Monero Wallet Backup: How to Back Up Your Recovery Words

A Monero wallet backup comes down to one thing: the list of 25 recovery words you get when you make a wallet. They are the single most important thing to protect, because they are the only backup you have. Nobody can reset them for you, and nobody can recover them if they are gone. This guide shows you how to write them down, where to keep them, and how to check that your backup really works, in plain language and with no jargon you have to look up.

What a backup really is

Your Monero does not live on your phone or in your browser. It lives on the Monero network. What lives on your device is the set of private keys that prove the money is yours. Your recovery words are a plain-words version of those keys. If your device is lost, broken, or wiped, you type the words into any Monero wallet and your money is there again.

The 25th word is a checksum. It works like a spell-check: it lets the wallet notice if one of the other 24 words was written down wrong. It does not replace the other words, so you still need all 25.

Why it matters so much

With a bank, you can forget your password and still get in, because the bank can verify who you are. A self-custody wallet works the other way. There is no company holding a copy, so there is nobody to ask. That is what makes it yours, and it is also why the backup is your job.

Backups also protect you from everyday accidents: a phone that falls in water, a laptop that dies, a browser that gets reset. None of those lose your money if the words are safe. To see what happens next, read how to restore a Monero wallet.

How to write them down

1. Find a quiet, private place. Make sure nobody can see your screen, and that no camera is pointed at it.
2. Take a pen (not a pencil, which fades and smudges) and clean paper.
3. Write all 25 words in the exact order shown, and number them 1 to 25.
4. Read each word back against the screen. Check the spelling letter by letter.
5. Confirm the words in the wallet when it asks. This proves your written copy is right.
6. Close or hide the screen, and put the paper away before you do anything else.

Write the words in the same language the wallet showed. Do not shorten them to the first few letters unless you fully understand how your wallet reads them, since a mistake here is hard to spot later.

Paper, metal, or something else?

Paper is fine for most people. It costs nothing, needs no power, and cannot be hacked. Its weakness is that fire, water, and time can ruin it. Here is how the common choices compare.

If you hold a meaningful amount, a metal backup is a sensible upgrade. Whatever you choose, keep it offline.

Where to keep them

The aim is simple: you can always get to the words, and no one else can. A locked drawer, a home safe, or a safe deposit box all work. Think about the kinds of loss that could hit you, such as theft, fire, flooding, or moving house, and ask whether one event could take your backup and your device together.

• Do not keep the backup in the same bag as the device that holds the wallet.
• For larger amounts, keep a second copy in a different building, such as a trusted family member's home.
• Make sure someone you trust would know where to look if something happened to you, without handing them the words today.
• Do not label the paper "Monero recovery words." A plain envelope in a sensible place draws less attention.

Password vs recovery words

These two get mixed up often. Your password locks the wallet on one browser. Your recovery words rebuild the walletanywhere. They are not interchangeable, and having one does not replace the other.

Mistakes that lose people money

• Taking a screenshot or photo. Anything on a connected device can be copied by harmful software, and photos often sync to the cloud on their own.
• Saving the words in a notes app, email, or cloud drive. One hacked account then exposes your wallet.
• Typing them into a site because a message asked you to "verify" your wallet. No real wallet does this. It is a scam.
• Sharing them with "support." Real support will never ask for your words.
• Writing them from memory later. Write them as soon as they appear, with the screen in front of you.
• Never testing the backup. A typo you find on day one costs nothing. A typo you find after a disaster costs everything.

Fake wallet sites are a common way people get tricked into giving up their words. Read whether Monero is safe for more on the real risks.

Test your backup

A backup you have not tested is a guess. The safest way to be sure is to restore your words into a fresh wallet and check that the same address appears. Do this before you deposit any real money.

1. Note the first and last few characters of your wallet address.
2. Open a second browser profile, or a private window, and choose Restore from recovery words.
3. Type your written words in order, as if you had lost everything.
4. Compare the address that appears. If it matches, your backup works.

If it does not match, find the typo now and fix the paper. The full steps are in the restore guide.

Other things worth saving

The recovery words are the only thing you truly need, but a few extra notes make a restore smoother. You can write them on the same paper, away from the words if you prefer.

• The date you created the wallet. This lets you restore much faster later, because the wallet can skip older blocks (the starting point is called the restore height).
• The first few characters of your main address. This helps you confirm a restore worked.
• Which wallet you used. It helps you or a family member find the right tool.

What to do next

With your words safely on paper and tested, your wallet is protected against the most common ways of losing money. You can now open your wallet and start using it. If you have not yet made one, follow how to create a Monero wallet, then learn how to receive Monero. For a fuller picture of how Monero keeps funds private, see how Monero works.