Read a block explorer
A block explorer reports blockchain data. It is another source of evidence, not an instruction to sign, connect a wallet or enter recovery words. A lookup reveals the queried address or transaction and connection information to the service. Use your own node when that fits your privacy workflow.
Find the right transaction
- Identify the network used for the payment. Similar addresses can exist on different networks; a hash lookup on the wrong network can return nothing.
- Copy the transaction identifier from Desktop Activity or the sender’s withdrawal record. Distinguish an exchange’s internal withdrawal reference from an on-chain transaction hash.
- Open the explorer for that exact network through a trusted source. Search the identifier and compare the full hash with your record.
- Check recipient, asset or token contract, amount, fee, timestamp and status where visible. For Bitcoin, inspect all outputs and distinguish recipient from change. For EVM tokens, a transaction’s native-coin value alone does not describe every token transfer or contract effect.
- Compare the evidence with your intended account and payment, not just the explorer’s success badge. Shielded transactions may intentionally hide recipients or amounts; use the Zcash privacy workflow for those limits.
Understand the status
| State | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Prepared | A proposed transaction exists locally; no network submission is established. |
| Signed | Signing succeeded; broadcast is still a separate step. |
| Submitted | A service accepted or attempted broadcast. Check its response and resulting identifier. |
| Unconfirmed | The observed transaction is not included in a block in that source’s view. |
| Included/confirmed | Inclusion has been observed; assess the network’s confirmation/finality requirements. |
| Failed execution | An included contract transaction may have failed while still consuming a fee. Inspect its receipt and actual state changes. |
An absent explorer result can mean the wrong network, delayed indexing, no broadcast or a rejected transaction. It does not justify immediately sending the payment again. Check the original submission result and another appropriate source first.
Investigate a missing payment
If no hash exists, ask whether the sender’s withdrawal is still pending or awaiting another confirmation. If a hash exists, verify the network and destination before changing the receiving wallet. If the payment reached an address belonging to your account, check the same passphrase, address type, filters and synchronization in Desktop.
Continue with missing-payment troubleshooting and account Audit. Do not send funds, pay a “validation fee,” or share recovery material to unlock an explorer result.