How to recover a Phantom wallet

Quick steps

1. Install the official Phantom. Download the app or extension from phantom.com or the official store listing and verify the ID.
2. Choose the existing-wallet option. On the welcome screen, pick the option for an existing wallet rather than creating a new one.
3. Sign in the way you created the wallet. Continue with the same Google or Apple account, or import the recovery phrase or private key.
4. Select your accounts. Review the accounts Phantom finds with past activity and choose the ones to add.
5. Turn on networks and add missing accounts. Enable the networks you use and create extra accounts if expected addresses are missing.
6. Re-import other wallets. Import any additional wallets or private keys you had added, using their own backups.
7. Back up again. Check that you have an offline copy of every recovery phrase and key before adding funds.

Your crypto is not stored in the Phantom app. It sits on the blockchain, and Phantom only holds the keys that control it. That is why you can restore a wallet on a new phone or computer, and why the method depends entirely on how you created the wallet. Details below follow Phantom's help centre as of October 2026.

Pick the right recovery method

Imported wallets are separate. Restoring your main wallet with its phrase or with Google or Apple does not restore wallets you imported later, so you need each of their phrases or keys too.

Before you start

• Install Phantom only from phantom.com or the official store listing. Check it with our download checker. Fake apps that ask you to "import your wallet" are a common way people lose everything at this step.
• If Phantom is already signed in with a different wallet on that device, Phantom says you must reset or reinstall it first.
• Use a device you trust. If your old wallet was drained, do not restore the same phrase: create a new wallet instead (see wallet drained).

Restore with a recovery phrase

On the mobile welcome screen, open the extra options and choose to import a recovery phrase. In the extension, choose the option for people who already have a wallet, then import a recovery phrase. Enter the words in order: one space between words in the app, or one word per box in the extension.

Phantom then looks for accounts with on-chain activity and lists them, oldest first, so you can choose which to add. Accounts you do not select are not deleted. You can add them later by importing the same phrase again. Accounts that never had a balance may not appear; you can add them manually from the account settings.

If Phantom rejects the phrase, check that it has exactly 12 or 24 words, every word is in the right order and each is spelled as in the BIP-39 English word list. A different but valid phrase opens a different, usually empty, wallet.

Restore a Google or Apple wallet

On mobile, choose to continue with Apple or Google on the welcome screen and sign in with the same account you used before. In the extension, choose the option for an existing wallet and connect an email wallet. The extension then asks you to create a password for that browser.

Two points catch people out. First, Google and Apple create separate wallets, even if both use the same email address, so sign in with the same provider you used originally. Second, Phantom restores only the first account of these wallets; recreate your other accounts manually and they reappear with their balances (Phantom help centre, 2026).

Older Google and Apple wallets asked for a four-digit PIN. In 2026 Phantom began moving these wallets to its key management system so that signing in no longer needs the PIN (Phantom help centre, 2026). If you are still asked for a PIN, be careful: after seven wrong attempts, the encrypted backup on that device is deleted. See Phantom email login for details.

Restore a single account with a private key

Choose to import a private key, select the network the key belongs to and paste it. Picking the wrong network causes an "incorrect format" error. A private key restores one address on one network only, and keys imported this way do not sync to your other devices.

Reconnect a Ledger

If your funds were on a Ledger, they are protected by the Ledger's own recovery phrase, not Phantom. Connect the Ledger to the new Phantom install and select your accounts again. Follow our Phantom Ledger guide.

Restored but balances are missing?

• Network turned off: turn on the network under active networks in the settings. Solana is always on.
• Account not added: create or add more accounts from the same phrase until the expected addresses appear.
• Different wallet: compare the address in Phantom with an old transaction or exchange withdrawal. If it differs, you may have used another phrase or another sign-in method.
• Unsupported path: a wallet created in another app may use a derivation path Phantom does not support. Phantom's advice is to keep using the original app for those accounts.
• Watch-only wallet: after restoring a phone from a device backup, Phantom can show a wallet as watch-only. Reset the app in the security settings and sign in again with your credentials; Phantom says a reset clears local data but does not delete wallets or funds.
• Sui or Monad assets: Phantom stopped supporting Monad on 26 August 2026 and Sui on 24 September 2026. The funds are still on those chains; see Sui and Monad removed.
• Old Firefox install: Phantom no longer supports Firefox. Restore your wallet in Chrome, Brave, Edge or the app.

If you lost the phrase or the Google or Apple account

This is the hard part. Phantom does not store your recovery phrase, private keys or PIN, so it cannot retrieve them. If you are still signed in on any device, export the recovery phrase immediately and write it down; that device is your lifeline. If you are signed out on every device and have no backup, Phantom says there is no way to restore access (Phantom help centre, 2026). The same applies to a Google or Apple wallet if you have lost that account and are logged out everywhere.

Be wary of anyone who says otherwise. "Wallet recovery" services, people in comments offering help and fake Phantom support numbers are scams aimed at people in exactly this situation. Real help is the in-app chat or help.phantom.com, typed by hand. Read the Phantom support phone scam before you contact anyone.

Frequently asked questions