Recover a vault in Sparrow
Load your vault into Sparrow from its backup file, add your own keys, and spend from it without SignBit. Do this once as a drill, so you know it works before you ever need it.
1. What you need
- The backup file from your vault page (Download backup). It describes the whole vault, with every key, the threshold and the address type.
- Enough of your own keys to meet the vault's threshold, as seed words or on the hardware wallets that hold them. On a 2-of-3 vault that is two keys.
- Sparrow, downloaded from sparrowwallet.com, with its signature checked.
Typing seed words into a computer exposes them to anything running on it. For a practice run, use a test vault. In a real recovery, use a computer you trust, and once your coins are safe, move them to a new vault with fresh keys.
2. Save the backup file
On your vault page, choose Download backup and save the file somewhere you can find it.
3. Import it into Sparrow
Open Sparrow and choose File → Import Wallet. Find Output Descriptor in the list and choose Import File…, then pick the backup file.
Give the wallet a name, and choose whether to protect it with a password on this computer.
4. Check the balance
Sparrow opens on Transactions. The balance should match what SignBit shows for this vault, to the satoshi.
Sparrow shows amounts in BTC. To see them in sats, as SignBit can, open File → Preferences → General and set Bitcoin Unit to sats. If the balance does not match SignBit, open Settings → Advanced and check that Gap limit is at least 30, just in case. If it still does not match, do not send anything to this wallet and contact us.
5. Add your keys
So far the wallet can watch the vault but not sign for it. Open Settings. It shows Multi Signature, Native Segwit (P2WSH) and your threshold, and one tab per key. Open a tab whose master fingerprint matches one of your keys, and choose Import….
The tabs follow the order of the backup file, so SignBit's key is often the first one. Before you choose Import…, check that the tab's master fingerprint matches the key whose words you are about to type. If a key goes into the wrong tab, Sparrow sees the same key twice, outlines it in red and keeps Apply greyed out. Close the wallet without applying, open it again and import into the matching tabs.
Choose Software Wallet. If the key is on a hardware wallet, choose Connected Hardware Wallet or Airgapped Hardware Wallet instead.
Under Mnemonic Words (BIP39), pick the number of words your backup has, type them in order, and choose Create Keystore.
If the key lives in SignBit Fountain, Reveal seed on its key card shows the words, numbered down each column.
The keystore now says Software Wallet, with the same fingerprint as before. Repeat for each key you hold.
Choose Apply, and enter the wallet password if you set one.
6. Spend without SignBit
Open Send. Paste the destination into Pay to, add a label if you like (it stays on your computer), enter the amount, and set the fee. Then choose Create Transaction.
Check the amount and destination, then choose Finalize Transaction for Signing.
Choose Sign, and enter the wallet password if asked. Sparrow signs with every key you imported, and a bar fills for each one.
Choose Broadcast Transaction. Sparrow shows the transaction as Unconfirmed, and lists the keys that signed it.
The Bitcoin network does not know or care that SignBit exists. Once the transaction confirms, it also appears in your vault's history on SignBit, because it is the same vault.