If a wallet won’t import into Phantom, your accounts are missing after import, your recovery phrase isn’t working, or you’re seeing private key errors, this article can help.

Accounts are missing after signing in or importing a wallet #

Missing accounts are often still recoverable. In many cases the wallet imported successfully, but not every account was added automatically.

After signing in with a Google or Apple account #

When signing in to Phantom with a Google or Apple account, Phantom restores only the first account in your wallet automatically. Any other accounts with onchain activities, you need to add manually.

1. To add missing accounts, follow these steps in Add wallets and accounts to your Phantom wallet.
2. Repeat until all expected accounts appear.

After importing a recovery phrase #

When importing a recovery phrase, Phantom restores accounts with onchain activity (sends, receives, or swaps) from oldest to newest. Accounts with no balance or transaction history may not appear automatically.

1. To add missing accounts, follow these steps in Add wallets and accounts to your Phantom wallet.
2. Repeat until all expected accounts appear.
3. If accounts still don't appear, reset Phantom following the steps in Reset the Phantom app.

If accounts still don't appear after a reset:

• This may not be the recovery phrase for the wallet you expected.
• The wallet may use a derivation path Phantom doesn't support.

Empty wallet after signing in with Google or Apple #

If your wallet appears empty after signing in with Google or Apple, you may have signed in with a different provider than the one you originally used to create your wallet.

For example, if you created your wallet with Google but signed in with Apple using the same email address, Phantom creates a separate wallet. The same applies if you originally used Apple and later signed in with Google.

Try signing in with the other provider. If you used Google to create your wallet, sign in with Google. If you used Apple, sign in with Apple.

Recovery phrase not working #

You may see one of these messages when importing your Secret Recovery Phrase:

• "Invalid secret recovery phrase"
• "Phrase needs to be at least 12 words"
• "Word 1 is incorrect or misspelled"
• "Incorrect format"

These messages usually mean one or more words are incorrect. A recovery phrase must:

• Contain exactly 12 or 24 words.
• Be entered in the correct order.
• Use correct spelling. You can verify spelling using the BIP-39 English word list.
• In the mobile app, have one space between each word. In the browser extension, one word in each cell.

Words are correct but import still fails #

If you've verified spelling, order, and spacing but the import still fails, check where the wallet was originally created.

Some wallet apps generate accounts using different derivation paths. In that case:

• Try importing the private key instead, if available.
• Re-export the recovery phrase from the original app if you still have access.
• If Phantom can't derive the same accounts, you may need to continue using the original app for those accounts.

If the recovery phrase is correct and Phantom supports that wallet's derivation path, the expected accounts appear after import.

Recovery phrase rejected by another app #

Some trading platforms and tools, such as Axiom or Padre, require a private key rather than a recovery phrase. If your Phantom recovery phrase is rejected on one of these platforms, this is usually why.

Only export a private key if you trust the platform and understand why it needs direct account access.

1. To export your private key from Phantom, follow the instructions in View your recovery phrase or private keys in Phantom.
2. Once exported, paste the private key into the third-party platform.

Private key not working #

Make sure you're selecting the correct network when importing a private key. Selecting the wrong network causes an "Incorrect format" error.

Seeing accounts you don't recognize #

If you import a recovery phrase and see unfamiliar accounts, one of the following is likely:

• The recovery phrase is different. Recovery phrases are cryptographically exact. Even a single incorrect word generates a completely different wallet.
• The wallet generated accounts differently. Some apps create accounts in ways Phantom can't replicate.

To find out which applies, try the following:

1. Import the same recovery phrase into the app that was originally used to create the wallet.
2. Check whether your expected accounts appear there.

If the accounts appear in the original app but not in Phantom, you may need to continue using that app for those accounts.

If the accounts do not appear in the original app either, the recovery phrase is not the one you expected.

Restore full access to a watch-only wallet #

If your wallet has become watch-only, you can still view your balances and activity, but you can’t approve transactions.

This can happen if Phantom’s authentication session expires. Your funds remain safe on the blockchain.

To restore access, reset the Phantom app and then sign back in with the exact same email/social login method you originally used to create this wallet.

Before resetting, make sure you still have access to that same login method and any PIN required to restore the wallet. Do not create a new wallet after resetting; choose the option to restore/sign back in to your existing wallet.