How to Recover a MetaMask Wallet: Every Scenario Explained

MetaMask won’t open, asks for a password you no longer have, or came back empty after a reinstall. There is no single answer to “how do I recover my MetaMask wallet,” because what gets you back in depends on how each account was created and on what still survives: the Secret Recovery Phrase, an exported private key, a hardware wallet, a Google, Apple or Telegram sign-in with its MetaMask password, or the encrypted vault in the original installation. This guide maps each common scenario to the steps that apply, so you can go straight to yours.

One thing is true in every scenario: your crypto is not inside MetaMask. Your ETH, tokens and NFTs live on the blockchain, and MetaMask is the window you use them through. Losing access to MetaMask means losing the key to the door, not the assets behind it.

Before you reset anything, keep the original installation

You do not need to reset an existing MetaMask installation to restore a wallet. “Reset Wallet” erases the encrypted vault stored in your browser profile, and if your recovery phrase later turns out to be wrong or incomplete, that vault is the only thing a password recovery can work from.

In Chrome or Firefox, preserve the original profile before trying access. Don’t clear storage, reinstall the extension or reset the wallet. Restore into a separate browser profile instead, and back up the extension’s storage folder before doing anything that erases data. An existing unlocked session may help; restarting a browser does not itself reconstruct a missing vault.

What you still have decides the route

Each kind of MetaMask backup restores something different, so check which of these you have before you install anything:

• The Secret Recovery Phrase. A phrase derives its own group of accounts and restores them on any device, even if the app or extension is gone.
• An exported private key. An independently imported Ethereum private key controls its corresponding account and is commonly represented by 64 hexadecimal characters. It does not recreate the phrase or other accounts, and the phrase does not restore it either, so keep backups of imported accounts too.
• A hardware wallet. A phrase does not restore connected hardware wallets; those accounts come back through the original device.
• A Google, Apple or Telegram sign-in. MetaMask documents a two-of-two arrangement for these wallets: it opens only when you authenticate with that login provider and enter your existing MetaMask password. Signing in again does not replace that password, and it does not reset one you have forgotten.
• The encrypted vault. If none of the above survives, a vault left in the original installation or in a backup may still matter, and it opens only with its password.

The dedicated guides to MetaMask private keys and the Secret Recovery Phrase cover backup scope and import/export details. If you have the phrase, start with scenario 1. If you don’t, go to scenario 3.

Scenario 1: You have your Secret Recovery Phrase

This is the simplest recovery. The Secret Recovery Phrase (also called SRP, seed phrase, or recovery phrase) is the 12 words MetaMask showed you at setup, and it is the fastest way back into the wallet: it is the master key to every account MetaMask derived from it, on any device and in any browser. Here is an example of a MetaMask seed phrase: “apple magnet true cable jump olive happy carpet tennis salt shrimp eagle”.

MetaMask uses the BIP-39 standard, which is also used by many other wallets like Trust Wallet, Exodus, and even some hardware wallets like Ledger. Your phrase follows the same word list and structure, so you can often import it into another BIP-39-compatible wallet and access the same funds. Recovery works the same way on Exodus, Rabby, and Trust Wallet.

On desktop (browser extension)

You need your SRP and a computer with Chrome, Firefox, Brave, or Edge. If the original installation is still there, use a separate browser profile.

1. Go to metamask.io and install the MetaMask browser extension. Download it only from the official site or your browser’s app store.
2. Click “I have an existing wallet”.
3. Select “Import using Secret Recovery Phrase”.
4. Click “I agree” (if prompted).
5. Enter your 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase in the exact order it was written, all lowercase, one word per box, then click “Continue”.
6. Create a new password. It protects MetaMask on this device only.
7. Click “Create password”.

You should now see your wallet and any ETH or tokens linked to it. If an account or token is missing, see scenario 5 below.

On mobile (iOS or Android app)

The mobile restore is largely the same as on desktop, and it is also the route when your phone is lost or broken: with the phrase, getting back in on a new phone is usually straightforward. You need your SRP and a smartphone with internet access.

