# Most of my Lightning Balance is unavailable

**URL:** <https://community.umbrel.com/t/most-of-my-lightning-balance-is-unavailable/13265>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [August 6, 2023, 2:31am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/most-of-my-lightning-balance-is-unavailable/13265 "2023-08-06T02:31:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jlu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jlu](https://community.umbrel.com/u/jlu)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 2:31am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/most-of-my-lightning-balance-is-unavailable/13265/1 "2023-08-06T02:31:49Z")

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Hi Guys,

I tried to open my first Channel with 1ML which I thought was successful.  
But try as I might I cant use it.  
I suspect a missed a step somewhere but I am lost as to where that was or where I go from here to fix it.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated  
Thanks Jack

 ![Screenshot_20230806_115150](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/getumbrel/original/2X/3/3d6bbcd44dd3a2b51654ee06c0fd8b9f28e0d3ba.png)

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**Author:** ![smolgrrr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/smolgrrr/32/2825_2.png) [@smolgrrr](https://community.umbrel.com/u/smolgrrr)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 5:34am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/most-of-my-lightning-balance-is-unavailable/13265/2 "2023-08-06T05:34:39Z")

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I’d run the following script, and have a look through this thread [Steps for Waiting Close Channels and Unconfirmed Transactions](https://community.umbrel.com/t/steps-for-waiting-close-channels-and-unconfirmed-transactions/12937).

> [@Steps for Waiting Close Channels and Unconfirmed Transactions](https://community.umbrel.com/t/steps-for-waiting-close-channels-and-unconfirmed-transactions/12937/1):
>
> You can use this command to see status of channels:  
> `~/umbrel/scripts/app compose lightning exec lnd lncli pendingchannels`

Chances are that the peer is offline at the moment, which can be annoying. If you confirm that’s the issue and nothing else, it’s worth trying to have more than one channel open so you can still use lightning even if one peer is offline.  
You can also check this in Thunderhub

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**Author:** ![jlu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jlu](https://community.umbrel.com/u/jlu)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 8:07am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/most-of-my-lightning-balance-is-unavailable/13265/3 "2023-08-06T08:07:41Z")

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Thanks. I tried the cmd you suggested, response was  
"umbrel@umbrel:~/umbrel/scripts $ ~/umbrel/scripts/app compose lightning exec lnd lncli pendingchannels  
{  
“total\_limbo\_balance”: “0”,  
“pending\_open\_channels”: [  
],  
“pending\_closing\_channels”: [  
],  
“pending\_force\_closing\_channels”: [  
],  
“waiting\_close\_channels”: [  
]  
}  
"  
I read the steps on zombie recovery and that scared me a bit. I knew the peer was up it was 1ml and i’ve been trying for days.

I re-looked at ThunderHub and (wrongly) thought I had managed to open a Channel without enough BTC to cover it.

So I deposited a little more BTC to my BTC account from another wallet. And that appeared to clear whatever the problem was.

I only have vague thoughts as to why this worked like

- Some part of the channel opening was NOT fully confirmed?
- My subsequent transaction forced the confirmation of both transactions?

I’d appreciate your thoughts, but I can live without knowing.

Thanks Jack

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**Author:** ![smolgrrr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/smolgrrr/32/2825_2.png) [@smolgrrr](https://community.umbrel.com/u/smolgrrr)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 8:46am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/most-of-my-lightning-balance-is-unavailable/13265/4 "2023-08-06T08:46:00Z")

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Interesting, not sure why that other bitcoin transaction would’ve helped unless it was a CPFP transaction, but then that other channel should’ve counted as pending anyway.

Only other thing I can think of is that maybe Bitcoin Core was out of sync for a short period?

Good to hear it’s resolved tho- let us know if this ever comes up again.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jlu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jlu](https://community.umbrel.com/u/jlu)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 8:52am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/most-of-my-lightning-balance-is-unavailable/13265/5 "2023-08-06T08:52:37Z")

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Will do. Thanks for your help.