How to Recover Ripple Wallet

Unable to access Ripple Wallet and need ways to remedy the situation? Recovery is a common concern, and the inability to log in is everyone’s worst nightmare. What adds fuel to the fire is the fact lots of wallets that supported XRP, including the official Ripple Wallet (as of 2017, after being fined), were discontinued over the years for one reason or another. Though the years left a mark, the blockchain is still alive and kicking, and contains proof of all transactions you made. With that acknowledged, it’s time we move into how to recover Ripple Wallet.

Things to keep in mind

Before we get into it, we feel it’s necessary to clarify one thing. Though the terms Ripple and XRP are often used interchangeably, that’s not entirely correct. Ripple or Ripple Services Inc. is the name of the private company. XRP is the name of the cryptocurrency they implement into products and services on the RippleNet, their network. Ripple Wallet was one of those.

Moreover, XRP Ledger or XRPL is the name of their decentralized, open-source, free public blockchain many other companies use for their needs. Thus, there’s a host of websites that allow you to import a “Ripple” wallet. Consequently, we cannot cover every platform under the sun, and some even suspended trading in XRP, such as Coinbase. The thing to note is that your XRP is on the blockchain, not a particular wallet. Thus, with the necessary credentials, you can access it from a different wallet than the one you used to invest in initially.

We’ll demonstrate the procedure with three well-known platforms that support extracting funds out of old Ripple Wallets. Remember, we are neither affiliated with any company nor have a preference—you’re free to use whichever one is adequate for you.

I can’t find Ripple Wallet secret key, but I know account details. What now?

This is a regular problem given the situation. Luckily, its frequency motivated Ripple to come up with this solution:

1. Visit the Ripple Retrieve Secret Key page.
2. Enter your username, password, and e-mail address.
3. Select the country of residence and agree to the Terms of Service.
4. Click the Retrieve Secret Key for ripple.com/client Account button.
5. Await an e-mail from Ripple. If the information you supplied matches the one in their database, you’ll see a secret key restoration link.
6. Click the link, and you’ll be redirected to an Account Settings page where you can see your secret key.

1. Recover an old Ripple Wallet via GateHub

GateHub is an online exchange capable of loading data from an old Ripple Wallet. In doing so, you’ll restore access to all the funds you had within a hosted wallet. Moreover, it’s dead-simple to use, provided you have the right credentials, namely wallet name, password, and secret account key. Additionally, it works with paper wallets, not only software ones. Recovering access to Ripple Wallet funds using GateHub works like this:

1. Head over to the GateHub Sign In page.
2. Enter your e-mail address and password and click on Sign In. Alternatively, create an account by clicking on Sign Up.
3. Once you’re logged in, select the Wallet tab in the left sidebar.
4. Click on My Wallet drop-down list in the upper left corner and select an empty one (if you have others added).
5. Click the + Add Wallet button next to it.
6. You’ll now see 3 options:
   1. Create Wallet (Hosted)
   2. Create Wallet (XRP Ledger)
   3. Import Wallet (XRP Ledger)
7. Pick the third option. Enter the account password for GateHub if asked.
8. You’ll be asked to type the wallet name.
   Tip. It can be identical to the Ripple Wallet but doesn’t have to be.
9. Now you’ll be asked to enter the secret key for your Ripple Wallet before clicking Import.
   Note. XRP Ledger has a fee of 20 XRP every time you switch wallets or make a transaction. Therefore, that amount will be deducted if you send funds to another wallet.

Reminder. Secret key is a 29-character-long string of letters and numbers you generated when creating a Ripple Wallet and were asked to keep safe. This alphanumeric string is the “key to the kingdom” so you should only enter it when switching wallets, and keep hidden otherwise.

2. Send XRP from Ripple Wallet to XUMM 

One of the biggest complaints with GateHub is how the platform asks you for forms of identification. Some users find this inquisitive, and rightly so. Moreover, they might dislike operating through a web browser, since GitHub doesn’t have an official wallet app on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. To mitigate those problems, some users prefer to use a different XRP ledger, and XUMM fits the bill.

Follow these instructions to recover Ripple Wallet funds through XUMM:

1. Download, install and launch XUMM from Google Play or Apple App Store.
2. Tap the blue + Add account button on the home page.
3. Instead of creating a new one, tap on Import existing account.
4. When asked about permissions, select Full Access.
5. You will now see 3 different options for account creation. Select the Family Seed one.
6. XUMM will now ask for the secret key with 29 alphanumeric characters we already explained.
7. If you now want to send XRP to another wallet, you’ll need to pay a 20 XRP fee.

3. Receive XRP from a hardware wallet

While the Ripple Wallet app had to be discontinued, the hardware wallet is immune, being a self-hosted, offline solution. One stands out as the popular choice for XRP during its heyday — Ledger Hardware Wallet. Again, we have no ties to the company whatsoever, but here’s a straightforward method to recover Ripple Wallet:

1. Install the Ledger Live app on your computer (also available for mobile devices).
2. Launch the application and plug your Ledger Hardware Wallet into the USB slot on your computer (or use Bluetooth, if available).
3. Update the firmware if prompted.
4. Navigate to the Manager tab.
5. The software will detect the physical ledger. Give it permissions to run on your device.
6. Find the XRP app on the repository and click the Install button.
7. Create a Ledger Live account by clicking on Accounts or Portfolio, then Add account.
8. Select XRP from the list of assets then click on Continue, then Continue again.
   Note. You may need to purchase 10 XRP to activate your account.
9. Now click on Receive on the left side of the app.
10. Follow on-screen instructions and click on Verify to see an address.
11. Ensure the address on your hardware wallet is identical to the one shown on-screen.
12. If it is, approve the action and transfer the desired amount.