One phrase on one sheet of paper fails two ways at once: whoever finds it controls the wallet, and if it is lost, so is the wallet. A split backup answers both.
Smartable splits the backup into shares using the SLIP‑39 standard. The agreed number of shares brings the wallet back. Fewer reveal nothing at all — not part of the phrase, not a hint of it.
Two arrangements
- 2 of 3 survives losing any one place. It is the one the app recommends.
- 3 of 5 survives losing any two, and asks you to set up five.
Where shares go
- This phone. One share always stays on the device. It needs no account and no network, but it is lost with the phone, so it is never enough on its own.
- A cloud storage account you choose. The share is stored in your own account, sealed with your wallet password.
- Paper. You write the share down and type it back once, so it counts as written. Nothing of it is kept on the phone.
Two folders in one cloud account are one place, not two. Choose places that would fail for different reasons.
The password is part of the backup
Every share that leaves the phone is sealed with the wallet password you had when you made the backup, and restoring needs that password whichever shares you use. Changing the password later does not reseal shares you already made: they still open only with the old one. Somebody holding your shares without it has nothing — and without it, neither do you. Keep the password somewhere other than the shares.
Checking it
Settings → Security → Split backup shows how many of the shares needed to restore are in place, and whether the backup is complete. Look at it after you make the backup, and again whenever you change phones or cloud accounts.
Restoring
- 01On the new phone, choose Restore a split backup.
- 02Supply the shares: sign in to the cloud accounts that hold them, and type any share you wrote down.
- 03Enter the password.
When enough valid shares are in, the wallet is rebuilt. The shares rebuild the same recovery phrase, so every account and address stays the same.
What the app shows
- “Restore a split backup”
- “Your password is needed to restore, whichever shares you use. Nobody holding the shares alone can open them — and neither could you without it.”
Security note
Never share your recovery phrase, private key, password or device PIN. Smartable will never ask for them or ask you to sign a transaction to “verify” or “recover” your wallet.
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