1. Install the MetaMask app from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). Use the official stores only.
2. Open the app, tap “Get started”, then “I have an existing wallet”.
3. Tap “Import using Secret Recovery Phrase”.
4. Enter your seed phrase in the exact order, all lowercase, with single spaces between words.
5. Create a new password. It protects the wallet locally on your phone.
6. Optionally enable Face ID or fingerprint unlock.
7. Tap “Create password”.

Your MetaMask wallet and tokens should now be visible.

If MetaMask rejects the phrase

MetaMask checks every word against the 2,048-word BIP-39 list and the phrase’s built-in checksum, so a misspelled or swapped word usually invalidates the whole phrase, and when one slips through it opens a different, empty wallet. Type the phrase by hand from your written backup, all lowercase, in the original order, rather than pasting it: MetaMask itself warns about clipboard hacks and suggests typing a phrase where you can. If the phrase came from another wallet and imports cleanly but shows unfamiliar addresses, that wallet may have derived its accounts along a different path than MetaMask uses: compare the addresses with your transaction history on a block explorer before you go further. Our guide to an invalid mnemonic phrase covers the next checks.

Scenario 2: You forgot your password but have the phrase

If you cannot unlock MetaMask but your phrase is safe, the password is no obstacle: the phrase is the permanent key, and the password is only the local lock on one device. MetaMask’s password reset guide has you lock MetaMask, click “Forgot password”, enter the phrase and set a new password. That replaces what is stored on that installation: accounts imported by private key do not come back from the phrase, and hardware wallets have to be reconnected, so make sure you hold those keys and devices first. To keep the original vault untouched, restore in a separate browser profile instead and verify the addresses before resetting the original installation.

If you still know the current password, MetaMask’s settings let you change it; that is a change, not a reset. Our article on recovering a forgotten MetaMask password covers the full process, including what to do when the reset fails.

Scenario 3: You forgot your password and lost the phrase

Without the phrase you cannot reset the password, and without the password you cannot open the vault. Start by checking what else survives: an installation that is still unlocked on some device, an exported private key, a hardware wallet that remains accessible, or social sign-in that works with the original MetaMask password. Each route depends on material or access that actually survives. Private keys you exported earlier can still bring back individual accounts.

For a desktop extension that no longer opens, an encrypted vault or browser-profile backup may still be useful. MetaMask documents vault recovery, requiring the vault password. In Chrome, the extension’s storage is listed under chrome://extensions/ → MetaMask → Details → Storage. In Chromium-based profiles, relevant data may be in Local Extension Settings under the extension ID nkbihfbeogaeaoehlefnkodbefgpgknn, including .ldb files. Follow the current instructions on a copy; save the official tool locally and disconnect before using sensitive data. This is not a universal phone or cloud-backup method.

If you remember roughly what the password was, the vault can be searched. MetaMask encrypts it with a key derived from your password through PBKDF2: 900,000 iterations by default in its current encryption library, 10,000 in older vaults. That makes every guess slow, so a well-informed candidate list matters more than raw speed. Remembered details support a targeted search, not a guaranteed reset. Open-source tools such as hashcat and BTCRecover test candidates against the vault, and MetaMask’s own vault guide suggests btcrecover for a half-remembered password. If the search space is too large for your own hardware, this is where a professional MetaMask recovery service comes in.

Scenario 4: You deleted or uninstalled MetaMask

If you still have the Secret Recovery Phrase, deleting MetaMask changes nothing: reinstall it, import the phrase, and the accounts derived from it are back. Without the phrase, everything depends on whether the vault data survived.

When you install MetaMask in a browser (like Chrome, Brave, or Firefox), it stores encrypted wallet data in your browser’s local files, specifically in its extension folder. If that data gets corrupted, deleted, or overwritten, you may suddenly find your MetaMask wallet reset or missing your accounts.

Uninstalling MetaMask or clearing browser data normally deletes the vault, but that is not always the end of it. A copy may still exist in a full-disk or profile backup, in a profile folder that was never removed, or as remnants on the drive until new data overwrites them. If that is your situation and you have no recovery phrase, stop using the computer straight away: do not reinstall MetaMask, do not run any clean-up tool, and have the drive imaged and assessed before anything else is written to it. Whether anything can be recovered is case-dependent, and a recovered vault still opens only with its password. If there is genuinely no vault, no backup, no recovery phrase and no exported private key, there is nothing to work from.

