Why i need a password when i have private key

Hi guys,

I’m since a year+ O3 iOS app user. Always happy and have no complaints.
I made a nice backup of my private key last year. I have the QR code as well with the little orange key inside of it.

So my phone was lost.

No worries right. I just bought a new phone and installed the app again. I was nicely able to scan the QR code and suddenly a password is being asked ???

While beneath the QR code it was once written:
Please be very careful not to share this key with anyone, as it will allow them full access to your account and funds without a password.

So how can I now access my funds? I also installed the desktop client, but the same password is being asked there.

Thank you in advance for helping me getting back my access

1 Like

Hi there,
In the last year or so, we have made some updates to how the key system works, which includes a second layer of encryption for your keys. It is asking you to enter a password to create this encrypted key. You are welcome to put anything you like in there.

You are still welcome to use your private key instead, it should work exactly the same, but we recommend switching to an encrypted key for a little extra security. It basically means that if anyone get their hands on your key, they still need the password to actually access your funds.

Hope this helps!

Exactly. It asks me for a password now when I want to open my wallet. But I can’t remember even setting that password. Is there any forgot my password kinda options?

I attached a screenshot of what i see.

IMG_03BE43311C83-1

Ah, by the looks of it, you were able to login successfully once with your private key and now you are asked for this password when you re-open the app?

If that is the case, when you entered your private key, you would have been asked to enter a password to encrypt it. That is the password the app is now asking for.

Unfortunately there is no forgot your password option but what you can do, if you cannot remember this password, is reinstall O3 app and enter your private key again, it will ask for a new password for the encryption. Then you should be able to access your wallet again with the reset password.

Let me know if this helps. Please also ensure you have the latest version of O3 install just incase.

I removed the App… Re-installed the Application.
On opening of the app I press the Login button. I then scan the QR code I have.
This triggers the private key to be entered in the App.

And when the key is added, the ‘Enter Password’ input field appears.
And that’s the point where I’m now stuck.

IMG_34B8CFB891BA-1

Hello,

That means that the key that you have is actually the encrypted key (which you encrypted with a password), and not the private key. If you scan the private key it would ask you to set a password like Alex mentioned. The fact that it asks for a password means that you have set it up initially. I would suggest trying a couple of passwords that you can think of, because it is specifically something that you set yourself and not a random generated password or anything. You can also try and see if you have the private key itself somewhere, but I guess you don’t have it if you wrote down the encrypted key.

:pensive:

Does the app suppost to crash everytime i enter a password? Does it mean the password is wrong… or just a little big in the application?

Ah sorry to hear you are still experiencing issues. There was is a known bug in the current version that is causing some users to experience crashes. There is a quick fix to stop it happening. If you scan the key, then delete the last character and re-enter it, it should work fine. We have a fix coming very soon for it.

One other question, when you scan the key, does it start with 6P? If so, this means it’s an encrypted key and has a password attached to it. If not, it should just be a normal private key.

Thanks

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The App continues crashing for me, even with the workaround.
What is 6P? If it’s the Password then yes. When I scan the code I get the password input field visible.

This issue of the crashing app…what crashes the app?

  1. the entering of a password
  2. the entering of a wrong password
  3. the entering of a good password, and the redirect to wallet fails.

If your key starts with 6P it means that it has been encrypted, and requires a password to decrypt it.

The bug in the app is when you enter an incorrect password, even after deleting the last character in the key and re-entering it.

We have a fix for the bug that will be released soon with a new version. It’s currently in testing.

It is most likely that, if it still crashes with the work around, that the password is incorrect.

HI. Ok, I tried another trillion times to guess a password. But unfortunately no luck.

This password, was it there since the beginning?
It is not possible that I created a Wallet before passwords were used on your service?
I know that FaceID was used to log in to the app. But not sure if that helps.

Hi there,

If the wallet was created before passwords, then you would have a private key that does not require a password to use. Entering that would just log straight into the app. If you have an encrypted key, it can only be made by entering a password to encrypt it.

Is there any chance that you have multiple keys backed up somewhere?

1 Like

I found several backups. All with password

Do the text version of the key always start with 6P?

Yes all keys are the same.
I saw that when i do an external backup (email), it is always the 6p version.

ok so that means you have entered a password at some stage to generate the encrypted key. They cannot be created without entering a password when creating a new wallet.

Is the app still crashing when entering the password? Or it is just giving an error?

Are you also using the latest version of the app?

Yes latest version. And it’s not crashing anymore.
Just giving error after entering password(s)

I’m sorry to say, but there is not much else we can do at this stage to help. My best suggestion is to keep trying passwords and double check to see if there are any other backed up keys around that might let you access the wallet. Sorry, it’s not better news.