Questions About Casper Signer → Casper Wallet Recovery
Thương Nhân Binance
Hello Casper Support,
Please answer these questions clearly and directly regarding Casper Signer → Casper Wallet migration:
Does the 24-word Casper Wallet recovery phrase fail to recover imported Casper Signer accounts?
If yes, why was an imported Signer account shown and managed inside Casper Wallet if the wallet recovery phrase did not back it up?
Where and when did Casper officially warn users that they must keep the old secret_key.pem/private key permanently, even after successfully migrating to Casper Wallet?
Was this recovery behavior ever changed after Casper Wallet launched? If yes, what changed, when, and how were users notified?
If a user now has only the correct 24-word recovery phrase but no old PEM/private key, is the migrated account permanently unrecoverable?
If yes, why is the 24-word phrase called a Secret Recovery Phrase when it cannot recover an account previously managed by Casper Wallet?
How many users have reported the same or similar issue, and has Casper publicly disclosed the number of affected users or inaccessible funds?
Has Casper officially acknowledged this as a recovery design, migration disclosure, or user-interface problem? If yes, please provide the official statement or documentation.
My affected public key is:
01fa8bc41fa9a4...ccb36727520d
Please provide a direct written answer to each numbered question.
Regards
Konrad Springer
Hello,
The key distinction is between accounts created from the Casper Wallet recovery phrase and accounts imported using a private-key/.PEM file.
- Does the 24-word recovery phrase recover imported Casper Signer accounts?
No. The recovery phrase restores accounts cryptographically derived from that phrase. A Casper Signer account imported using secret_key.pem has independent private-key material and is not derived from the new Casper Wallet phrase.
- Why was the imported account shown and managed in Casper Wallet if the phrase did not back it up?
Casper Wallet can manage different account types within the same local wallet vault:
- Accounts derived from the recovery phrase.
- Accounts imported using private-key files.
- Other externally controlled accounts, where supported.
The interface labels Signer accounts as “Imported,” but displaying and managing an account does not make its private key derivable from the wallet’s recovery phrase.
- Where and when were users warned to retain the old private key?
It was mentioned on X and in the Q&A
https://x.com/Casper_Network/status/1653753776589660160
https://www.casper.network/news/casper-twitter-space-recap-march-14-2023
Also official migration guide instructs users to download their Signer secret keys, import the .PEM files, and then keep those files securely. It expressly states that, following a reset or account deletion, the .PEM file can be re-imported to restore the account. https://www.casperwallet.io/user-guide/signer-user-start-here
- Is the account unrecoverable if only the 24-word phrase remains?
Please check if you have signer or Casper Wallet installed on any of your devices which might contain this account to download .PEM file again. Check all old devices and browser profiles and check backups, old download folders, external drives, and any still-functioning Signer or Casper Wallet installation. Do not reset or uninstall them.
- Why is it called a Secret Recovery Phrase?
Because it is the recovery root for the deterministic accounts created from that phrase. It is not a backup of unrelated private keys imported later.
Thương Nhân Binance
Konrad SpringerThank you for confirming that imported Casper Signer accounts are NOT recoverable from the Casper Wallet 24-word Secret Recovery Phrase.
However, several of my questions remain unanswered. Please answer them directly:
If I have ONLY the valid 24-word Casper Wallet recovery phrase and absolutely no remaining copy of the old Signer private key/.PEM on any device or backup, is access to my imported Signer account permanently unrecoverable? Please answer Yes or No.
My previous question #4 was not answered: was this migration/recovery behavior ever changed after Casper Wallet launched? If yes, when and how were users notified?
How many users have reported losing access to imported Signer/CasperDash accounts after successfully restoring Casper Wallet with their recovery phrase? Has Casper or MAKE published the number of affected users or inaccessible funds?
Your current Casper documentation states that the Secret Recovery Phrase is “the only way to recover your wallet if you lose access to your device or browser.” How do you reconcile that statement with your confirmation that an account displayed and managed inside Casper Wallet cannot be recovered by that phrase?
Please point me to the exact warning shown to users during the Signer → Casper Wallet import process which explicitly stated: “Imported Signer accounts are NOT backed up by the Casper Wallet Secret Recovery Phrase and will be permanently inaccessible if the original private key/.PEM is lost.”
I understand that the migration guide says to keep the .PEM file. My question is whether users were explicitly informed that the 24-word Casper Wallet recovery phrase would NOT recover imported Signer accounts.
Please provide direct answers rather than instructions to search old devices, as I am asking specifically about the case where only the 24-word recovery phrase remains.
Konrad Springer
Thương Nhân Binance
I don't think that recovery behavior changed.
Document is referring to recovering Casper Wallet. Importing accounts doesn't "add" accounts to given recovery phrase
If you have more questions, please ask them here
https://t.me/CSPRhub
Thương Nhân Binance
Konrad SpringerKonrad, you said: “I don't think that recovery behavior changed.”
Since this concerns users potentially losing permanent access to migrated Signer accounts, could you please clarify your role in Casper Wallet support and whether your answer has been verified with the engineering/product team?
If you are not able to confirm the historical recovery behavior definitively, please escalate this publicly to the person responsible for Casper Wallet’s recovery architecture or the Signer → Wallet migration.
Specifically, I would like an authoritative answer to these questions:
- Has this recovery behavior ever changed — yes or no?
- If not, who at Casper/MAKE is responsible for confirming that?
- Does Casper officially confirm that a user who has only the valid Casper Wallet 24-word recovery phrase, but no legacy Signer PEM/private key, has permanently lost access to the imported account?
- Who approved the migration/recovery design where an imported account could be managed inside Casper Wallet but not be recoverable from the Wallet’s Secret Recovery Phrase?
- Was this limitation reviewed as a user-funds risk, and where is that decision documented publicly?
Because this involves potentially inaccessible user funds, “I don't think” is not a sufficient technical or official answer. Please escalate this to someone who can provide a definitive response on behalf of Casper Wallet / MAKE.