If your phone is lost or broken

If your phone is lost or broken, you don’t have your MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase, and you’ve logged out of all devices, no one can help you recover your Ethereum assets, not even Crypto Recovers. This applies to wallets created with a Secret Recovery Phrase. A wallet created with a Google, Apple or Telegram login can still be opened on a new device, but only with that login and your existing MetaMask password. MetaMask is non-custodial, meaning they don’t store your information; you do.

Scenario 5: Your wallet shows zero balance after restore

You entered the phrase, MetaMask accepted it, and the balance reads zero. Either MetaMask is not showing the account, network or token that holds the funds, or a mistyped word passed the checksum and opened a different wallet. Check in this order:

1. Missing accounts. MetaMask re-adds the accounts derived from your phrase in order while they hold ETH on Ethereum Mainnet, and stops at the first one without ETH, so a later account, or one holding only tokens, can be missing. Add accounts again in the order you created them; they return with the same addresses (MetaMask’s guide to missing accounts shows the current buttons). If one is still missing, import its private key if you exported it, or check whether it came from another device or another phrase.
2. The wrong network. A balance on Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, Arbitrum or another network is invisible while MetaMask is showing Ethereum Mainnet, and networks you added by hand have to be added again after a phrase restore.
3. Undetected tokens. A token MetaMask does not detect on its own stays hidden until you import it with its contract address, which a block explorer such as Etherscan shows.
4. The chain itself. Paste your address into Etherscan or the explorer for your network. A balance that looks stale is settled there, not by the app: if the explorer shows funds, the issue is MetaMask’s display, not your recovery. If the address is not one you recognize, recheck the phrase word by word.

Our page on a zero balance after a restore covers the remaining causes.

Scenario 6: You only have a private key

A private key restores one specific account, not the entire wallet. To import one, open the account selector, choose “Add wallet”, then “Import an account”, paste the key and click “Import” (on mobile: tap the account name, then “Add wallet” and “Import an account”). You get the funds at that single address, but no other account from the same wallet. Import each key separately, and treat every private key with the same care as your Secret Recovery Phrase: it gives full control over its address.

Scenario 7: Your MetaMask was hacked or drained

If someone drained your wallet with your seed phrase or through a malicious token approval, start from one fact: a confirmed blockchain transaction cannot be reversed. Recovering access to MetaMask is a different task. If your wallet has been compromised, the immediate priority is to limit further losses.

When you use decentralized applications (dApps) through MetaMask, you often approve them to spend your tokens (like USDT) on your behalf. These approvals stay active until you revoke them manually, even after you’re done using the app, which leaves your wallet vulnerable if the dApp gets hacked or turns malicious. MetaMask’s guide to revoking token approvals lists ways to review and revoke them, including the approval checkers on block explorers such as Etherscan and tools such as Revoke.cash.

Work out first which kind of compromise this is, because it decides what revoking is worth. If your Secret Recovery Phrase or a private key has been exposed, anyone holding it can sign from that address exactly as you can, and revoking an approval does not make an exposed key safe again. Don’t add more funds to the compromised wallet: if the attacker runs a sweeper script, anything you send is drained as quickly as the previous balance. A revocation is itself a transaction sent from that same address, so its gas fee has to come out of it too. If your phrase and keys are still only yours and the problem is an approval you signed for a malicious dApp, revoking is worth the fee: it shuts down any further spending through that allowance. Either way it only prevents future misuse. It does not reverse a confirmed transaction and does not bring back what has already gone.

If it is an approval and the attacker hasn’t fully drained your wallet yet, act immediately: revoking the approvals they’re using may stop them from reaching more funds. After that, create a new MetaMask wallet with a brand-new SRP and move whatever you still control into it. MetaMask’s own steps for a compromised wallet add two points: create the new wallet in another browser, browser profile or device, and report the theft to the relevant authorities.

Before the next lockout

Three rules are specific to how MetaMask stores your wallet:

• Write the Secret Recovery Phrase on paper or metal, two copies in two places, never as a screenshot or a note that syncs. MetaMask cannot show it to you again once the vault is gone.
• Before you uninstall MetaMask, clear browser data, or click “Reset Wallet”, copy the extension’s storage folder. That vault is the only thing a password search can run against.
• Install MetaMask only from metamask.io or your browser’s own store, and never type the phrase into any website, “sync” tool or support chat. A site that asks for it is a theft site.

