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--- ---
title: LBRY Account and Balance Syncing title: LBRY Account and Wallet Syncing
category: getstarted category: getstarted
order: 3 order: 3
--- ---
Users expect consistent experiences across devices and sessions. This includes everything from account preferences to subscriptions to account balances. In the land of central servers, this is straightforward, but in blockchain land, it is tricky. This article explains how we provide this functionality, various options in using it, and it's limitations.
LBRY's goal is to provide an experience where account preferences (subscriptions/tags/settings) and wallets (balances, channels, publishes, etc) are synchronized between multiple devices, including LBRY Desktop, Android and LBRY.tv. Subscriptions and tags should be synced for all users on the latest version of our applications. ### How It Works
1. Every user, whether on desktop, android, or lbry.tv, has a single wallet file. This file stores your private keys (like a password) that controls your channels and account balances. The keys in this file are the only way to move or spend LBC or publish to your channel.
1. On an ongoing basis, your account preferences and other settings are written to your wallet file.
1. If you create an account with LBRY Inc and turn on account sync, your wallet file will be copied to and from a LBRY, Inc. server each time you login and at regular intervals.
1. Each time this happens, your preferences, channels, subscriptions, and other data will be updated on the new device.
1. If your wallet file has a password on it, LBRY, Inc. cannot see into your wallet or do anything with it, including reset your password.
At this moment, LBRY has limited wallet syncing features for users who installed apps on multiple devices before 10/4/2019. Today we support the following: ### Using Wallet Sync
#### Sync Limitations
As of writing, enrolling in wallet sync is not possible if:
- You had a balance prior to October 2019
- You have a balance on multiple separate devices or installs
Additionally, if you sign out of your account and accrue a balance, but then want to enable sync again, this will not work.
We expect these limitations to be removed in subsequent releases. If the above applies to you and you really want to use it immediately, you can follow [these steps](#bypass).
+ New users on LBRY Desktop can sync a new account #### Desktop
+ New users on LBRY Desktop can sync with their Android account 1. If running the desktop app for the first time, you will be prompted during the first-run process to opt-in.
+ All users on LBRY Android can sync a new account or their Desktop account (if synced) 1. If you want to opt-in later, click your balance and you will see the option on your wallet page.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be expanding this feature to cover existing users and LBRY.tv. It is safe to continue using each device with separate wallets in the meantime. Thank you for your understanding and patience! #### Android
1. If running the Android app for the first time, you will be prompted during the first-run process to opt-in.
1. If you want to opt-in later, click your balance or navigate to the Wallet area and you will see the option to turn this on.
If you are having balance issues, please see the [troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) section below. #### LBRY.tv
Syncing is automatically on for lbry.tv users and cannot be disabled. After all, what good would lbry.tv be if you could no longer use it once you signed out! If you have balances on other devices, these will not be reflected at this time.
*Please note: wallet passwords on Desktop will be disabled for all users until we are able to fully support all sync scenarios. Users who already enabled previously are not affected.* ### Bypassing Limitations {#bypass}
If the above limitations apply to you, you are technically competent, and you do not want to wait, you can use sync today by taking the following steps:
1. Shut down any running LBRY apps or wallet clients.
1. Rename your [current default_wallet file](/faq/lbry-directories) to anything other than default_wallet.
1. Launch LBRY again and sign out. Then sign back in.
Note that this will leave you with an extra wallet file containing your channels and balance, which you will have to unify.
### Desktop ### I'm Having Trouble
If you have any trouble using or enrolling in account sync, check out this [FAQ article](/faq/how-to-report-bugs) on how to report this to us.
LBRY Desktop currently supports the wallet syncing feature during the sign in process when the balance is 0 - which is mainly for new installations where users would sync a new account (or to an existing installation, i.e. Android/another device). This means existing users who have a wallet balance and/or are already signed into an account will not be able to sync. If you wish to sync today, see the [expert](#expert) section below.
Please note: If sign out of your account and need to enable sync again, you'll have to rename your [current default_wallet file](/faq/lbry-directories) to anything other than default_wallet. Do this while shutting down the app (CTRL/CMD-Q to quit) which will ensure the balance is 0 again and you can sign in and sync back into your account.
### Android
Android users who newly install LBRY Desktop can sync their wallets. You'll be prompted for a password if one was supplied while setting up your Android account. If you have an existing Desktop installation with a balance, we recommend waiting for full support. If you wish to sync up today, see the [expert](#expert) section below.
LBRY Desktop users who enabled wallet syncing can sync to their Android account. You'll be prompted for a password if one was supplied while setting up your Desktop account. If no password was used, simply click `Use LBRY`.
### LBRY.tv
Wallets are not currently synced on LBRY.tv but will be in a couple of weeks. Subscriptions have been synced and full tag support is coming soon.
### Troubleshooting
On Android, if you see transactions but not a balance, you can try disabling and re-enabling sync. This should fix the balance.
On Desktop, if you see transactions but not a balance, you'll need to manually set the default account. This can be done via the [CLI](/faq/how-to-cli). First, run an `account list` command to view all accounts, find the account id that shows coins/certificates, and then run `account set --lbrynet account set --default --account_id=xxxx` with that id.
### I'm an expert and want to sync up my balances today! {#expert}
The current limitation to our syncing process is that the SDK only supports 1 account (a wallet can have multiple accounts) for many API commands. This means we don't want to allow users with existing balances on multiple devices as it would result in inconsistencies throughout the app experience. Once the SDK expands this support, we'll enable syncing for all scenarios. It is highly recommended to wait for this feature, especially if you have channels and publishes, as transferring them to a new wallet requires a using the [CLI](/faq/how-to-cli) to perform updates on each manually.
If you wish to sync now on Desktop, you'll need to sign out (see Account drop down / overview page), quit the app, and start it with a fresh wallet - you can send your existing LBC balance to the Android app or [LBRY.tv](https://beta.lbry.tv) if needed. See [our directories FAQ](/faq/lbry-directories) on where to find the default_wallet file to be renamed. On the next startup, a new wallet file will be generated. This will allow you to sync this new wallet with LBRY or sign back into a synced account (i.e. another install or Android).
### I'm having trouble with account syncing, can you help?
We are aware of a couple scenarios where only part of the wallet is synced properly. Check out our [help page](/faq/how-to-report-bugs) on how to reach us if you run into this or need any other assistance.