Lost encryption key or recovery passphrase: what you need to know

This is one of the most important articles in our security help center. If you have lost your recovery passphrase or account credentials, or want to understand what would happen if you did, read it carefully.

In short

Your recovery passphrase enables you to restore your encrypted files through Everabyte’s secure recovery process. If you lose your credentials and your recovery passphrase, we may not be able to restore access to your account. Keep a safe backup of your recovery passphrase.

Why the recovery passphrase matters

Your recovery passphrase is the safety net for your account: it lets you regain access when you can no longer sign in with your usual credentials. Everabyte does not store your recovery passphrase in a form that staff can read out to you over a support chat — you are the one who keeps it.

What Everabyte can and cannot do

Restores run through Everabyte’s secure recovery process using your recovery passphrase, or another operation you authorize. Without your credentials and your passphrase, we may not be able to restore access.

What depends on your configuration

Recovery behavior depends on the product configuration and account recovery model. If you use Everabyte through a dedicated or custom deployment, check your contract to see which recovery options are defined.

What to do now

If you still have access to your account, treat this as a warning: locate your recovery passphrase and store a protected backup now. If you believe your phrase is lost, contact support@everabyte.com to review your situation.

Prevention is the only strategy

The only reliable protection against losing access is a good backup of your recovery passphrase. Our guide on protecting your encryption key and recovery passphrase gives concrete best practices: keep an offline copy in a safe place and consider a second copy in a different secure location.

Common issues

Can Everabyte reset my recovery passphrase?

No. Your recovery passphrase is yours: Everabyte cannot generate a new one for you after the fact. Keep a backup.

Can support restore my access without my recovery passphrase?

Only through the normal account recovery options available for your sign-in methods. If those are exhausted and your recovery passphrase is lost, we may not be able to restore access.

Does this apply to every Everabyte product?

Recovery behavior depends on the product configuration and account recovery model. Keep your recovery passphrase safe regardless of the product you use.

How do I avoid losing my recovery passphrase?

Keep an offline backup in a safe place, never store the only copy inside the storage itself, and consider a second copy in a different secure location. See How to protect your encryption key.