Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Edit by moderators

The new, official troubleshooting guide can be found here:


Can I use a 500GB drive instead of 1TB?

No, 1TB is the minimum requirement because Umbrel runs both Bitcoin Core and an Electrum server by default which require around ~650GB of free space.

Can I use a HDD instead of SSD?

Yes, you can, but the blockchain sync may take upto 6 weeks (compared to 3-4 days on an SSD). You can continue to use the Lightning apps and features in the meantime. However, if you want the best performance, we recommend using an SSD.

If I already run a Bitcoin node, can I reuse my existing blockchain instead of syncing from scratch?

It’s not officially supported, but it’s possible as long as you’re comfortable with a bit of command line. Here are the instructions.

How to login using SSH?

Open “PowerShell” on Windows, or “Terminal” on Mac/Linux and enter ssh umbrel@umbrel.local.

The password is is your personal user password. If you’ve not set a personal password yet (on a fresh install, or if you re-flashed Umbrel OS, then the default password is moneyprintergobrrr.

Is Raspberry Pi 3 compatible?

No, only Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB or 8GB RAM is compatible.

My Umbrel is crashing, how can I find and fix the issue?

Please make sure you’re using the official Raspberry Pi power supply, it’s the most common reason for crashes.

To detect undervoltage, connect to your RPi via SSH and run this command: vcgencmd get_throttled. If it doesn’t output throttled=0x0, then it’s either the power supply or your SSD is using too much power (this can only be the case if you’re not using the recommended hardware).

If that doesn’t help, create a new topic or contact us on Telegram.

My Umbrel isn't turning on, what can I do?

If you’ve anything connecting to the GPIO pins of your Raspberry Pi (like a fan), try to unplug it and replug the power supply to see if that helps. Alternatively, try to see if you can SSH into your Raspberry Pi and run the debug script with:

sudo ~/umbrel/scripts/debug
I can't access umbrel.local. What can I do?

*.local domains are not supported on most Android phones. If on Windows, try accessing http://umbrel

Login to your router’s admin interface and see if you can spot your Umbrel. If so, grab its IP address from the interface and use that instead of “umbrel.local” in the browser. You can also use tools like Angry IP Scanner to find the IP address of your Umbrel.

If your router isn’t detecting your Umbrel, either your ethernet cable isn’t plugged in correctly or your Umbrel isn’t booting up.

If your router is indeed detecting your Umbrel but you still can’t access the UI on http://umbrel.local or the IP address, try to SSH into your Umbrel and run the debug script:

sudo ~/umbrel/scripts/debug

If you need help, create a new topic to report your issue.

Can I use WiFi instead of Ethernet?

After flashing Umbrel OS on your microSD card, create a file wpa_supplicant.conf on the microSD card with the following content:

(Note that the network name (ssid) and password need to be in double quotes (like psk="password"))

ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
country=[COUNTRY_CODE]
network={
  ssid="[WIFI_SSID]"
  psk="[WIFI_PASSWORD]"
}
  • Replace [COUNTRY_CODE] with the ISO2 code of your country (eg. US)
  • Replace [WIFI_SSID] and [WIFI_PASSWORD] with the credentials of your own WiFi.
Why is the blockchain is syncing way so slow?

Usually when you use the recommended hardware on getumbrel.com, it takes 3-4 days to sync the entire blockchain.

If you use HDD instead of SSD, that’s the biggest bottleneck. 100% sync on HDD can take 4-6 weeks because of high read-write speeds requirement by Bitcoin Core.

How can I access bitcoin-cli and lncli?

On Umbrel, these binaries are always available in UMBREL_ROOT_DIR/bin/. On Umbrel OS, you can access them over SSH as

~/umbrel/bin/bitcoin-cli

and

~/umbrel/bin/lncli
How to reset everything on Umbrel except the blockchain? (Eg. if you lost your password)

Do this only if you do not have any funds on your LND wallet! If you have funds, then save your seed + backup file so you are able to restore it later if needed.

You are going to loose your wallets, seed, settings, data, applications (basically everything except the blockchain)!

SSH into your Umbrel and run this:

sudo systemctl stop umbrel-startup && sudo rm -rf ~/umbrel/lnd/!(lnd.conf) && sudo rm ~/umbrel/db/user.json && sudo rm ~/umbrel/db/umbrel-seed/seed && sudo systemctl start umbrel-startup
How can I manually update my Umbrel?

Manually updating Umbrel is not recommended and the ideal way to update is through the UI. But if you’ve encountered problems updating manually, you can run this command after SSHing into your Umbrel to update it:

cd ~/umbrel && sudo rm -f statuses/update-in-progress && sudo ./scripts/update/update --repo getumbrel/umbrel#v0.3.7

Replace v0.3.7 with the version you want to update to.

How to recover funds in Lightning channels from a channels backup file on Umbrel OS (Raspberry Pi)?

Once you’ve restored from the 24 words, it might take a few minutes to a few hours for it to scan all of your previous Bitcoin (on-chain) transactions and balances.
Meanwhile, here’s how you can restore the funds in your Lightning channels.

Step 1: Copy over the channel backup file from your computer to your Umbrel.

Open the “Terminal” app on Mac/Linux, or “PowerShell” on Windows and run this:

scp <path/to/your/channel/backup/file> umbrel@umbrel.local:/home/umbrel/umbrel/lnd/channel.backup

(Replace <path/to/your/channel/backup/file> with the exact path to channel backup file on your computer)

The password is moneyprintergobrrr, except on version 0.3.3 or later where the password is your personal user password instead.

Step 2: SSH into your Umbrel

This is explained here.

Step 3: Recover funds

cd ~/umbrel && ./bin/lncli restorechanbackup --multi_file /data/.lnd/channel.backup

After you run this, wait for 1 minute. You should now be able to see your channels being closed on http://umbrel.local/lightning.

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