When self-recovery fails

If you have worked through the scenarios above and none of them got you back in, what material you still have decides whether recovery is realistic. Crypto Recovers has done recoveries since 2019, and our MetaMask wallet recovery page explains how we assess a case. The assessment is free, needs no sensitive material, and tells you plainly what is technically possible, what it would cost and how long it is likely to take, before you commit to anything.

If no phrase, usable key, accessible device or recoverable vault remains, a public address cannot replace them, and there is nothing a search could run against.

One thing does not change from case to case: we never hold your crypto. If access is restored, you move the funds yourself to a new wallet you created, and you pay the agreed fee yourself, separately.

FAQ: MetaMask recovery

Is it possible to recover a MetaMask wallet?

Yes, where the required backup or access survives: the Secret Recovery Phrase, an exported private key, a hardware wallet, a social sign-in with its MetaMask password, or the encrypted vault on the original computer with its password, or enough memory of it for a search. Without any of them, recovery is not possible. Preserve the original installation before trying a restore.

Can MetaMask recover my wallet for me?

No. MetaMask is self-custodial: it does not hold your password, Secret Recovery Phrase or private keys, and it states that nobody can reset your password for you. Its support team can explain the app, but it cannot restore access to a wallet it never had custody of. What gets you back in is what you still have.

Can I recover a MetaMask wallet without the seed phrase?

Sometimes. Check an accessible installation, an exported key, a hardware wallet, social sign-in with the original MetaMask password, or a surviving encrypted vault. A vault still requires its password; recovery is not possible from a public address alone.

How do I enter my MetaMask recovery phrase?

Use the official app or extension’s phrase-import option, preferably in a separate profile. Enter every word in its original order. An error may make the phrase invalid or restore different accounts, so compare a known address after import.

What happens if I lose my MetaMask recovery phrase?

If the wallet still opens, back up the phrase through its security settings. Otherwise preserve the original installation and backups, including the encrypted vault. A partial phrase may support a search if reliable words, positions and an address for checking candidates remain.

Where can I find my MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase?

Use the phrase-backup option in MetaMask’s security settings and confirm with your password. If the extension will not open, a surviving desktop vault may offer another route; see the phrase guide.

How long is the MetaMask recovery phrase?

MetaMask creates a 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase by default, built on the BIP-39 standard shared by many other wallets. It also supports importing 24-word phrases, so if you are restoring a wallet that originally used 24 words, enter all 24. Every word must be entered in the exact order to restore access.

How do I export my private key from MetaMask?

Use the private-key option for the correct account and confirm with the password. See the private-key guide for export and backup scope. A separately imported key is not included in the main phrase backup.

Where does MetaMask store the private keys?

MetaMask stores private keys locally in the browser’s encrypted storage, protected by a user-defined password. The key is decrypted only during wallet access. If browser data is deleted, recovery runs through the seed phrase or a previously exported private key. Failing those, the only remaining material is a surviving copy of that vault, which still needs its password; scenario 4 above lists where such a copy can survive.

How long does MetaMask recovery take?

With the Secret Recovery Phrase, the restore takes minutes, plus the time to re-add accounts, networks and tokens. Without the phrase, a password search against a surviving vault has no fixed duration: it depends on how many candidates your memory of the password leaves and on the vault’s key stretching. The assessment gives you an estimate for your case before any work starts.

Does recovery cost anything?

Restoring the wallet yourself with the phrase costs nothing. If you work with Crypto Recovers, the first assessment is free and the work runs on a no recovery, no fee basis: you pay only if access is restored, at a fee agreed in writing before work starts.

Can Crypto Recovers help if my MetaMask recovery fails?

Sometimes, and it depends on what is left to work from. If the phrase is invalid or incomplete, Crypto Recovers works with phrases that have up to four missing words; how realistic a search is also depends on whether the missing words’ positions are known, what other reliable constraints exist and whether a known wallet address is available to test candidates against. A forgotten local password on a still-installed wallet is a separate route, because the encrypted vault is then the material. We work with verified open-source tooling on air-gapped machines, never guarantee a result and start only after a contract is signed. No recovery, no fee; we never handle your funds.