🦊 iBrowe Wallet + MetaMask: Troubleshooting & Compatibility Guide

Decentralized apps (Dapps) rely on a shared browser object called window.ethereum, which is provided by browser wallets like MetaMask or iBrowe Wallet. However, only one wallet can claim window.ethereum at a time, so you must choose which wallet will provide it.

You can manage this via:


ibrowe://settings/wallet

🔧 Wallet Integration Options

Here’s what each setting means:

  • iBrowe Wallet (Prefer extensions) (default)
    iBrowe Wallet exposes window.ethereum, but allows third-party wallets (like MetaMask) to override it.

  • iBrowe Wallet
    Exposes window.ethereum and blocks all overrides, ensuring Dapps always use iBrowe Wallet.

  • Crypto Wallets (Deprecated)
    Enables access to the legacy wallet, which is not compatible with modern extensions like MetaMask.

  • None
    iBrowe Wallet will not expose window.ethereum. External extensions (like MetaMask) will freely claim it.

📌 Important: After switching wallets, restart iBrowe to apply the change.

🌀 Why Restarting Matters

  • The deprecated wallet remains loaded until browser restart.
  • Tabs already open won’t pick up the new window.ethereum provider unless reloaded.
  • Use a new tab or restart to ensure the change takes effect.

🧠 Restoring Old Wallets with 24-Word Seeds

If restoring from an older wallet and the address appears different, it may be due to legacy seed format.

Legacy vs BIP39:

  • Legacy (24-word): entropy → used directly as seed
  • BIP39-compliant: mnemonic → entropy → PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 → seed

A checkbox will appear during wallet import for using the legacy method. Enable it to recover your original address.

If you mistakenly skipped this, simply restore again. Note: Restoring replaces your current wallet state.

Restore via:


ibrowe://wallet

or from the lock screen.

🎁 Why Can’t I Receive Rewards or Tip from iBrowe Wallet?

  • Rewards (vBAT) are virtual tokens. To turn them into real BAT, you must verify with an exchange (AML/KYC required).
  • iBrowe Wallet is self-custodial, so we cannot transfer rewards directly to it due to regulatory constraints.
  • Tipping functionality will be on-chain P2P in the future, but is subject to:
    • High gas fees (Ethereum)
    • No anonymity
    • Future Solana integration

🔐 Creating a New Wallet Without a Password

If you’ve forgotten your password or seed phrase:

  1. Visit ibrowe://wallet
  2. Click Get Started
  3. On the second screen, choose:

    “I’ve lost my password and recovery phrase, create a new wallet.”

Your old wallet may have been created unintentionally.

🔄 Syncing iBrowe Wallets Across Devices

🔁 Migrating to MetaMask from iBrowe Wallet

If you used a 24-word seed from older versions of iBrowe Wallet:

  • MetaMask is not compatible with the legacy format.
  • To migrate:
    1. Visit: ibrowe://wallet/crypto/accounts
    2. Export your private key
    3. Import that key into MetaMask

Based on Brave Browser documentation and adapted for iBrowe usage:
https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/wiki