<p>The private keys are the critical thing and are in the wallet backup.  They're what is needed to transfer coins. If they become public (i.e. stolen), whoever has them can transfer your coins to themselves. If you lose/forget your private keys, you can't make transfers, the coins are worthless to you, effectively lost.</p>

<p>You can create multiple addresses for bookkeeping. For example you can create an address for client X and an address for client Y, your wallet will show how much each address has received.  Also, creating a new address for every transaction can somewhat anonymize the transactions.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-11T08:45:31.310Z
so if I backup the wallet, import it on another pc, let the wallet sync again network this wallet should then also have the same state as the other wallet and have the coins. If something in this wallet changes, I have to make sure myself to keep the other wallet in sync. correct?
Stefan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-11T17:08:43.387Z
@stefan - yes and yes. The actual accounting is "out there" in the block chain. Wallets must sync to (read) the block chain in order to show you how much money you have.  It's not super critical that your wallets are always in sync, but understand they're only going to give you an accurate accounting when they are in sync.
obelia
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-12T10:45:27.637Z
and do I need to backup regularly? As I understand having the backup containing my private key would be enough. import it anywhere and let it sync and i have the coins there. So no need to backup every transaction or so because its in the chain. (just skip that having 2 different backup locations may be "safer")
Stefan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-12T15:36:21.757Z
@Stefan - you can have more than 1 private key, so whenever a private key is created the wallet should be backed up. Perhaps start another question to ask how/when private keys are created, different wallets do it differently.
obelia
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-10T22:32:53.007Z
2014-02-10T22:32:53.007Z
obelia
<p>If you already possessed some Dogecoins before the backup, restore it on another device and verify the amount displayed is the same. Else, get some coins, backup again and try restoring it elsewhere.</p>

<p>What exactly have you read about max. amount of addresses? Theoretically you can have as many addresses as you wish, though in practice the performance of the wallet will degrade the more addresses you have - the exchange Cryptsy was bitten recently by this and they had to create another wallet.</p>

<p>The point of having multiple addresses, in Dogecoin as in every other crypto-coin, is to be able to more easily track who payed you: you can have one address to receive payments for your services, another for the goods you sell, yet other one for tips you may collect (from Reddit, or a blog or whatever), the coins you mine, the ones you buy, etc. Most vendors actually generate a new address for each customer to be able to easily tell each payment's origin appart, some even use a new one for each transaction.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-10T22:20:50.973Z
2014-02-10T22:20:50.973Z
Joe Pineda
<p>I installed the langhans Dogecoin Wallet on my android device and backed up my private keys.
<strong>Is it sufficient to backup the wallet to avert loss in case of loss of or damage to the phone?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-10T22:04:08.133Z
Are you asking if backing up your private keys is sufficient enough?
John T
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-11T10:21:45.033Z
I have removed your unrelated second question "I have also read about maximum amount of addresses - it looks I currently have one. Do I need more or what are the addresses good for?" Please ask only one question per post. Please feel free to re-post it as its own question.
Murch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-11T10:30:51.923Z
Concerning your "number of addresses question" you might be interested in this post: [Why does Bitcoin send the “change” to a different address?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/1629/5406)
Murch
<backup><dogecoin>
Is it sufficient to backup the private keys of my android Dogecoin Wallet?
Stefan
# Is it sufficient to backup the private keys of my android Dogecoin Wallet?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-02-10)

I installed the langhans Dogecoin Wallet on my android device and backed up my private keys.
**Is it sufficient to backup the wallet to avert loss in case of loss of or damage to the phone?**

**Tags:** backup, dogecoin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you asking if backing up your private keys is sufficient enough?  
> **username_2**: I have removed your unrelated second question "I have also read about maximum amount of addresses - it looks I currently have one. Do I need more or what are the addresses good for?" Please ask only one question per post. Please feel free to re-post it as its own question.  
> **username_2**: Concerning your "number of addresses question" you might be interested in this post: [Why does Bitcoin send the “change” to a different address?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/1629/5406)  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-02-10. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

The private keys are the critical thing and are in the wallet backup. They're what is needed to transfer coins. If they become public (i.e. stolen), whoever has them can transfer your coins to themselves. If you lose/forget your private keys, you can't make transfers, the coins are worthless to you, effectively lost.

You can create multiple addresses for bookkeeping. For example you can create an address for client X and an address for client Y, your wallet will show how much each address has received. Also, creating a new address for every transaction can somewhat anonymize the transactions.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: so if I backup the wallet, import it on another pc, let the wallet sync again network this wallet should then also have the same state as the other wallet and have the coins. If something in this wallet changes, I have to make sure myself to keep the other wallet in sync. correct?  
> **username_3**: @username_0 - yes and yes. The actual accounting is "out there" in the block chain. Wallets must sync to (read) the block chain in order to show you how much money you have.  It's not super critical that your wallets are always in sync, but understand they're only going to give you an accurate accounting when they are in sync.  
> **username_0**: and do I need to backup regularly? As I understand having the backup containing my private key would be enough. import it anywhere and let it sync and i have the coins there. So no need to backup every transaction or so because its in the chain. (just skip that having 2 different backup locations may be "safer")  
> **username_3**: @username_0 - you can have more than 1 private key, so whenever a private key is created the wallet should be backed up. Perhaps start another question to ask how/when private keys are created, different wallets do it differently.  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2014-02-10. Score: 0

If you already possessed some Dogecoins before the backup, restore it on another device and verify the amount displayed is the same. Else, get some coins, backup again and try restoring it elsewhere.

What exactly have you read about max. amount of addresses? Theoretically you can have as many addresses as you wish, though in practice the performance of the wallet will degrade the more addresses you have - the exchange Cryptsy was bitten recently by this and they had to create another wallet.

The point of having multiple addresses, in Dogecoin as in every other crypto-coin, is to be able to more easily track who payed you: you can have one address to receive payments for your services, another for the goods you sell, yet other one for tips you may collect (from Reddit, or a blog or whatever), the coins you mine, the ones you buy, etc. Most vendors actually generate a new address for each customer to be able to easily tell each payment's origin appart, some even use a new one for each transaction.


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