Find your situation
| What happened | Recoverable? | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Lost or broke the phone; have the phrase | Yes, fully | Restore |
| Forgot the app PIN; have the phrase | Yes, fully | Restore |
| Uninstalled the app; have the phrase | Yes, fully | Restore |
| Have the phrase but the balance shows zero | Usually yes — wrong network or wrong derivation | Zero balance |
| Have the words but not the order | Sometimes | Partial phrase |
| Missing one or two words | Sometimes | Partial phrase |
| Exchange account locked out | Usually yes — it is custodial | Exchange account |
| Sent to the wrong network | Depends | Network guide |
| Forgot a Ledger passphrase | No | Permanent |
| Lost the phrase entirely, self-custody | No | Permanent |
| Gave the phrase to a scammer | No | Permanent |
| Sent to a scammer's address | No | Permanent |
Restoring from a recovery phrase
If you have the phrase, you have the wallet. The device never mattered.
Install the wallet app on a clean device
From the official store, reached from the official site typed by hand. A compromised device at this moment loses everything — see fake apps.
Choose "Import" or "I already have a wallet"
Not "Create new".
Enter the words in order, checking spelling
All phrase words come from a fixed 2,048-word list, so the app will reject a word that is not on it — that itself helps you find a transcription error.
Set a new PIN or password
These are per-installation and unrelated to the old one.
Wait for balances to load, then add missing assets
Some tokens need to be enabled or imported manually before they appear.
You are not limited to the original app. A standard 12 or 24-word phrase works in most wallets — a Trust Wallet phrase can generally be restored in another compatible wallet. If one app will not show your balance, trying a second is a legitimate diagnostic.
The phrase works but the balance is zero
This is common and usually not a loss. Work through these in order:
Check you selected the right network
USDT on Tron does not appear under USDT on Ethereum. This is the single most frequent cause.
Enable or import the token
Many wallets hide tokens until added. Use the token's contract address from its official site or a reputable explorer — never from a chat message.
Verify the address against a block explorer
Paste your address into the relevant explorer. If the explorer shows a balance, the funds are there and it is a display problem in the app.
Try a different derivation path
Wallets can derive different addresses from the same phrase. Some apps let you choose the path or show multiple accounts — if you had a Bitcoin balance in one app and see nothing in another, this is often why.
Check for additional accounts within the wallet
One phrase can back several accounts. The funds may be in account two.
Confirm you have the right phrase
If you have created several wallets, you may be restoring a different one. An empty wallet restored correctly looks identical to the wrong wallet restored correctly.
A partial or misordered phrase
Sometimes recoverable, and the odds depend heavily on how much you have.
| Situation | Realistic prospect |
|---|---|
| All words, order uncertain in a few places | Good — the checksum in the final word eliminates most wrong orders |
| Missing one word, order known | Good — a limited search space |
| Missing two words | Possible, computationally heavy |
| Missing three or more | Effectively impossible |
| All words, order completely unknown | Impossible for 12 words — the number of orderings is astronomically large |
Do not hand a partial phrase to anyone. Not a "recovery expert", not a forum helper, not a service. A partial phrase plus their computing power is a complete phrase they own. If you attempt a recovery, run open-source recovery tooling yourself, offline, on a device with no network connection — and understand that if you cannot do that safely, the honest answer is that the funds are gone.
A locked exchange account is a different problem
Good news: an exchange balance is custodial, so the platform can restore your access. Work through:
- Password reset by email — the standard route.
- Lost 2FA — most exchanges have a documented 2FA reset requiring identity verification, often a video selfie. It takes days, and it works.
- Lost access to the email address — recover the email first; everything else runs through it.
- Account frozen by the platform — a compliance matter, not a technical one. Provide what they ask, in writing, and keep the ticket reference.
- The platform itself has failed — a creditor claim rather than a recovery. See local Nigerian exchanges.
Never use a third party to "recover" an exchange account. The platform's own support is the only channel, and anyone else asking for your credentials is stealing them.
When it is genuinely gone
These situations are permanent, and being told so plainly saves you a second loss:
- Self-custody phrase lost entirely. Nobody has a copy. There is no backdoor. This is by design.
- Phrase given to a scammer. Funds are typically moved within minutes and cannot be reversed.
- Funds sent to a scammer's address. Blockchain transfers are final.
- Ledger passphrase forgotten. The 24 words alone open a different, empty wallet. The passphrase is not stored anywhere.
- Sent to a wrong address that nobody controls. Final.
Every paid crypto recovery service is a scam. They find victims through forum posts and comments, offer hope, and charge an upfront fee — then another, and another. No third party can reverse a blockchain transfer or reconstruct a lost phrase. If you have already lost money, the people contacting you now are the second theft. See avoid crypto scams.
Preventing the next one
Two paper copies, two locations
Or metal above a few million naira.
Test every backup by restoring it
While the balance is small. An untested backup is a hope.
Write down which wallet the phrase belongs to
People with several wallets lose funds by not knowing which phrase is which. Label them — the label is not a secret.
Note the derivation path if you used a non-default one
It saves hours later.
Keep 2FA backup codes offline
A lost authenticator app is an avoidable week of identity verification.
Tell one trusted person that a backup exists and where
Not the phrase — its location. This is the most common way genuinely long-term holdings are lost.
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover my crypto wallet without the recovery phrase?
Not for a self-custody wallet — the phrase is the only route in, by design, and nobody holds a copy. An exchange account is different: it is custodial, so the platform can restore your access through password reset and a documented 2FA reset process.
I have my recovery phrase but the balance shows zero. What now?
Usually a network or token-visibility problem rather than a loss. Check you selected the right network, enable or import the token manually, paste your address into a block explorer to see whether funds are actually there, and try a different derivation path or a second wallet app.
Can I recover a wallet if I have the words but not the order?
Often yes, if the uncertainty is limited to a few positions — the checksum in the final word rules out most wrong orderings. If the order is completely unknown, the number of permutations makes it impossible. Never share a partial phrase with anyone offering to help.
Are crypto recovery services legitimate?
No. No third party can reverse a blockchain transfer or reconstruct a lost phrase. These services find victims through forum posts, offer hope, and charge fee after fee. If you have already lost money, the people contacting you now are running the second scam.
I lost my phone with my crypto wallet on it. Is my crypto gone?
No, provided you have the recovery phrase. Install the wallet on a new device, choose Import, and enter the phrase. The phone was never the wallet.
Can I restore a Trust Wallet phrase in a different wallet app?
Generally yes — standard 12 and 24-word phrases work across most compatible wallets. If one app will not display your balance, trying a second is a legitimate way to diagnose the problem.
What if I forgot my Ledger passphrase?
Those funds are permanently inaccessible. The passphrase is not stored on the device or anywhere else, and the 24 words alone open a different wallet. This is the trade-off of using a passphrase and the reason to document it as carefully as the phrase itself.
Related guides
Last reviewed: 2026-09-09. We update this page whenever Nigerian rules, fees or platform availability change. Nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice — see our editorial policy.
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