Restore Cake Wallet: Mnemonic Phrase Recovery Guide
# How to Safely Reclaim Your Digital Wealth.
If you upgraded your phone, lost your device, or deleted your app, don't panic. Because Cake Wallet is **non-custodial**, your assets do not live in the app. Your coins exist on the decentralized blockchain. As long as you have your **mnemonic backup seed phrase** or your private keys, you can restore access to your wallet and recover your funds in minutes.
How to Restore Cake Wallet (Step-by-Step):
To restore your Cake Wallet:
- Launch the physical Cake Wallet app, choose Restore Wallet, select your target digital asset, and set a new local PIN.
- Enter your 12, 13, 14, 16, or 25-word seed phrase in correct sequential order (lowercase, space-separated).
- CRITICAL: Input a correct Restore Height or Restore Date (the block number or date slightly preceding your very first transaction in this wallet). If left blank, your sync will default to block 0, which can take hours/days or display a zero balance.
- Click **Restore** and allow the app to synchronize with nodes.
The #1 Mistake: What is Monero Restore Height?
Unlike public ledgers (like Bitcoin), Monero hides transaction details. To show your balance, Cake Wallet must scan every block on the blockchain using your private **Secret View Key** to see if a transaction belongs to you.
If you leave the Restore Height field blank, the app might start scanning from today’s block height, completely skipping past your historic transactions! Alternatively, if it starts from block 0 (creation of Monero), it will attempt to scan all history since 2014, making synchronization take days.
To fix a zero balance: Go to Settings -> Rescan from Date/Block -> Enter a date or block height slightly **before** your wallet's very first deposit transaction. The wallet will scan those blocks and display your correct balance.
Option A: Restore from Seed Phrase
This is the standard recovery path for 99% of users:
- Choose **Restore Wallet** on the startup screen.
- Select **Monero** (or your respective asset).
- Type your 25-word phrase (or 12-word Bitcoin seed).
- All words must be lowercase, separated by a single space. The app features autocompletion to prevent typing errors.
Double check spelling!
Option B: Restore from Keys
If you are migrating from a different software client (like Monerujo or CLI) and only have the raw keys, select **Restore from Keys**:
You will need to input:
- Wallet Address: Your primary public address starting with `4` (Monero).
- Secret View Key: Allows the app to scan incoming transactions.
- Secret Spend Key: Allows the app to authorize outgoing transactions.
Restore Height Reference Chart
If you don't know your exact creation block, use this approximate date chart to enter in your Cake Wallet restore height field:
| Wallet Creation Year | Recommended Restore Date Entry | Approximate Monero Block Height |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | `2018-01-01` | `1,475,000` |
| 2020 | `2020-01-01` | `2,000,000` |
| 2022 | `2022-01-01` | `2,525,000` |
| 2024 | `2024-01-01` | `3,050,000` |
| 2026 | `2026-01-01` | `3,575,000` |