the original installation and its data until you have checked the restored addresses. A separate browser profile lets you test a restore without resetting the original.

MetaMask checks the accounts derived from the phrase in order and adds them automatically while they hold ETH on Ethereum Mainnet. It stops at the first account without ETH, so later accounts can be missing. Add accounts again until you reach them: they come back in the order they were created, with the same addresses. With Backup and sync turned on, MetaMask can also restore the accounts you created under that phrase. Networks and tokens you added by hand need adding again, so check the network and token display before you assume a balance is gone.

The phrase does not include keys imported independently, accounts from another phrase, or a connected hardware wallet. Those need their own backup or device.

If the wallet was linked to a Google, Apple or Telegram sign-in

A MetaMask wallet can also be created with a Google, Apple or Telegram login. MetaMask still generates a phrase for it, but it backs the phrase up online in encrypted form, and restoring it requires both that login and your MetaMask password. This route also restores the imported accounts linked to that login; hardware wallets still need their device.

An email address alone does not create this link or replace the original password. If you instead restore using an SRP, the phrase’s own coverage still applies: separately imported accounts need their separate backups.

What happens if you lose your Secret Recovery Phrase

If MetaMask is still installed and you know the password, a lost paper copy is easy to replace: unlock MetaMask, reveal the phrase and write it down again. The phrase is still inside the vault on that device.

If MetaMask was uninstalled or the browser data was cleared, and the phrase was never written down, the situation is serious. MetaMask cannot retrieve the phrase for you. For a wallet created with a phrase, the only copy MetaMask ever kept was the encrypted vault on your own device. Without that vault or a written backup, no one, not MetaMask and not Crypto Recovers, can produce the phrase from nothing. Neither a public address nor an email address can recreate it.

There is a narrow middle ground. A copy of the vault can survive in a backup of the computer, or in a browser profile that was never removed, and MetaMask’s own vault guide suggests trying its method on such a backup. For a desktop extension that will not open, MetaMask documents an offline decryption method that requires the vault password. It is not a general method for every phone or cloud backup: MetaMask states that vault recovery on Android and iOS is not currently possible. Something still has to exist to work from, such as the original device, the browser profile, a backup or an image of the drive. Keep the original browser data and every backup, and do not reinstall or clean up the computer first. The MetaMask recovery guide explains how to preserve them.

An unknown vault password needs a separate assessment, and a surviving vault does not mean the password can be found. Describe the installation and the backups you have, without uploading the vault or any credentials through a contact form. If the vault password is recovered, you open the wallet yourself and move the funds to a new wallet you created; Crypto Recovers never holds them. The agreed fee is paid separately, under the contract.

If your Secret Recovery Phrase is incomplete

A phrase with missing or unreadable words is a different case from a phrase that is gone. Crypto Recovers works with phrases that are missing up to four words. What decides each case is how many words are missing, whether you know their positions, and whether you know an address the wallet used, so that each candidate can be checked against it. The guide to recovering missing seed words explains the method, and the MetaMask recovery service page explains how an assessment works. Crypto Recovers works on a “No recovery, no fee” basis, and an assessment never needs the words themselves.

How to store your Secret Recovery Phrase safely

Keep the phrase in physical form, in a place you control, and nowhere digital. Write it on paper and store it somewhere secure, such as a fireproof safe or a bank safe-deposit box. A second copy in a different location means a single fire, flood or theft cannot destroy every copy. For long-term storage, a steel backup plate holds up against fire and water better than paper.

Do not store the phrase in a cloud service, a password manager, a notes app, an email draft or a photo gallery. MetaMask’s security guide warns that online storage and password managers are vulnerable to hacks. If you split the phrase across several places, make sure you can still put it back together: a system you no longer remember is as bad as a lost phrase.

Never share the phrase. MetaMask will never ask for it, not even through its support team, and anyone who asks for it, whether by email, chat or a website, is trying to steal from you. Never type it into a website, a “wallet sync” tool or a support chat.

Secret Recovery Phrase vs private key

The Secret Recovery Phrase and a private key are related but not interchangeable. The phrase is the master key: it generates the private key of every account derived from it. A private key controls one specific account, one Ethereum address. Exporting a private key gives you a backup of that single account, while the phrase backs up every account derived from it.

If you lose the phrase but exported individual private keys, you can restore those accounts, but not the wallet as a whole. If you have the phrase, you do not need the derived accounts’ private keys, because the phrase regenerates them all. Accounts you imported with a private key are the exception: the phrase never contained them, so keep their keys as well.

Official documentation

• How to reveal your Secret Recovery Phrase safely
• How to restore your wallet using your Secret Recovery Phrase
• How to add missing MetaMask accounts after restoring with Secret Recovery Phrase
• How to recover your Secret Recovery Phrase
• How to reset your MetaMask password
• How to connect or import an existing wallet in MetaMask

FAQ: MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase

Can I change my MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase?

No. MetaMask does not let you edit or change a phrase: the accounts are derived from it, so a different phrase means different accounts. Changing your MetaMask password leaves the phrase as it is. If you want a new phrase, for example because someone else may have seen the old one, create a new wallet with a new phrase and move your assets to it yourself.

Is my MetaMask seed phrase the same as my Ledger seed phrase?

Only if you used the same phrase for both. MetaMask and Ledger both use BIP-39, so a Ledger’s 24-word phrase can technically be typed into MetaMask, but Ledger advises never to enter it on a computer or phone, because that exposes the keys the device protects. Even with the same phrase, only the first Ethereum account matches: Ledger’s app derives further accounts on a different path, and MetaMask has no setting to change the path of an imported phrase. Connect the Ledger to MetaMask instead and choose the Ledger Live path to see those accounts.

What if my Secret Recovery Phrase has one wrong word?

MetaMask will usually reject the phrase because the checksum does not validate; about one wrong phrase in 16 still passes and opens an empty wallet instead. If you know which word is wrong, there are at most 2,048 candidates for that position. If you do not, every position has to be tried, which is still a small search for a computer. Either way, each candidate has to be checked against an address the wallet used, so you need to know at least one. With that address, a single wrong word is one of the more straightforward recovery cases.

Does the Secret Recovery Phrase restore imported accounts?

No. It restores only the accounts derived from it. Accounts imported with a private key or a JSON file, accounts from another phrase and hardware wallet accounts have to be added again from their own backup or device. A wallet created with a Google, Apple or Telegram login is the exception: signing in with that login and your MetaMask password also restores the imported accounts linked to it, but not hardware wallets.

Can MetaMask recover my Secret Recovery Phrase?

No. MetaMask is self-custodial and cannot retrieve a lost phrase for you. If MetaMask still unlocks with your password, you can reveal the phrase yourself. If it does not unlock on a desktop computer, the encrypted vault may still hold the phrase, and it opens with the vault password. Without a written copy, a surviving vault or backup, or a working Google, Apple or Telegram sign-in with its password, the phrase cannot be recreated.