Phantom Issues Emergency Update After iOS App Locks Users Out of Wallets

Phantom, a Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet, has issued an urgent update for its iOS app. This follows reports that a bug unexpectedly logged some users out of their accounts.

The glitch prevented several iOS customers from accessing their wallets unless they had backed up their recovery phrases.

Users Locked Out of Their Wallets

“We’re aware that a small number of iOS users are experiencing app resets,” Phantom announced in a November 13 post on X. “If you happen to be among them, you can restore your wallet using your recovery phrase.”

The team behind the wallet confirmed they had released a new iOS update to prevent more people from facing the same issue. They also advised all users to back up their recovery phrases securely and apologized for the situation.

Reports of the issue first emerged on social media earlier in the day, as some iOS users reported being unexpectedly logged out and losing access to their wallets after installing the app’s latest update.

One individual asked Phantom why their application had reset itself overnight and had removed all his wallets. Another noted, “Phantom deleting people’s wallets with the most recent update…Lots of tokens are going to get burned from folks that forgot to back up keys.”

The problem appeared to impact those who hadn’t backed up their seed phrases, an important recovery step in non-custodial wallets like Phantom. Crypto trader ACE cautioned others on X against updating their wallets without first saving their seed phrases.

Because the service operates as a non-custodial wallet, the platform can’t retrieve a user’s funds if they lose their seed phrase or do not back it up. Graphite Protocol founder Tom highlighted the situation, reporting that the recent “phantom update” had resulted in wallet holders facing major losses.

He also questioned whether the responsibility lay solely with those who failed to save their private keys or if Phantom should consider compensation for those affected by the update.

More Incidents

This incident adds to the list of technical issues Phantom users have faced over the past few months. In late October, customers complained of balance display errors across the app and browser extension, with Phantom acknowledging an “uptime incident.”

At the time, the company advised users to ignore simulation errors and proceed with transactions using decentralized applications (dApps) if urgently needed. Phantom resolved the issue shortly after, updating users that services were operating normally again.

Earlier in the year, on February 3, the team also reported delays with token balance updates. Additionally, in a separate August 15 incident, a temporary bug affected users’ ability to view accurate account balances. However, the wallet promptly resolved both situations.