How to Troubleshoot Unconfirmed Bitcoin Transactions

If you have sent Bitcoin (BTC) from your Atomic Wallet but the transaction has not yet been confirmed, the funds are pending and have not reached the recipient. This guide explains why this happens and what you can do about it.

Contents

• Common reasons for unconfirmed transactions
• Step 1: Check the transaction status on a block explorer
• Step 2: What to do with a stuck transaction
• What Atomic Wallet can and cannot do
• When to contact support

Common reasons for unconfirmed transactions

Several factors can cause a Bitcoin transaction to remain unconfirmed:

• Network congestion. High traffic on the Bitcoin network means more transactions are competing for inclusion in blocks.
• Low transaction fees. Miners prioritize transactions with higher fees. If your fee is too low, your transaction may be delayed.
• Mempool size. The mempool holds unconfirmed transactions. A large mempool indicates high network activity and can slow down transactions with lower fees.

Step 1: Check the transaction status on a block explorer

The first step is to verify your transaction's current status on the blockchain.

1. Open Atomic Wallet and go to the History tab.
2. Find your BTC transaction and click on it.
3. Copy the Transaction ID (TxID) or Hash.
4. Go to a reliable Bitcoin block explorer — for example, blockchain.com, blockchair.com, or mempool.space.
5. Paste your TxID into the search bar.
6. The explorer will show the transaction's status, including the number of confirmations (0 means unconfirmed), the fee paid, and its position in the mempool.

Step 2: What to do with a stuck transaction

If your transaction is stuck due to a low fee, some wallets allow you to replace it with a new one that pays a higher fee — a feature called Replace-by-Fee (RBF).

Atomic Wallet does not currently support RBF directly within the application. If your transaction was sent without RBF enabled, the best course of action is usually to wait. Bitcoin transactions typically drop from the mempool after 24–72 hours if they are not confirmed, and the funds will return to your wallet. You can then try sending again with a higher fee.

What Atomic Wallet can and cannot do

Atomic Wallet can:

• Provide your transaction ID (TxID) for tracking.
• Display the transaction's status within the wallet.
• Confirm that the transaction was correctly broadcast from your wallet.

Atomic Wallet cannot:

• Directly speed up or cancel an unconfirmed transaction.
• Increase the fee of an already broadcast transaction if RBF was not enabled.
• Force miners to include your transaction in a block.
• Recover funds stuck in an unconfirmed transaction — these funds are held by the network until the transaction is confirmed or dropped.

When to contact support

If your transaction remains unconfirmed for an unusually long time (more than 72 hours) and the funds have not returned to your wallet, or if you need help interpreting block explorer information, please contact Atomic Wallet support at support@atomicwallet.io. Provide your transaction ID (TxID) and any relevant details, and our team can help you understand the transaction's status and offer further guidance.