Recovery
Recovery that assumes the worst.
Twelve words, the 13th, testing the backup, SLIP-39 shares. Four layers, so that no single bad day costs you everything.
The twelve words
One recovery phrase, generated on your device, derives your keys on every supported network. One phrase for everything — there is nothing else to back up.
- Write it on paper, in order, by hand.
- Never photograph it, screenshot it, or paste it into any app or website.
- Store it somewhere that survives water, fire, and curiosity.
The 13th word
An optional passphrase on top of the twelve words — a second secret you choose yourself. A phrase someone finds is useless without it, because the 13th word exists only in your head.
- The passphrase is never stored anywhere; if you forget it, the phrase alone opens a different, empty wallet.
- Use one only if you can remember it under stress — it is a lock you cannot pick later.
Testing the backup
After you write the phrase down, the app asks you to verify it — you confirm the words before the wallet holds anything. A backup you have not tested is a hope, not a backup.
- The check takes under a minute and happens before you fund the wallet.
- You can re-run the verification from Settings whenever you want to be sure.
SLIP-39 split shares
For balances that matter, split the backup into N-of-M shares. Any M shares rebuild the wallet; fewer than M reveal nothing. No single share — lost, stolen, or photographed — is enough on its own.
- Keep shares in separate places: home, a safe deposit box, someone you trust.
- The app includes a “Restore from a split backup” flow that walks you through recombining shares.
What we can never do
We can never see your recovery phrase. It is generated on your device and never transmitted.
We can never reset it. There is no password reset, because there is no account on our side.
We can never recover it for you. That's the point — if we could, so could someone who compromises us.
Recovery questions
I lost my phone. What now?
Install Smartable on a new device and restore from your recovery phrase or SLIP-39 shares. Every chain comes back from the same backup — there is no per-chain recovery to redo.
Can Smartable support recover my wallet for me?
No, and nobody claiming to be us can either. Your keys exist only on your devices and your backup. If you lose both the device and the backup, the funds are unrecoverable — that's what self-custody means.
Someone asked me to share my phrase to “verify” my wallet. Is that real?
No. That is always a scam. Smartable will never ask for your phrase — not in the app, not by email, not in a DM. Anyone who has your phrase has your money.
Set up your backup properly
The app walks you through the phrase, the verification, and split backup on first run. Two minutes now beats a bad day later.