I downloaded the non-HD version of the Jaxx wallet in March. I wrote down the backup phrase and sent some ether to it. Then my phone broke and I tried to restore my wallet but the words don't work. I'm certain that they are correct as I checked them multiple times to make certain. There are only the two transactions sent to the address and none sent out. The ether still sits there. And I can prove that I'm the one who sent the ether from my other account and was wondering how I'm going to get my ether back if Jaxx gave me a backup that doesn't even work.
[Ethereum] Jaxx backup phrase doesn’t work
backupjaxx
Related Solutions
Yes, you can simply generate pairs of unencrypted or encrypted private and public keys. For example, use this bulk key generator:
1,"0xb7d3a6d96960c2e9650822be7c1cc4ebe8bb3718","9a130892d949ab5faf678ac6295d3ab05a434448b824c0dc43bf86a4c2bbf747"
2,"0xbf3407c1231b3612dc6d2da07f32208ed1e17ebd","e9a1bc1d7e5a815499009cf94139b3a4f532b0530df737247b6a0eccb65e5384"
3,"0x7637dc580f362786cbdc9e59a1baa9db4b46aa38","d7c8c4735ac5d665b7d9dd4a4d3dc61f4c1bffcad9b77d0f3aee5568d6dcdd10"
4,"0x395c3f208c09a9640880ae387331d7d58123bbd1","c0f075d2aa6510f75281b19f2c43771b99248f5784503344b21c590b8003419e"
5,"0x0d59b6bc0d014ee806230c4fee77e0c83bb6f453","0da749536ce1279d99663016428fe23a3799b842f982c6a1e81fa69cc0219a45"
6,"0xad17e413f8a47a07c8c7660f5c495b20176c59e0","994c6d8e93216ebd2f1e82662c00f3a7fb3e24f1245b4571791dc369f098bf20"
7,"0xa839ecc2305f433535eb1be00fc065ef728c61df","449fcc4846ec446e996653f3be7e81cf2f9c7df072ff2ece51e9f173928fb1cd"
Which outputs CSV: ID, public key (address), private key (here: unencrypted).
You can write them down. In general, I would recommend to encrypt them with a passphrase, but the output will be much more difficult to write down:
1,"0x5a594c44c194d9269025d07b9cf95e4b8fd767d2","U2FsdGVkX18TjcT/+fNBhHk1uPh1N72Vf3CLo/vkhor2+eKSEjeFbd13PbNcx78kwfwa0Gckv5yFjjQiR0qxyApPX6Buhs5e4IsYI90llPS0t75eJOz2b7qtPKlfX28T"
2,"0x052ce0c54dd7ec93fd513688fe954ae030889e6b","U2FsdGVkX1+XJEy6O2hw1N7PGnHtpQyrlLY+xD1J2X1TlgRqUB5gnQOS6rwi/mSEbdviLCjWKc3psQuV5UikS4wOmDunlWshGNTaoMIPj51Yh0KvfW22g6Evs1Z9COo3"
3,"0xbe8467807ea1374780d56a1bf9278fc1e1f5348a","U2FsdGVkX19SHpzNamqBl/JbmW2qzddPdQpIlKBadLstvlLtjmKI9YROxZlZEnHtK4mhPrKtTUWHGEF2sLAesVkBAqD71ORbWo6cEqa+C7pm4tkInuUTWWQVGEviNmGa"
4,"0xd903ff3313fdef8126b5f38c6775c0e34577ef33","U2FsdGVkX18V+us+TZ5ebawywwbW1eDtRjv8el6adTWcqf9Ag2nzWAtKlvZytCATEge4jzPZQaYJb7dZAMgjywGmxD63BPwZu7nc4hRzd+rWdVdT3NoyDE1WGJBa47Xp"
5,"0x425c6cd22c1673084d91bdc555115cf053a128a3","U2FsdGVkX1+BRDxxc4aDdYsdzjCDmHvBwiVp7GGFeBO2fc44pE+biTTaSz52Xrm9HhcwzHyQOxQc0KpRDckTiAV0VHb6MnfWcHKxlGTt5XzoMutZYrT6DWj8refcolp2"
6,"0x47bd738c482de1017c1bb44daed1174befe599f3","U2FsdGVkX1901zVkK+GEG1PNL5LWhAM/1EGGebUVKTBEqlEesgMliEb5bSGqQF+XbgmfefXjo/1lly8tPmEKz4vS4JNQU/m9gl9KMx/TADzz+mWbYj4WVo4KIqpaRdur"
7,"0x5600370a09691dea4e81735b86fb0b76182dcdee","U2FsdGVkX1+RwHwIB6SfPMAsoBGyWoz9QO72YY+J3hcfqWvlVnlW68jd5qAOaRVlZgnywpiKJmGjDCrTNR/ZiN0pHj3YlVN3+WdJ13qhFiMBxdLkrifblcNi+mXMCKm4"
A good alternative might a brain wallet, where you just have to remember the 20 words to generate the key pair. Here is one generator. Here is another (click "get address").
But as always, test this with small amounts first!
The passphrase mechanism is accurately described in BIP 39
https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0039.mediawiki
How Ethereum keys are derived is described here
https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/issues/84
These mechanisms are common for Ethereum and other cryptocurrency wallets.
Best Answer
Did you check the words you wrote down by re-entering the phrase into the phone at the time you made the copy? Otherwise, you might have made the same mistake several times (less problematic with BIP39 passphrases than alphanumeric codes where 1s and ls, 0s and Os look similar, but still possible). You should have 12 English words as part of your phrase. If you do count 12 words, make sure that all of them come from this list. If they do not, then you can try using words that are close to the ones you wrote down. If you did, in fact, test your phrase, then perhaps there was a bug fixed or introduced at some point between when you installed the app and now. In that case, things should work if you install an older version of the app onto your phone.
Decentral, the creator of Jaxx, does not store keys for Jaxx accounts which means that you are the only holder of the keys to the account. Also, there is no central authority for Ethereum (despite what the Ethereum Classic folks might try to tell you) who can help reverse the transaction or otherwise recover the ether. Thus, if you do not have the keys, if Ethereum is working as intended, the ether is lost to time.
Going forward, it would be wise to follow best practices for backing up if you have any sizeable holdings of Ethereum -- you are your own bank! This means things like following 3-2-1 and test-restoring your backups regularly. I would go further than the link suggests and not only use different media, as they define it, but also different formats: SSD, SD card, tape, or even an entirely functioning device such as a phone to ensure that you are always able to read your data and that obsolescence, firmware bugs, or manufacturing defects in any one medium don't result in data loss.