Wallet Extension GuideIndependent Coinbase Wallet extension guide

When the Coinbase Wallet extension will not cooperate

Almost every reported problem is one of eight things: it is locked, it is hidden, a site is looking at the wrong account or network, or a transaction is waiting on fees. Here is each one with fixes in the order worth trying.

Last reviewed: September 2026Troubleshooting · try these in order
A laptop on a desk being restarted while troubleshooting an extension
Reloading the page after unlocking the wallet fixes more than you would expect.

Before you dig in

Work through the fixes on the wallet's own screen first, and never accept help from someone who contacted you. Anyone offering to fix a wallet in a direct message, a comment or a "support" pop-up is running a scam — and no fix ever involves typing your recovery phrase anywhere.

1.A website says no wallet was detected

What it looks like: The site's Connect button does nothing, or it shows a message that no browser wallet is installed even though you can see the wallet's icon.

  1. 1Unlock the wallet first. A locked wallet does not answer a site's request, and some sites do not say so clearly.
  2. 2Reload the page after the wallet is unlocked. A page loaded before the wallet was ready often misses the connection.
  3. 3Check the extension is enabled on the browser's extensions page — updates sometimes disable extensions until you confirm them again.
  4. 4Confirm the wallet is allowed on that site: some wallets let you restrict which sites may connect, and private or incognito windows are usually excluded.
  5. 5If the site is asking for a network the wallet is not on, switch networks and try again.

2.The extension icon has disappeared from the toolbar

What it looks like: You cannot find the wallet at all, though it was pinned before.

  1. 1Open the browser's extensions menu and look for the wallet there — it may simply have been unpinned.
  2. 2Pin it again so it stays visible and easy to identify.
  3. 3Check that the browser profile is the one you installed it in. A second profile, or a work profile, keeps its own extensions.
  4. 4If it is genuinely gone, open the extensions page and see whether it was disabled or removed, then reinstall from your bookmark of the official page.

3.The wallet will not unlock, or you have forgotten the password

What it looks like: The password is rejected on a wallet that worked yesterday, or you cannot remember it.

  1. 1Type the password into a plain text field first so you can check for a keyboard layout or Caps Lock mistake.
  2. 2Restart the browser and try again — a stuck background process sometimes blocks the unlock screen.
  3. 3If you have truly forgotten it, the only route back is removing the wallet and restoring it with your recovery phrase. There is no password reset.
  4. 4Before you remove anything, be certain the written recovery phrase is complete and in order. Without it, a forgotten password means the funds are unreachable.

4.The connection prompt appears but the site still will not connect

What it looks like: You approve the connection window, then the site keeps asking, or shows the wrong account.

  1. 1Check which account the site sees. If you have several accounts in the wallet, the site may be looking at a different one.
  2. 2Disconnect the site in the wallet's connections list, then connect again from scratch.
  3. 3Disable any VPN or content blocker for that one site and retry — aggressive filtering can break the wallet's connection to the page.
  4. 4Try a second browser to see whether the problem follows the wallet or the site.

5.A transaction is pending and never confirms

What it looks like: The transaction shows as pending for a long time, and the balance has not changed.

  1. 1Look the transaction hash up on a block explorer. If it exists, the network has seen it and is simply congested.
  2. 2Wait. Pending transactions usually confirm once the network's fee level drops back below what you paid.
  3. 3Replace the transaction with a higher fee, or speed it up, from within the wallet if it offers that.
  4. 4If a transaction is stuck, later transactions from the same account can queue behind it — clear the stuck one before starting another.

6.Something is being sent on the wrong network

What it looks like: A swap fails, a site says unsupported network, or a transfer seems to vanish.

  1. 1Check the network selector at the top of the wallet and switch to the network the site or recipient expects.
  2. 2For withdrawals from an exchange, the network chosen there must match the wallet address you are sending to.
  3. 3Cross-chain bridges are separate services with their own risks — a bridge is not the same as a network switch.
  4. 4If funds appear missing after a mismatched transfer, contact the sending platform first: recovery depends entirely on who holds the other end.

7.The balance looks wrong or tokens are missing

What it looks like: The wallet shows less than you expected after a restore, or a token is not listed.

  1. 1Confirm the wallet was restored with the correct recovery phrase — one wrong word produces a valid but empty wallet.
  2. 2Add the token manually if the wallet does not list it by default; correct contract details come from the official listing.
  3. 3Check you are on the network where the assets live. The same address on two networks holds two different balances.
  4. 4Compare against a block explorer using your public address. The blockchain is the source of truth, not the wallet's cache.

8.The browser or site warns that the extension is unsafe

What it looks like: A security warning appears when you try to install, or a site refuses to connect to the wallet.

  1. 1Take the warning seriously and check the publisher of the listing you are installing from. Counterfeit extension listings are common.
  2. 2Confirm the site's own address: phishing pages that imitate popular services are the most common way wallets are drained.
  3. 3If you already entered a recovery phrase anywhere other than the wallet's own setup screen, treat that wallet as compromised and move funds to a fresh one.
  4. 4Report a suspect listing to the browser vendor — that is what removes it for everybody else.

Escalation

When to stop and get official help

Some problems are not yours to solve: a suspected account compromise on the exchange side, a withdrawal that never arrived from a Coinbase account, or an extension listing you believe is fraudulent. Those go to the official channels, and only through a site you reached yourself.

Support staff do not need your recovery phrase, do not need remote access to your computer, and will not contact you first through a chat app. Every one of those three is a scam script.

Resetting the wallet is the last resort

A reset wipes the wallet from the browser. The funds are not lost — they are on-chain — but you can only get back to them with the written recovery phrase. Do not reset until you have it in front of you and checked twice.

Remember what "broken" usually means

Extensions break far less often than connections do: a locked wallet, a stale page, the wrong network or the wrong account explains most of it. Start with the boring explanations.

Reinstall it safelySecurity & scamsFull FAQ

Still stuck? The FAQ page covers setup, safety and support questions in one place, and the comparison page explains which support route applies to the exchange account and which to the wallet.