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Wallet

Back up and restore your wallet

Your twelve words are the only backup of your wallet. Keep them safe and you can bring the wallet back on any phone or computer, with every asset in it.

sideswap.io/guides/back-up-and-restore · Updated 9 Oct 2026

Wallet

Back up and restore your wallet

Your twelve words are the only backup of your wallet. Keep them safe and you can bring the wallet back on any phone or computer, with every asset in it.

6 min readUpdated 9 Oct 2026New SideSwap walletPreview
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Wallet restored, with the assets found, the number of transactions and the oldest activity.

At a glance

Your backup12-word recovery phraseRestore also takes a 24-word phrase
It brings backEvery asset in the walletBoth the Regular and the AMP account
Who has a copyOnly youSideSwap keeps no copy of your phrase
Restore timeA few minutesLonger for a wallet with a long history

Keep your phrase safe

  • Write the twelve words on paper, in order, and keep the paper where only you can find it.
  • Do not keep them in a photo, a screenshot, an email or a notes app that syncs to the cloud.
  • Type them only into the SideSwap app, or another wallet app you trust, to restore. Never into a website.
  • Nobody from SideSwap will ever ask for your phrase. Anyone who does is trying to take your funds.

See or check your phrase

  1. Open Settings

    Tap the gear on Home, then View my recovery phrase. The app asks for your PIN or biometrics first.
    Settings
    Settings with View my recovery phrase under Security.

  2. Compare it with your paper

    Check every word and its number against your written copy. Tap Verify again to test yourself. The phrase never leaves this device and is in no backup SideSwap holds.
    Recovery phrase
    The recovery phrase screen with twelve words, Copy and Verify again.

Check nobody is watching

Anyone who sees these words owns the wallet. Prefer your paper copy to the Copy button, because other apps can read what you copy.

Restore your wallet

Use this on a new phone or computer, after reinstalling the app, or when your history needs to be read again from scratch.

  1. Install SideSwap

    Get the app from the App Store, Google Play or sideswap.io/downloads.

  2. Choose to restore

    On the first screen, tap Restore from recovery phrase. Then read the terms and tap I agree.
    Welcome
    The welcome screen with Restore from recovery phrase.

  3. Enter your words

    Choose 12 words or 24 words and type each word in order. The app suggests words as you type and checks them on your device. Nothing is sent until the phrase is complete.
    Recovery phrase
    Entering the recovery phrase word by word, with suggestions.

  4. Let the scan finish

    The app reads the chain for every address your wallet has used. Keep the app open until it finishes. If it closes now, you need to enter your phrase again.
    Restoring your wallet
    Restoring your wallet, with phrase verified, finding your assets and loading history.

  5. Check what came back

    The app shows the assets it found, your number of transactions and your oldest activity. If they look like your wallet, tap Set a PIN and finish as in Get started.
    Wallet restored
    Wallet restored with assets found, transactions and oldest activity, and Set a PIN.

If something goes wrong

That phrase didn’t work

Every word is real, but at least one is in the wrong place, so the phrase does not add up. Check the order against your paper, because two swapped words are the usual cause. If your phrase has 24 words, switch to 24 and enter it again. Nothing has been sent anywhere.

That phrase didn't work, with tips and Back to my entry.

Restore paused

The connection dropped while the app was reading the chain. Your phrase is accepted, so you do not need to enter it again. Tap Resume scan and the scan picks up where it stopped. If it keeps pausing, try another network in Network settings.

Restore paused, with the phrase accepted, re-enter not needed and Resume scan.

A slow first start

The first start on a new device, and sometimes the first start after an update, reads your whole history again. A long history takes longer, whatever the balance. Leave the app open on a stable connection until it finishes.

A transaction or balance seems missing

Restoring the wallet again from your phrase makes the app read the history from scratch, and that usually brings it back. Before you remove the app, make sure your written phrase is complete and correct.

Peg-in details after a restore

Everything on chain comes back. Details that only lived on the old device, such as the progress page of a peg-in still on its way, may not show on the new one.

Other wallets

The phrase follows the BIP 39 standard, so other Liquid wallets that use the same paths can restore it. SideSwap reads two single signature accounts and derives the blinding keys from the same phrase.

New addressesm/84'/1776'/0'Native SegWit
Older addressesm/49'/1776'/0'Nested SegWit
Blinding keysSLIP 77
Coin type1776, Liquid

Coming from another wallet

A phrase used in a wallet with a different path, for example m/84'/0'/0', still imports, but coins on that path will not show. Check which path your old wallet used, or ask support, before you move any funds.

Watch-only descriptors

Settings can export watch-only descriptors. They let another wallet see your full history and future activity but never spend. Share them only with wallets you trust.

Still stuck

Look your transaction up first. If it still looks wrong, write to support with the Bitcoin transaction ID.

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SideSwap guide · sideswap.io/guides/back-up-and-restore · Updated 9 Oct 2026. Fees and times can change, the guide online is always current.