01
Forgotten wallet password
You have the file, app or backup but cannot remember the password that unlocks it.
Bitcoin Core and wallet.dat
Recovering a Bitcoin Core wallet.dat: forgotten password, corrupted file or old version.
Is this your case
Typical wallet.dat situations
01
You found a wallet.dat on an old drive or USB stick, current Bitcoin Core shows a balance, but the encryption password is rejected.
02
Bitcoin Core shows errors such as 'wallet.dat corrupt, salvage failed' or does not load the file after a version upgrade.
03
The file is from an old version (Berkeley DB) and the recent Bitcoin Core release, which uses descriptor wallets in SQLite, does not import it as expected.
04
You only have a partial backup, a truncated copy or a file recovered by forensic software that will not open.
05
You remember mining or buying bitcoin between 2010 and 2013 and have a wallet.dat, but do not know whether it holds the right keys.
Materials
What we need to assess the case
None of this is sent through the form. The file is only handled after the contract, through the agreed channel, and used offline.
- The wallet.dat file (or the disk that contains it), including old copies, because earlier backups may hold different keys.
- The approximate Bitcoin Core version used when the wallet was created, or the period (year) of use.
- If the file is encrypted: everything you remember about the password, length, pattern, words and suffixes.
- Addresses or transactions you associate with this wallet, to confirm that the extracted keys are the right ones.
- Proof of identity and ownership, verified before any technical work.
Process
How we handle a wallet.dat case
The path is the same as in every other case: triage without secrets, a 30 minute assessment, a proposal, offline execution and an assisted transfer to a new wallet.
Step 01
Tell us what happened
Complete a short form with the wallet type, the problem and what you still have. Do not submit any secret.
Step 02
Speak with a specialist
Have a free technical assessment lasting 30 minutes in English or Portuguese.
Step 03
Receive an initial assessment
Understand preliminary viability, which materials may be required and the next steps.
Step 04
Authorize the work
After ownership verification and service formalization, we request only what is strictly necessary.
Step 05
Pay only after a recovery
When successful, you move the assets to a new wallet during an assisted session and pay the agreed success fee.
Viability
What determines viability
The wallet.dat stores private keys in identifiable records. Even in damaged files, these records can usually be located by binary scanning. What changes from case to case is the encryption and how much of the file survived.
- Encrypted or not
- Wallets created before version 0.4.0 (September 2011) had no key encryption. In those, direct extraction usually solves the case. In encrypted files, the keys are protected with AES-256-CBC and the password has to be found.
- Password cost
- Bitcoin Core derives the key with SHA-512 repeated tens of thousands of times, calibrated to take about 100 milliseconds on the original computer. That limits attempts to a few dozen per second per core, so the search relies on good hypotheses.
- Extent of corruption
- Intact key records inside a corrupted file are recoverable. If the area holding the keys was overwritten, there is no way to rebuild them.
- Format and version
- Berkeley DB (legacy) and SQLite (descriptor wallets, default since version 23) have different structures. Knowing the source version reduces analysis time.
Service limits
What we cannot do
- We cannot recover a wallet.dat that no longer exists (formatted and overwritten, or never copied). Forensic recovery of deleted files is assessed on the corrupted file page.
- We cannot recover funds from the public address. If the file with the keys is gone, the address does not help.
- We do not guarantee finding the password; search spaces without clues are reported as unfeasible.
Security and confidentiality
Your data is treated as the most sensitive asset in the process.
We minimize data collection for every case. Recovery attempts are performed offline on equipment controlled by Vault, with access restricted to the specialists responsible.
Never send a seed phrase, private key or password to someone who contacts you without your request. Always verify Vault Recovery's official channels.
01
No secrets are requested in the initial form.
02
Work begins only after identity, ownership or legal authority is verified.
03
We request only the material required for the specific case.
04
Recovery attempts take place in a controlled offline environment.
05
You participate in moving the assets to a new wallet under your control.
06
Sensitive files and data are permanently deleted after the case is concluded.
Commercial model
A fee only on the bitcoin recovered
The assessment is free. If the keys are extracted or the password is found and the funds are transferred to your new wallet, the fee follows the brackets below. Without success, there is no fee.
No recovery commission if recovery fails
- Recovered value
- 01Up to USD 100,000
- Success fee
- 20%
- Recovered value
- 02Over USD 100,000 up to USD 200,000
- Success fee
- 17.5%
- Recovered value
- 03Over USD 200,000
- Success fee
- 15%
Cases that require device shipping, replacement parts or laboratory work may involve operational costs disclosed in advance and charged separately from the success fee.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about this case.
The same questions and answers visible here feed the structured data of the page.
Related cases
Other situations that often combine with this one.
If your case involves more than one obstacle, the assessment considers them together.
Free assessment
Found an old wallet.dat? Let us assess what it holds.
Book a free 30 minute call. A specialist reviews the origin of the file, its encryption status and what you remember about the password, without receiving any file at this stage.
Free assessment · English or Portuguese · No secret is requested at this stage
Step 1 of 3
Initial case assessment
Share only what is necessary so we can direct the conversation to the right specialist.
Never enter a seed phrase, password, passphrase, private key, or sensitive file in this form.