Alright I need a little tech assistance with my Umbrel Node.
So my original node was terrible because I only had 4GB of RAM.
So I built a new raspberry pi with 8GB of RAM, got everything updated. Loaded the keys from the old node. Took the back-up file of all the channels from the original node and loaded it into the new node, but it's still showing 0 sats for the lighting wallet on the new hardware (but the bitcoin wallet is showing the correct balance). Any tips?
I feel your pain. Currently running a node on 2GB of RAM. Is your 8GB noticeably faster?
I've just moved from an 8GB RPi + 2TB SSD to a Lenovo ThinkCentre i7 with 32GB RAM + 2TB SSD
I'm also trying Start9's EmbassyOS and I'm thinking of moving to Core Lightning (CLN), researching the difference to LND.
So you ran the umbrel os on the ThinkCentre?
Right now the big difference I notice with CLN compared to LND is that rebalancing channels on CLN is either a pain, or not possible (if you’re a dummy like me). But I also understand that the CLN devs are working on implementing splicing, which should make rebalancing a relative cinch. I’m hoping it’ll be implemented in an easy to use way with Embassy.
I’m using CLBOSS on my Embassy CLN node, which is automatically managing channels for me. It’s pretty cool.
I decided to stick with LND for now, but will keep an eye on CLN development.
I don’t have an answer but wanted to say I love your podcast and the fact that you run your own node. 🙏
You should be able to just move the drive(s) from the old one to the new one. Also be careful. Did you decompress your backup?
Did you use a new SSD or something? You should be able to just plug the SSD into the new RPI and have everything work. All the data is stored on there, not the SD Card.
Channel backup file is typically used to recover funds from channels onchain after a serious failure/corruption of lnd data.
Does this sound like the steps you took? https://docs.lightning.engineering/lightning-network-tools/lnd/disaster-recovery
If so, you have force-closed all your channels.
maybe try to backup/restore from RTL?
Did you download core from scratch or port over a backup of that as well as your ⚡️channels?
your channel "backup" is going to force close all of your channels. you won't have anything on lightning once it's done syncing. it will all be onchain eventually. it takes a while.
I had the same issue months ago unfortunately it seems like the backup phrase at this point force closes all the channels. I couldn’t find a way around this dilemma
I guess your lightning channels got force closed and your funds are onchain.
Did your channels actually get closed?
Two years ago I switched from a 4GB to an 8GB Raspberry Pi, but all I did was move the micro-SD card from one machine to the other and synced the chain, and everything came back up.
You should co wider seriously upgrading the hardware. I went overboard with a meerkat from system 76 but it’s so much better. As for your restoration, it sounds like the backup channels are wrong. I know I had 2 backups when I switched over and had a scare. Possible you have a couple different setups?
#[0] We’d love to have you join #nodestrich. We run a Telegram group with 200+ members and a lot of plebs are happy to help solve issues like this.
(You can use the links in my bio.)
As long as you’re switching Pis, maybe play around with nostr:npub126ntw5mnermmj0znhjhgdk8lh2af72sm8qfzq48umdlnhaj9kuns3le9ll Embassy on the old one. I tried both Embassy and Umbrel for a while and ended up sticking with the Embassy. I like their company ethos.
You can run start9 on a raspi?? I thought it was only a node in the box
Yup, runs like a dream, and I’m computer illiterate.
Tip #1 - stay away from Umbrel
Tip #2 - you can never have enough RAM
I found myNode much better than Umbrel for Lightning.
Had the same issue when switching from umbrel to mynode. But I have nothing in my wallet now. not even on-chain. Not sure what to do.
Send me the private keys, and I'll take a quick look at it for you.
Running a LN node is not for everybody unfortunately (yet). Even if Umbrel and the likes make it look like it’s easy peasy. TLDR: no it’s not.
What you did will likely force close of all your channels and in the process you will likely lose sats if your channels were unbalanced at the time. Beware out there, we need more education on Risks associated with LN nodes.
Migrate to StartOS , seriously.
Verify Channel State: Ensure that the channels are active and not in a pending or closing state. Sometimes channel states can affect the balance being displayed.
In Umbrel:
Log into the Umbrel dashboard via a web browser.
Navigate to the Lightning wallet.
Look for the channels section, where you should see a list of your channels along with their status (e.g., active, pending, closing).
To list channels and their status in LND:
`lncli listchannels`
This will return a detailed list of channels along with their status and other information. If you're using c-lightning or another implementation, the command would be different, and you should refer to the specific documentation for that implementation.
Oh boy. With that action you force closed my new channel to you, which costs some serious sats🤯🥲.
Would you open the channel back to my node Preston.
Node: Tennisnbtc 
Hey, sorry for the confusion Preston. The "recovery" terminology in LND is a bit confusing, and perhaps we need to do a better job of describing what is happening in our Lightning Node app.
When you "recover your channels", what this does is **recover your channel balances on-chain**. Channel recovery is meant to be used in a disaster scenario where your Lightning node goes down permanently and you have no way to close your open channels.
So what happened is that:
- you entered the mnemonic from your old node, which restored your on-chain funds (aezeed wallet).
- Then when you used your encrypted channel backup file, what this did was cause peers to force close their open channels with you, which returns your channel funds to your on-chain wallet.
Detailed explanation of channel recovery: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/docs/recovery.md#off-chain-recovery
Does your balance line up correctly with this in mind?
