Nostr Web Client

Channels are the basics of how the lightning network works. To stay in full control you or the channel partner can close channels. What channel did you have?

Did you get a channel from a LSP (lightning service provider - like lnserver, megalith, etc.)?

Alby does not provide those channels and has no control over those. The Alby Hub node tries hard to avoid channel closures but it's up to you or the channel partner.

We don't know why it was closed. Often it happens if the channel is not used or if the node is offline for an extended period.

Danie 6mo ago

nostr:nprofile1qqsrxra3gv0lnkxz2pcxh0xuq9k4f9dr7azwq3aypqtnay4w0mjzmtqve7c2c Thanks for responding,

It is difficult now a year later to remember which/what channel it was (EDIT: the link in the e-mail took me to Megalith LSP). All I know is there was no warning at all, and no sats have re-appeared in my self-hosted Alby Hub under Node as the e-mail said it should. So the point is then that my Lightning Wallet was never under my control from what I'm seeing.

So without warning the channel is gone, and all my sats. I used the network every day so this cannot be from "not being used".

Sadly, this is going to be a real showstopper for any other users of the Lightning Network and/or Alby.

I'm a computer programmer and understand tech - I really cannot see how this will ever attract ordinary users. The mail I got came from "Your Alby Team" informing me the channel was closed. So it is true that maybe the real issue is with the channel - no idea which channel now, and certainly don't want to get involved with other channels if this is how it is going to go.

Despite having a self-hosted Alby Hub, this goes to show I was never in control of my sats at all. Otherwise they would have showed up there still. It was certainly connected every single day, as it was being used to authenticate my access to Nostr. Now I don't even know if I'll be able to access Nostr tomorrow after rebooting my computer. This may be the end of my access altogether.

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Discussion

TheLegendaryMan 6mo ago

Are you able to backup your npub private key?

As long as you have that you can still access Nostr.

If you need help choosing a nostr client and another lightning wallet. I will make sure you can get back up and running in under 15 minutes.

Danie 6mo ago

Thanks yes I certainly have all my keys backed up. I just don't want any more wallets that are connected via channels that are going to disappear. This is not how Bitcoin and other crypto works - your wallet should be your wallet.

TheLegendaryMan 6mo ago

Electrum is going to be your safest bet then. As long as you have 250k sats to open a lightning channel. Keep regular backups. Then that is going to be the most solid long term option.

https://electrum.org/

If you are familiar with the command line and don't fear it. LND is going to be the most flexible option that is battle tested.

https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd

If you want to use a really awesome lightning wallet without messing with channels. I really like Misty Breez. They warn you that you could lose sats, because it is still beta. Just remember to convert to on chain and send it to another wallet. Then your risk is minimal. You swap to on chain when you reach at least 25k sats.

https://breez.technology/misty/

If you don't want to fuck around at all and just want something that always works 24/7/365, but has no support. I've been using fountain for over a year. It is custodial, but you earn sats for listening to podcasts and can support your favorite podcasters. So it is a tradeoff. I just send my sats to another lightning wallet that can convert to on chain when it hits around 25k as well.

https://fountain.fm/

Danie 6mo ago

I do have a Muun wallet with Lightning I see

Danie 6mo ago

Yes, I see now from Megalith LSP there is this comment on the Alby guides: "Your channel stays open longer if you send or receive at least one payment per 30 days". So despite daily posting I obviously never received any sats for the last month, and I had not sent either, so the channel just got closed and I have lost my sats. No warning, and no value whatsoever in actually self-hosting the Alby Hub. I'm certainly not going to burn my fingers again on the Lightning network. This has just never happened to me with Bitcoin - my offline wallets retain my find no matter what (that is proper control). The self-hosting was a farce (my self-hosted Hub wallet still shows 0 stats).

bumi 6mo ago

why do you think you have not been in control?

you have been as much in control as the channel partner. so anyone can close.

you see the details on the node page.

and you get an email notification because you enabled those about events of your wallet. interesting that you think the sender controls this.

I know lightning is still early and complicated… also as you’re a programmer feel free to open an issue on github… it’s all open source

Danie 6mo ago

All I'm saying is I had a fully functional self-hosted Alby Hub. It had a balance this morning showing, now it shows 0 sats. That was not in my control. If it was I'd still see the balance I had. It means in fact the balance was not really in my hub at all. Seems it had something more to do with the connector then. I should have been able to pick a different connector, and carried on using what balance I had in my Hub. It appears that the connector actually had the control. I don't have my sats now, I don't see them on the GetAlby site account, so I assume the connector has it. That was not under my control then at all.

Danie 6mo ago

Here are screenshots of my GetAlby account, as well as my self-hosted Alby Hub. My sats are all gone since the connector closed earlier today.

If I had any control over it I would at least see my balance still there(my wallet was not actually in my self-hosted hub). Nostr was my first experience with Lighting wallets, and it was way more complicated than Bitcoin.

This has not been a good experience, yet I still have my Bitcoin. Right now, I'm thoroughly unimpressed with the Lightning network (or at least the connectors). It certainly does not inspire me at all go want to go deeper into it.

Because it is complicated, I don't know why/who/where it went wrong. All I know is, I did nothing to it today, and I have 0 sats now. Someone must have my sats now. There is no way I'm paying for another connector to connect 0 sats.

https://npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6.blossom.band/269a98f5add38d1cb6a9e876fce0b2c0c21a3afb7dde1094f4efd5698dc72778.webp

bumi 6mo ago

check the node page on the alby hub. there you see channels, on chain balance, etc.

if a channel is closed for whatever reason it means that the funds become onchain available again. (lighting is the second layer to transact instantly)

that 0 is the spendable balance in lightning.

I know it’s sadly still more complicated than plain onchain or some custodial service that does it for you or some service like paypal…

but that’s the properties of lightning. all has upsides/downsides.