Neither BTC or LN wallets load

Support and Troubleshooting
1

Most recent update

Neither BTC or LN wallets load.

No file backup file located umbrel/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet

I was able to get BTC using BlueWallet on mobile using seeds.

LN only had one channel open with negligible sats; at this point it has been down for over a week I don’t care of those sats go poof.

I’m stuck.
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2

Any logs or error messages that might help us see what’s happening? a couple thoughts, but please proceed with caution. A few assumptions have been made… so ignore of N/A.

Step 1: Assess the Situation

  • BTC Recovered: You’ve already used your 24-word seed phrase to restore your on-chain Bitcoin funds in BlueWallet, which means your on-chain wallet is safe and accessible outside Umbrel. This is a big win.
  • LN Funds: With only one channel and negligible sats, and it being offline for over a week, those funds are likely lost unless the channel was force-closed by the peer and the funds returned on-chain (check BlueWallet for any unexpected BTC deposits). Since you’re okay letting them go, we won’t dwell on this.
  • No channel.backup File: This file is crucial for restoring Lightning channels, but since it’s missing and your LN funds are negligible, we can proceed without it.
  • Wallets Not Loading: This suggests a deeper issue—possibly corruption, a failed update, or a misconfiguration in Umbrel or its dependencies (Bitcoin Core, LND).

Step 2: Basic Troubleshooting

Before doing anything drastic, let’s try some quick fixes:

  1. Restart Umbrel:
  • Access your Raspberry Pi via SSH (ssh umbrel@umbrel.local, default password is often blank or set during setup).
  • Stop Umbrel: cd ~/umbrel && sudo ./scripts/stop.
  • Start Umbrel: sudo ./scripts/start.
  • Check the dashboard (http://umbrel.local) after a few minutes to see if wallets load.
  1. Check Logs:
  • View Bitcoin Core logs: cat ~/umbrel/bitcoin/debug.log.
  • View LND logs: cat ~/umbrel/lnd/logs/bitcoin/mainnet/lnd.log.
  • Look for errors like “database corruption,” “sync stalled,” or “wallet not found.” These will guide us.

If the wallets still don’t load, the update likely broke something in the Bitcoin Core or LND setup.

Step 3: Verify Blockchain Data

Since your BTC wallet isn’t loading in Umbrel but worked in BlueWallet, the issue might be with Umbrel’s Bitcoin Core instance or its wallet file:

  • Check Sync Status: In the Umbrel dashboard (if accessible) or via SSH (bitcoin-cli -datadir=/home/umbrel/umbrel/bitcoin getblockchaininfo), confirm the blockchain is fully synced. If it’s stuck, the update might have corrupted the chainstate.
  • Wallet File: Umbrel’s Bitcoin wallet is typically at ~/umbrel/bitcoin/wallets/wallet.dat. If it’s missing or corrupted, Umbrel won’t load the BTC wallet. Since you have your seed, we can recreate it later.

Step 4: Reset and Rebuild (Scorched Earth Approach)

Given the missing backup file, non-loading wallets, and your indifference to the LN sats, a clean slate might be the fastest fix. Assume all of this is irreversible after executing the commands:

  1. Stop Umbrel:
  • cd ~/umbrel && sudo ./scripts/stop.
  1. Backup Your Seed: You’ve already used it, but triple-check it’s safe (written down, not just digital).
  2. Delete Corrupted Data:
  • Remove LND data: sudo rm -rf ~/umbrel/lnd. This wipes your Lightning node, but your channel is negligible.
  • Optionally, keep Bitcoin blockchain data (~/umbrel/bitcoin/blocks and ~/umbrel/bitcoin/chainstate) to avoid a full resync (600GB+ as of April 2025), but if you suspect corruption, delete them too: sudo rm -rf ~/umbrel/bitcoin.
  1. Reinstall Umbrel:
  • If using umbrelOS: Reflash the microSD card with the latest umbrelOS image (download from getumbrel.com).
  • If script-based: Re-run the install script: curl -L https://umbrel.sh | bash.
  1. Restore On-Chain Wallet:
  • During setup, Umbrel will prompt for a seed phrase. Use your 24-word seed to restore your BTC wallet.
  • If you kept the blockchain data, it’ll verify quickly; otherwise, it’ll resync (days, depending on your SSD and network).
  1. Skip LN Restore: Without channel.backup, don’t bother restoring Lightning yet. Start fresh when ready.

Step 5: Start Fresh with Lightning (Optional)

Once your BTC wallet is back:

  • Open new LN channels using funds from your restored BTC wallet.
  • Back up your new channel.backup file (found in ~/umbrel/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet after creating channels) via the Umbrel dashboard or manually via SSH.

Why This Happened

  • Update Bug: Umbrel updates sometimes break LND or Bitcoin Core, especially if the Raspberry Pi ran out of memory or power during the process.
  • No Backup File: If you never exported channel.backup or it got deleted, that’s why it’s missing. Future-proof by backing up after every channel change.
  • Corruption: SD cards or SSDs can fail, especially with frequent writes during updates or syncs.