Pontem Wallet bug report: why it reset & how to restore it

With the v.2.5.0 update, a small number of users experienced a bug where existing accounts seemed to have disappeared. As we are preparing a hotfix, we wanted to let you know what happened and how you can avoid losing access to your wallet.

The cause: incomplete data migration

On September 29, some Pontem Wallet users reported that the Chrome extension suddenly showed the start screen, prompting them to create or import a wallet rather than sign in with the password. A few of them didn’t have their secret phrase saved and so were understandably worried. In addition, some users said they had trouble loading their account balances.

First of all, don’t panic: your account data should be safe and recoverable. The bug came as a surprise to the Pontem team, as the v.2.5.0 release had been thoroughly tested and even audited, and and no issues had been detected.

Our devs immediately got to work and soon discovered the root of the problem. The Pontem Wallet extension for Chrome normally updates automatically in the background. During the update, wallet data is migrated to a new storage location and the old storage is cleared.

In this case, however, the data migration process wasn’t completed correctly for some users (less than 0.5% of the total): account data remained in the old storage. Only Pontem Wallet extension users were affected: the mobile app is working without any issue.

It’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly went wrong for the affected users, but we’ll make sure to identify the problem and include it into the test case set for future releases.

How to restore your wallet

1) Import with the mnemonic/private key

We can’t stress this enough: ALWAYS back up the seed phrase (mnemonic) in a safe location. This is your basic responsibility as a Web3 user: not your keys, not your coins, remember? Without the mnemonic or private key, you can’t restore access to the wallet if something happens.

All kinds of things can happen: your device can die or get stolen, you can accidentally remove the extension, and so on. We are planning to add a seed recovery feature in the near future, but you still need to have a backup – better multiple backups. You can write the seed phrase on a few pieces of paper and hide them around the house, or save it on a USB stick and keep it in a drawer. Just don’t save the mnemonic somewhere where hackers or malware could access it, such as in your email, messengers, etc.

All those users who had their seed phrase backed up restored the wallet without problems. So let us say this again: always back up the secret phrase when you create a non-custodial crypto wallet. If you realize you don’t have the seed phrase, export the private keys for all the accounts and store them somewhere safe.

2) Wait for the hot fix

The next release of Pontem Wallet will contain a hotfix that will recover the old storage with the account data. The update will become available once it passes the Chrome Web Store review, which can take a couple of days. If you don’t have the seed phrase, your best bet is to wait.

Wallet taking a long time to load?

If after the v.2.5.0 update you find that your coin balances aren’t loading, try switching between accounts in the wallet. If you have only one account, create a second one and switch between them. Alternatively, try reloading the browser and/or wait a few minutes for the wallet to lock, then enter the password again. We are working on a fix for this issue, too.

We apologize to the users who have encountered issues with Pontem Wallet, and we will fix the bugs as soon as possible. At the same time, remember that Web3 is a highly experimental field and bugs happen all the time. It’s extremely important that you follow the basic security practices and always backup all your crypto wallets.