Try these first
- Unlock the wallet, then reload the page — most dApps only look for a wallet on page load.
- Check the browser profile. Extensions belong to one profile and do not follow you into others.
- Confirm the wallet is enabled in the browser's extension manager, not just installed.
- Disable competing wallet extensions temporarily — two wallets can fight over the same provider slot.
- Check the network in the wallet against the network the app expects.
Quick triage: which problem is it?
| What you see | Most likely area | Jump to |
|---|---|---|
| The dApp says no wallet is installed | Detection or the wrong browser profile | Site does not detect it |
| The icon is greyed out or asks for a password on every click | The wallet is locked | Locked or greyed out |
| A transaction has been pending for a long time | Network congestion or a low fee | Stuck transactions |
| The balance looks wrong or empty | Wrong network, hidden token, or a stale view | Missing balances |
| The app complains about the wrong chain | Network mismatch in the wallet | Wrong network |
| Two wallets respond to the same request | Provider conflict between extensions | Wallet conflicts |
A site says no wallet was found
This is the most common complaint, and it is almost always one of five things.
- The page loaded before the wallet was unlocked. Order matters: unlock the wallet first, then reload the dApp.
- You are in a different browser profile. Extensions are installed per profile. Check which profile the window belongs to.
- The extension is installed but disabled. Browsers disable extensions they consider risky or unreviewed. Check the extension manager.
- Another wallet is claiming the provider. Two wallet extensions in one profile can both answer the same request, and some dApps give up.
- The dApp does not support this wallet on this browser. Use the site's WalletConnect or QR option instead.
Try the pairing route instead
If a site refuses to see the extension, its QR or WalletConnect-style option usually works — you scan, approve on the device holding the wallet, and the site gets a session. It sidesteps the browser's wallet-injection layer entirely.
The wallet is locked, greyed out or keeps asking for a password
- Unlock it from the toolbar icon with the wallet password. The password is local; there is no online reset for it.
- If the password is genuinely forgotten, the only way back in is restoring from the recovery phrase — which does not recover a forgotten phrase.
- If the icon is greyed out even after unlocking, the browser may have disabled the extension after an update. Re-enable it in the extension manager.
- If it disappears entirely after a browser update, reinstall from the same official gallery listing you used before, then restore from your offline phrase.
A transaction is stuck or failed
Transactions do not get stuck in the wallet — they get stuck in the network's pending queue, usually because the fee was set when the network was quieter than it is now.
- Wait. Congestion clears, sometimes in minutes, sometimes in hours.
- Speed it up. Where the network supports replacement transactions, the wallet's activity list usually offers a speed-up or cancel option that resubmits at a higher fee.
- Replace the nonce. For a genuinely stuck transaction, sending a new 0-value transaction to yourself with the same nonce and a higher fee clears the queue.
- Check the explorer. The activity entry links to the block explorer, which states the exact failure reason for a failed transaction.
Failed transactions still cost the network fee
A failed transaction was processed — the network did the work and rejected the outcome. The fee is spent either way. That is a property of the blockchain, not of the wallet.
A balance is missing, zero or wrong
- Check the network selector. Balances are per network. A token on Polygon will not appear while the wallet is showing Ethereum.
- Add the token manually. Obscure or newly issued tokens may not be on the wallet's default list; adding the contract address usually fixes the display.
- Give it a moment. A balance can lag after a transaction while the wallet re-reads the chain.
- Confirm the address. If you restored from a phrase and the address differs from the one you remember, you have restored a different wallet.
- Look on a block explorer. Pasting your address into the relevant explorer shows what is genuinely held on-chain, independently of the wallet's interface.
Wrong network, wrong chain, unsupported chain
Apps are built for specific networks. When the wallet is on a different one, you get errors, failed transactions, or a prompt asking you to switch chains.
- Accept an app's switch-network prompt only if you trust the app and recognise the network it is proposing.
- Prefer switching networks inside the wallet first, then reloading the app.
- Look before you send: the confirmation screen names the network, and that is the last chance to catch a mismatch.
- Beware unsolicited networks. Adding a network someone else suggested is how trades get routed through something you did not choose.
Cross-network mistakes are usually permanent
Sending a token on a network the recipient does not support, or to a contract that only accepts one chain, typically strands the funds. Slow down on the confirmation screen — this is where that two-second check earns its keep.
Two wallets, one browser
Wallet extensions all inject themselves into pages so dApps can find them. With more than one installed, the site may detect the wrong one, ignore both, or behave inconsistently between visits.
- Decide which wallet is your primary one and disable the others when a specific app misbehaves.
- Keep one wallet per browser profile where possible.
- After changing your extension set, always reload the dApp before testing again.
- If a site offers an explicit wallet chooser or QR pairing, use it — that bypasses the conflict entirely.
When to look for official help
This guide is independent and cannot see your wallet, your balance or your account. For anything product- or account-specific — a purchase that did not arrive, a persistently failing app, a suspected bug, a phishing site to report — use the official Coinbase support routes reached from the official site.
Support will never need your recovery phrase
Not to "verify" the wallet, not to fix a stuck transaction, not to unlock an account. Anyone asking for those 12 words is stealing from you. This is the one rule that has no exceptions.
Keep reading
How to install safely
Official sources, verification checks and offline backup.
Security & self-custody
Recovery phrases, approvals and the scams to recognise.
Features explained
What each part of the wallet is for.
Full FAQ
Browsers, fees, networks and support questions.
Independent educational guide — not affiliated with Coinbase, and not an official support channel.