Work out which of the two problems you have: the item was not released, or it was released and would not decrypt. They have different causes.
Release refused
The release check re-reads the chain every time. It refuses unless the state genuinely permits it right now.
As an heir:
- Claim not finalized
Started is not enough. The challenge window must have closed and you must have finalized. See finalizing and claiming assets.
- The claim was cancelled
The owner reappeared. The vault re-sealed immediately, by design.
- Wrong wallet
You must be signing as the confirmed heir address.
- Item is owner-only
Scoped never to be released. It will not appear in your list.
As an owner:
- Estate has finalized
Owner-side access closes once a claim finalizes. See I missed my check-in.
- No inheritance configuration
The vault is gated on inheritance state. Without a configuration there is nothing to check against.
Released, but will not decrypt
Less common, and each cause is specific.
Network interruption. The most likely by far. The encrypted payload or file object did not download completely. Retry on a stable connection.
Checksum mismatch on a file. The retrieved object did not match the checksum recorded when it was encrypted. That means it is corrupted or was modified, and refusing it is correct — a silently wrong file would be worse.
Authentication failure. The encryption is authenticated, so a tampered ciphertext fails loudly rather than decrypting to plausible nonsense. Again, the failure is the protection working.
Wrong wallet on the device. Decryption is bound to the identity that is entitled to it. Switch to the correct wallet and retry.
Failing loudly is deliberate
The alternative to a hard failure is a decryption that appears to succeed and returns the wrong thing. For an estate, silence would be far more dangerous than an error.
A recovery phrase that opens an empty wallet
Not a failure. Phrases are stored with a passphrase split: the words are in the vault and the passphrase was deliberately kept elsewhere. Restoring without it produces a valid, empty wallet.
Find the passphrase at the location recorded on the item, add it, and the balance appears. See storing a recovery phrase.
Still stuck
Note the item title, the item type, whether you are the owner or the heir, and the exact message shown, then get in touch.
Never send the item's contents, a recovery phrase or a private key when reporting a problem. Nothing about diagnosing this requires them.