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Short answers for first-time Bob users: sync, on-chain renewal (protocol heartbeat, miner fee only — Bob takes nothing), and upgrading from original Bob 2.1.0 to Bob LearnHNS.
Yes. Handshake does not impose a one-bid-per-wallet-per-block limit. Bob's normal Bid Now flow creates one independent transaction for each bid, so several may be mined in the same block or they may confirm in different blocks. Current Bob LearnHNS can instead use Auction Basket to put up to 20 name bids into one transaction; all included bids then confirm together when that transaction is mined.
First save the complete error message, then confirm Bob is synced, the name is available now, you have confirmed spendable HNS for the transaction fee, and Bob did not already create a pending OPEN transaction. If it still fails, send the exact error, Bob version, operating system, connection mode, block height, steps, and a redacted log excerpt. Never share your seed phrase, private keys, wallet password, API keys, or wallet backup.
Yes, in Bob LearnHNS. SPV mode does not need a full Handshake node, but it does need the current helper at https://spv.learnhns.com/hsd. Original Bob 2.1.0 still has an SPV switch, yet it cannot change the retired HandshakeAPI helper, so name details can stay empty. Use LearnHNS, wait for lightweight wallet sync to finish, then confirm the helper under Settings → Network & Connection → SPV Helper API.
Create or restore your Bob wallet, copy the correct Bob receiving address, then withdraw HNS or transfer each Handshake name from Namebase to that address using Namebase's withdrawal or domain transfer flow. Wait for confirmations, then verify the HNS or name appears in Bob before relying on it. Do not send names to an exchange deposit address unless the service explicitly supports Handshake name ownership transfers.
Bob can show a fresh receive address for the same wallet over time. This is normal wallet behavior and helps reduce address reuse. Older receive addresses generated by that Bob wallet still belong to the same wallet and can still receive HNS or Handshake names. For best privacy, use the newest address Bob shows when sharing a receive address.
Same wallet is enough; same address is not better. For privacy, receive extra HNS on a different current Receive address in the same Bob wallet. Do not park liquid HNS on the TLD owner address — explorers already show that address as the name owner. On renew, the locked name coin stays on that same TLD address (same amount). The miner fee is paid from other spendable HNS in the wallet, and change from that fee goes to a new internal change address, not back onto the TLD. Extra HNS sent to the TLD address does not become the name coin and is not required to renew.
Change goes to Bob’s current unused internal change address (a separate HD chain from Receive, and not the TLD owner address). After that change is recorded, the next change address is a new unused one. You cannot choose it. Bob LearnHNS has no UTXO / coin-control UI: you cannot pick which coins to spend, freeze a UTXO, or set the change address. The wallet selects spendable coins automatically.
First make sure Bob Wallet is fully synced before deciding the names are missing. If the transfer was initiated from Namebase and the explorer still shows the names as pending finalization after the 288-block lock period, the Namebase admin or support team likely needs to broadcast the FINALIZE transaction from their side. Bob can only help once the wallet sees the pending name transfer for your Bob address and has the chain data needed to act on it.
Handshake names are not owned forever. The protocol requires a heartbeat RENEW transaction about every two years so the owner proves they still hold the key. That rule is in the Handshake design notes and the public Handshake FAQ; it is not a Bob Wallet policy. If a name is not renewed in time it expires and can be auctioned again. Check shakeshift.com (or another Handshake explorer) to see if a dropped name is still available or already taken. Renewal cannot bring back a name you no longer own.
No. Bob Wallet charges nothing to renew. A renewal is an ordinary Handshake on-chain transaction. You pay the normal network/miner fee; miners receive it as part of the block, the same as any other Handshake transaction. There is no extra protocol tax, registrar fee, or Bob fee. You are not buying the name again — the original bid lockup stays locked. Official Handshake FAQ: renewals are biannual and cost a standard network fee; miners get that fee.
