<p>Mnemonic seeds are based on the BIP39 (seeds) and <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0044.mediawiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BIP44</a> (accounts/multiple currencies).</p>

<p>When deriving addresses, one uses a derivation path to get to a specific addresses. The default paths are defined in the BIP specs, but some wallets may use different ones due to an error or intentionally (for instance, Ledger's Vertcoin derivation uses Monero's derivation path due to a coding error).</p>

<p>You can use tools such as <a href="https://iancoleman.io/bip39/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ian Coleman's BIP39 tool</a> (preferably offline) to play around with your seed and derivation paths until you see your addresses. The tool has preloaded the common paths, so you should usually be able to access your wallet pretty easily, unless you were using an extremely unusual client.</p>

<p>Many wallets also publish their derivation paths in their support pages, and you could pull your original wallet's path from there.</p>

<p>Wallets such as Electrum will also let you import a seed and specify the derivation path, saving you from having to generate and import individual keys.</p>

<p>As long as your seed was generated by a wallet that complies with BIP44, and you are importing it into another wallet that also complies with BIP44, you should be able to recover all your keys with no additional work.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T19:28:18.633Z
Strange, I tried recover with `Copay` and `Electrum` from the same 12-word backup, and none of them could do it.
János
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T19:30:10.110Z
Did you select Options->BIP39 when entering the seed in Electrum? Electrum will default to a non-BIP39 seed, so you must specify it explicitly. Have you ensured your derivation path is correct?
Raghav Sood
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T19:32:55.933Z
Yes, set BIP39. I think `Copay` and `Electrum` has the same 'derivation path'. Though I have no clue what it is good for. `m/44'/0'/0'`
János
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T19:40:01.983Z
If you're confident the derivation path is correct, then your seed must be incorrect. It's hard to debug further without more details, but it also looks like copay is using a few non-standard paths: https://github.com/bitpay/copay/wiki I would try all of them, particularly `m/45'/2147483647/0/`. Do you remember if your address starts with 1 or 3? If you were using a copay multisig, you will need more keys to recreate it in electrum
Raghav Sood
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T20:06:22.010Z
Addresses in wallet start all with `1`.
János
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T21:07:15.923Z
@János if you have any extra word (passphrase) and you didn't set, you may get a different master key therefore addresses.
Tailer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-02T02:28:52.643Z
Just wanted to vouch for Ian Coleman's tool. It's awesome, has saved me a couple of times, and the code is all open source: https://github.com/iancoleman/bip39
Matt Popovich
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T17:31:44.653Z
2018-05-15T17:31:44.653Z
Raghav Sood
<p>A single seed can lead to billions of addresses. Some wallets are unable to scan and find all used addresses.</p>

<p>Is it a way to infer the private key from 12-word backup and wallet ID / (public key).</p>

<p>It seems the only way to restore my balance is based on private key.</p>

<public-key><seed><mnemonic-seed>
How to generate specific private keys from 12-word backup and wallet address?
János
# How to generate specific private keys from 12-word backup and wallet address?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-05-15)

A single seed can lead to billions of addresses. Some wallets are unable to scan and find all used addresses.

Is it a way to infer the private key from 12-word backup and wallet ID / (public key).

It seems the only way to restore my balance is based on private key.

**Tags:** public-key, seed, mnemonic-seed


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-05-15. Score: 4

Mnemonic seeds are based on the BIP39 (seeds) and [BIP44](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0044.mediawiki) (accounts/multiple currencies).

When deriving addresses, one uses a derivation path to get to a specific addresses. The default paths are defined in the BIP specs, but some wallets may use different ones due to an error or intentionally (for instance, Ledger's Vertcoin derivation uses Monero's derivation path due to a coding error).

You can use tools such as [Ian Coleman's BIP39 tool](https://iancoleman.io/bip39/) (preferably offline) to play around with your seed and derivation paths until you see your addresses. The tool has preloaded the common paths, so you should usually be able to access your wallet pretty easily, unless you were using an extremely unusual client.

Many wallets also publish their derivation paths in their support pages, and you could pull your original wallet's path from there.

Wallets such as Electrum will also let you import a seed and specify the derivation path, saving you from having to generate and import individual keys.

As long as your seed was generated by a wallet that complies with BIP44, and you are importing it into another wallet that also complies with BIP44, you should be able to recover all your keys with no additional work.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Strange, I tried recover with `Copay` and `Electrum` from the same 12-word backup, and none of them could do it.  
> **username_1**: Did you select Options->BIP39 when entering the seed in Electrum? Electrum will default to a non-BIP39 seed, so you must specify it explicitly. Have you ensured your derivation path is correct?  
> **username_0**: Yes, set BIP39. I think `Copay` and `Electrum` has the same 'derivation path'. Though I have no clue what it is good for. `m/44'/0'/0'`  
> **username_1**: If you're confident the derivation path is correct, then your seed must be incorrect. It's hard to debug further without more details, but it also looks like copay is using a few non-standard paths: https://github.com/bitpay/copay/wiki I would try all of them, particularly `m/45'/2147483647/0/`. Do you remember if your address starts with 1 or 3? If you were using a copay multisig, you will need more keys to recreate it in electrum  
> **username_0**: Addresses in wallet start all with `1`.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 if you have any extra word (passphrase) and you didn't set, you may get a different master key therefore addresses.  
> **username_3**: Just wanted to vouch for Ian Coleman's tool. It's awesome, has saved me a couple of times, and the code is all open source: https://github.com/iancoleman/bip39  

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