Had an issue with the Jam app on my Embassy that resulted in a re-install of the app. The wallet recovery process is a bit more involved for a novice like myself, so I threw together a quick guide here to simplify it for anyone else who might need it, and is just a modified version of the Jam Docs guide found here.
SSH into your Embassy (I used the Start9 guide for Windows/PuTTY)
Then we need to get into the source folder for Jam by running “sudo docker exec -it jam.embassy bash” followed by “cd /src”
Now that we’re in the correct directory, run “. jmvenv/bin/activate # if virtual environment is enabled python3 scripts/wallet-tool.py recover --gap-limit=200 --recoversync”
It’s now going to ask some questions;
“Input mnemonic recovery phrase: word word word word word word word word word word word word
Input mnemonic extension: (left blank)
Enter new passphrase:
Re-enter passphrase:
Input wallet file name (default: wallet.jmdat):” Be sure to include the “.jmdat” extension after the name.
After that it’ll ask if you want to enable fidelity bond, and then you’re all done.
I’m a bit embarrassed by how long it took me to sort that out, so hopefully this will save some time for anyone else should they run into the need to recover their wallet!
Thanks! Awesome guide. I believe they will implement the ability to recover wallets during initial setup at some point. I think it’s just a process of adding what’s already possible to the GUI.
One of my Start9 machines crapped out having no power anymore to turn on. I attempted both below, but both fail to show any funds I have under my JAM Wallet (Passphrase).
The new version has import wallet function. I imported, and the past 2 days shows 0 balance, that is wrong.
I tried your method through ssh the method, again, same thing no balance showing.
JAM boasts that all funds under the JAM wallet are aligned with the seed phrase. Is there something I am missing as to why a seed phrase which had bitcoin tied to it, coins in different jars one day, and not showing the next after a restore?
FYI - I also had a Fidelity Bond setup, that too is not showing. It is treating my existing wallet as if it were brand new.
I’m by no means an expert, however if I were having the same experience (assuming you’re not seeing any transaction history in JAM after your attempted restore) I would probably first try importing through a 3rd party wallet I trust like Sparrow. If the seed and passphrase I input there are correct, then I should see the funding transactions into the wallet just like JAM. However if it’s also blank like JAM, then there’s an error somewhere between my seed and passphrase.
Hey Gary, that is exactly what I did. I restored it on Sparrow and can see all of my coins except for the Fidelity Bond, which I assume, once expires would appear in Sparrow then.
JAM, and I tried with the previous version 0.1.5 too, both 0.1.6 and 0.1.5 both choke after the import, unable to connect to Network, then later its like it doesn’t even try to read the blockchain. JAM’s import existing just doesn’t work, at least for me.
One last follow up. I tried one more time, but this time from my mac mini M1 machine, using the same browser software, different OS. I was using my Linux laptop earlier to access the JAM GUI. On my MAC it is actually conducting a rescan, where I see the words, versus on my Linux, just white bar across the balances. It seems to be taking some time, so this is promising. Using JAM’s import wallet function.
Very strange, and am glad I have a few different machines (OS’s) to try things with
It sounds like the import is not ‘failing,’ but rather your device is struggling, either due to a lack of resources, or due to a network issue. Did you manage to discover the funds following this rescan?
Correct. JAM import works perfectly. I was using my Lenova Yoga and it is very lightweight, maybe a notch higher than a 5 year old tablet. I’ve made a note of this on my end with JAM. Thanks for listening to no problem, but at least I learned something.