Use a current Bob LearnHNS build, not original Bob 2.1.0 or 0.6.x. Unlock the wallet, wait until it is synced, and keep enough spendable HNS for the miner fee. Per name: open the TLD and click Renew. Bulk: Portfolio / Account shows a Renew card when owned names are inside the last stretch of their window (about the last three months). That batches eligible names into one on-chain RENEW transaction. Watch the Expiring Names page so you are not waiting until the last day. Bob must be running, synced, funded, and unlocked — it cannot renew while the computer is off. If you still have original Bob, download LearnHNS and restore with your seed; do not share your seed in Telegram.
Ask the recipient for a Handshake address from a wallet that supports name ownership. In Bob, choose the name, start a transfer to that address, wait through the protocol transfer period, and complete the finalize step when Bob shows it is ready. Always test with a low-value name first if you are learning the flow.
First confirm the wallet is fully synced, then open Portfolio and check Transaction History. If the history is empty or incomplete after sync, a wallet rescan can rebuild Bob's view of past transactions. Make sure you are looking at the correct Bob profile or wallet, especially if you restored from a seed phrase or use more than one wallet.
Install Bob LearnHNS, quit original Bob, then Import a wallet → Import Your Seed Phrase. 2.1.0 is the last original Bob, not a third wallet. Ignore the stale copy-command box on LearnHNS 2.3.9. Never paste a seed in chat. Full Q&A is on the upgrade page.
It starts from 0%. That bar is lightweight header sync plus the helper, not a full node downloading the whole chain. First run still takes a bit. It is still far faster than full node. After seed import there is a second wait: wallet restore/scan. Names and old bids can keep appearing. If asked when you first used the wallet, pick a year at or before 2021. Leave the app open until it says synchronized. Do not switch to full node to make it faster. If you see chain sync around 50% and Rescanning 0%, wait: those are two jobs, and rescan often stays at 0% until the first batch. If neither chain height nor rescan percent moves for 20–30 minutes, fully quit LearnHNS and reopen it once. Do not restore the seed again.
Wait first. Chain sync and wallet rescan are two different jobs. Rescanning 0% is common at the start because the wallet cannot run ahead of the chain, and the percent often stays at 0 until the first batch of blocks is processed. It is still SPV. Leave the app open. Do not switch to full node, click Rescan Auction, restore the seed again, or delete the data folder. If chain height and rescan percent have not moved at all for about 20–30 minutes, fully quit LearnHNS and open it once. After restart it should continue. If it is still frozen, confirm original Bob is quit and the SPV helper is https://spv.learnhns.com/hsd.
No. Bob Wallet is a local desktop application, not a web wallet, so there is no website where a username and password can log you in to recover it. A Bob password normally unlocks the local app data on that computer; the seed phrase is the important recovery material. Download a current Bob LearnHNS build, choose Import a wallet / Restore with your seed phrase, enter the seed only inside the official app, and let the wallet finish its sync or recovery scan. Never send the seed phrase or password to support or anyone in Telegram.
The recommended path is not Terminal. Install current Bob LearnHNS (the shadstoneofficial fork), quit original Bob 2.1.0 or older, then Import a wallet → Import Your Seed Phrase inside the app. You do not need to copy the old data folder. Original Bob 2.1.0 (2024) is the same original Bob line as 0.6.x (2021), not a third wallet. LearnHNS 2.3.9 still shows a stale macOS copy box on first run — ignore it. The command-line copy on the migrate page is optional only on the same computer and same OS.
It was a same-computer shortcut, not a real upgrade. LearnHNS uses a different app folder than original Bob (0.6.x through 2.1.0). Copying the old one also copied stale SPV/node state (wrong helper, old chain files, old settings), which led to empty name details, port fights, and half-broken profiles. Terminal/PowerShell copy also failed a lot across operating systems. The seed is the wallet: HNS and names live on the chain, so import works on a new computer or after an OS reinstall. Keep the old Bob folder as a backup. Do not delete it. Do not use copy-as-install. Fresh LearnHNS SPV starts from 0%; that is lightweight header sync, still far faster than full node.
