TL;DR
A stuck transaction isn’t lost. It’s waiting for a miner to pick it up, because the fee was too low for how busy the network is. Either wait, or replace it with the same transaction at a higher fee (RBF) and sign again with two devices.
Why it happens
Miners pick the transactions that pay the most per byte. When the network gets busy after you sent, your fee can fall behind. Transactions with a low fee can wait hours or days; eventually they either confirm or drop out of the waiting pool.
Option 1: wait
Waiting is always safe. If there’s no deadline, waiting usually works. Your coins stay yours in the meantime.
Option 2: raise the fee (RBF)
- In Sparrow, open the Transactions tab and right-click the unconfirmed transaction.
- Choose Increase Fee (RBF) and pick a higher fee rate.
- Click Finalize Transaction for Signing and sign with two devices, just as with the original.
- Broadcast. The new version replaces the old one; only one of the two can ever confirm.
Option 3: child pays for parent (CPFP)
If you’re receiving coins and the sender set a low fee, you can’t replace their transaction. You can spend your incoming coins with a high fee; miners then take both together. Sparrow offers this as Increase Effective Fee (CPFP) when you right-click the incoming transaction. The new transaction needs two signatures, like any other.
Avoiding it next time
- Use Sparrow’s fee slider; Medium Priority (usually confirms within an hour or two) is normally enough.
- Multisig transactions are a bit larger, so the fee in sats is a bit higher. See multisig fees.
- Don’t send urgent payments from a multisig when the network is very busy.