Recover access after losing a passkey

Lost your main passkey? If Vault setup and Pocket protection are complete, Cedar’s emergency recovery can use your other two approval methods—the current trusted phone and recovery phrase—to replace it.

Use this guide only when the passkey is unavailable. Recovery starts from the sign-in screen in Cedar Wallet for iOS. If the passkey still works and you want to replace it as a precaution, follow Change a passkey, trusted phone, or recovery phrase instead.

Lost method	Methods you still need	Use this path
Passkey	Trusted phone + recovery phrase	Choose Recover access while signed out.
Trusted phone	Passkey + recovery phrase	Change the trusted phone.
Recovery phrase	Passkey + trusted phone	Change the recovery phrase.
Two or more Vault methods	—	Cedar’s current 2-of-3 recovery cannot continue.

Keep this private

Never share a recovery phrase, private key, or passkey prompt. Cedar support will never ask for them.

Before you start

Make sure you have:

• the iPhone that currently handles phone approval, with your Cedar wallet still present in the app
• completed Vault setup and Pocket protection for that wallet
• the current 12-word recovery phrase
• an existing passkey you can use next, or a device that can create a new one

If the trusted phone or recovery phrase is unavailable, this signed-out path cannot continue. Use the matching route in the table instead. If two approval methods are unavailable, Cedar’s current recovery flow cannot restore access.

Replace the lost passkey

1. On the current trusted iPhone, open Cedar Wallet. If you are signed in, choose Log out. From the sign-in screen, choose Recover access.
2. Under Choose the wallet on this phone, select the Cedar wallet whose Vault you need to recover.
3. At Confirm your recovery phrase, enter the current 12 words and choose Continue.
4. At Choose a new passkey, create a new passkey or choose an existing one. Complete the passkey prompt and continue.
5. Review Restore Vault access, including the wallet and replacement passkey, then choose Restore Vault access. Wait for the network to confirm the change.
6. At Restore your Pocket, choose Continue. If Cedar shows a safety delay, Vault access is restored but Pocket actions remain limited until that delay ends.
7. When Cedar says the delay is over, reopen or resume recovery and choose Finish recovery. Wait for Recovery complete, then choose Open App.

Recovery intentionally has more than one network-confirmed step. If you close Cedar or enter the app during the safety delay, use Resume recovery when Cedar offers it. Cedar returns to the latest confirmed step; starting over does not skip the delay.

Action still pending?

Check Activity and wait for a final status before starting the same action again.

You’re done when

• Cedar shows Recovery complete.
• The replacement passkey signs you in and Security shows it as the current passkey.
• Vault access and normal Pocket actions are restored.
• Activity shows a successful final status for every recovery action.

If Cedar showed a safety delay, recovery is not complete until you finish the final step after that delay.

During recovery

Continue only for a wallet you control. Before each approval, check that:

• you selected the intended Cedar wallet
• the iPhone is yours and is still the phone that handles Vault approval
• the screen clearly describes recovery, the replacement passkey, or the next Pocket step
• you enter the recovery phrase only in Cedar Wallet and never include it in a screenshot or support message

If anything looks unfamiliar, stop before approving. For the reasoning behind these two-method checks, read How Cedar protects Pocket and Vault and Passkeys, phone approval, and recovery phrases.