Re-entering a seed has a real risk (keyloggers, clipboard, screenshots, shoulder surfing). Copying an already-encrypted Bob folder does not put the words on screen, so that part is fair. We still do not lead with folder copy because it kept breaking SPV/helper state, not because typing a seed is “safer.” If you will not type the seed and the old Bob folder is still on this same trusted computer, the optional copy on the migrate page is for that. Safer seed restore: only inside official Bob LearnHNS, type the words, do not paste from a cloud note or chat, no screenshots, no Telegram. A compromised computer can steal either path.
An xpriv is as sensitive as the seed. Pasting it is not safer. LearnHNS can import a seed, xpriv, or encrypted master-key JSON, but original Bob 2.1.0 has no normal Settings export for xpriv or that JSON. Reveal seed phrase shows the mnemonic on screen. View Account Key is an xpub (read-only), not an xpriv. The encrypted master-key download is only in the rare seed-phrase-mismatch backup. Backup WalletDB copies wallet database files; it is not the LearnHNS master-key import format. For a healthy 2.1.0 wallet, restore in LearnHNS with the seed, or use the optional same-OS folder copy if you will not type the seed.
No third wallet. Original Bob is one line: 0.6.x around 2021, last frozen official build 2.1.0 in 2024. Bob LearnHNS 2.3.x is the maintained fork with a separate app folder. Current LearnHNS 2.3.9 still shows a stale macOS copy command on first run — ignore it and use Import a wallet; this website is current until the next LearnHNS release. Do not copy a Windows Bob folder onto macOS or Linux. That was never a supported migrate. Change OS by restoring the seed in LearnHNS on the new machine.
You do not need the old address to begin recovery. Restore the seed phrase in Bob, select the correct network, wait for syncing or recovery to finish, then open Receive to view and copy a current address. The first address shown may differ from one you remember because a seed can derive multiple receive addresses, change addresses, accounts, and indexes. If names or funds are missing, do not assume the seed is wrong: check the wallet profile, rescan, and ask for a local recovery/address check using only public addresses and redacted screenshots.
Install Bob from the official downloads page: choose the macOS DMG, Windows MSI, or Linux AppImage that matches your computer. It is also sensible to check the old machine for the Bob application and its local application-data folder, because reinstalling the app does not necessarily recreate the old profile. Do not delete, rename, or overwrite any old Bob data folder before making a backup and confirming which wallet it contains. To move from original Kyokan Bob to Bob LearnHNS, restore with your seed inside LearnHNS; the data-folder CLI copy is optional.
Only in Bob LearnHNS, not original Bob 2.1.0. Open Bob LearnHNS, go to Settings → Network & Connection, and look for the SPV Helper API card below the SPV versus full-node switch. Active Helper should be https://spv.learnhns.com/hsd. Original Bob has no helper URL field, so its SPV mode cannot recover name details after the old HandshakeAPI helper went offline. Most users should run LearnHNS alone; quit original Bob before launching LearnHNS so the two apps do not fight over the same local ports.
Quit original Bob completely first. The two apps can be installed side by side, but production LearnHNS uses the same local HSD ports as original Bob, so opening both at once often produces a list of bind or port-in-use errors. After LearnHNS starts, use that app for daily work. If LearnHNS looks empty, restore with your seed phrase (or optionally copy the old data folder — see the migrate guide). Do not delete wallet data folders.
Do not uninstall either app or delete any Bob data folders. Original Bob and current Bob LearnHNS builds can install side by side with separate app identities, data folders, and link handlers, but most users should use LearnHNS as the daily wallet. If LearnHNS opens for both, the usual causes are an older or incorrect installer, a stale operating-system app association, or a shortcut that points to the wrong app. Fully quit both apps, then open the app you meant to use from its installed location.
Before moving valuable names, write down your seed phrase, confirm Bob is synced, and try a small HNS transaction or low-value name first. Handshake name transfers are on-chain actions, so they cannot be undone after confirmation.
