An Emergency Access Kit gives you a way to retain control of your funds without any reliance on the Block servers or the Bitkey app. Unlike other recovery methods that rely on Block’s assistance to help you regain access to your wallet when one of your keys is lost, the Emergency Access Kit operates independently of Block and requires both of your keys to gain access to your wallet.
IMPORTANT: The Emergency Access Kit is not an alternative method for downloading the Bitkey app. It is an emergency tool designed solely to help you move your funds and is not a replacement for the full-featured Bitkey wallet. The Emergency Access version of the Bitkey app offers limited functionality and is intended to allow you to transfer your funds out of your Bitkey wallet without relying on the Bitkey team or public app store providers.
During the Bitkey setup, an encrypted copy of your Mobile Key, along with an Emergency Access Kit (a separate PDF recovery document), is uploaded and saved to your cloud. Using the kit and its instructions, you'll be able to locate a publicly available version of the Bitkey app, hosted outside the public app stores, which must be sideloaded onto an Android device. This Emergency Access version of the Bitkey app can then be used with your Bitkey hardware device to decrypt your Mobile Key and move your funds, without relying on Block, the Bitkey team or public app store providers like Google and Apple.
Note: Due to restrictions on distributing iOS applications outside of the Apple App Store, the Emergency Access Kit cannot be used on iOS devices. However, if you've been using the Bitkey mobile app on iOS, you can retrieve your Emergency Access Kit from your iCloud storage and then follow the instructions to use an Android phone to access your funds.
The Emergency Access Kit requires the use of your Bitkey hardware device and will guide you through the following steps to regain access to your funds:
- Download a previous version of the Bitkey app as an APK file, hosted initially on a Github Page
- Verify the APK matches the original app published, so you can be sure its safe
- Install the Bitkey app from this APK file and locate it on your device
Note: Your Android phone must be NFC enabled - Restore your Mobile Key on to the new Bitkey App
- Move funds out of Bitkey