# Help! I used too small of a fee and my transaction is not confirming!

While it is recommended to use the "High" fee setting on Freewallet it may not be high enough as the user desires, <mark style="color:yellow;">before moving forward with this issue please review</mark> the [What BTC fee should I use?](/freewallet.io-user-manual/getting-started/what-btc-fee-should-i-use.md) section.&#x20;

It is important to note in this process that <mark style="color:yellow;">sometimes a singular transaction fee that worked just a moment ago can not be enough for the next transaction</mark>.&#x20;

For instance, things like Bitcoin mempool changes, UTXO amounts on your address, unconfirmed transactions to your address and more can affect this choice.

In the instance you have a transaction that is not confirming in a reasonable amount of time it is because you broadcasted the transaction with too low of a fee. <mark style="color:yellow;">This transaction will show as "unconfirmed" on Bitcoin and Counterparty Block Explorers</mark>.

In the event you set too low of a fee and the transaction is just taking a while, it is best to just be patient and review how long it may take with the fee you used.&#x20;

* The most recent data on transaction fee amounts and target sat/vb rates are best viewed at <https://mempool.space/>
* Other details of your transaction can be reviewed by using <https://blockstream.info/> or any Bitcoin Block Explorer of your choice
* <mark style="color:yellow;">If this was a Counterparty transaction, you can always look up your address, or look up specific transaction ID information</mark> on [Tokenscan.io](https://tokenscan.io/) or other Counterparty Block Explorers.
* <mark style="color:green;">If your transaction is close to the current Sat/VB rate and you are in no hurry, it is recommended to just be patient and wait for the transaction to confirm</mark>

<mark style="color:yellow;">There are a few instances where it is recommended to use the High fee setting</mark> <mark style="color:red;">or even higher!</mark>

* <mark style="color:yellow;">Buying XCP and Tokens from a Dispenser</mark> - It is always recommended to check if the dispenser already has unconfirmed transactions and to use the High setting (or even higher!) and double check the sat/vb rare shown in Freewallet
* <mark style="color:yellow;">Changing Descriptions or Creating a Token with a 'longform description'</mark> - There are many members of the community (that have many Unconfirmed Coins on their address) that run into an issue with the Effect Fee Rate and is explained in more detail in the [My transaction is too low of an "Effective Fee Rate"](/freewallet.io-user-manual/troubleshooting-issues/my-transaction-is-too-low-of-an-effective-fee-rate.md) section. It is recommended to use three times the High fee when doing this longform description process.
* <mark style="color:yellow;">Broadcasting a very longform and 'data heavy' Broadcast transaction</mark> -  There are many members of the community (that have many Unconfirmed Coins on their address) that run into an issue with the Effect Fee Rate and is explained in more detail in the [My transaction is too low of an "Effective Fee Rate"](/freewallet.io-user-manual/troubleshooting-issues/my-transaction-is-too-low-of-an-effective-fee-rate.md) section. It is recommended to use three times the High fee when doing this longform broadcast process.

In the event you need to 'add more to the fee' or speed up your Bitcoin or Counterparty unconfirmed transaction, there are a few ways to do so. <mark style="color:yellow;">Unfortunately, RBF or "Replace By Fee" are not supported with Freewallet transactions at this time.</mark>

To get a deeper understanding of the why the following process is used and how to do each step of the process, review [this article about UTXO's using Bitcoin and Freewallet](https://medium.com/@davesta.xcp/understanding-btc-fees-and-utxos-when-using-counterparty-ae22f40b642a).

The process described below is <mark style="color:red;">normally only used for extremely urgent transactions</mark> (with too low of a fee) to be pushed through and be confirmed.

* Ensure you have <mark style="color:yellow;">enough BTC on your address with the unconfirmed transaction to more than cover the fee of another transaction</mark>.
* Import your private key for that specific address into the open-source and very technically Bitcoin centric: [Electrum wallet](https://electrum.org/). To learn how to view private keys of your specific wallets (and how to be safe with them) review the [Viewing, Creating and Importing Addresses](/freewallet.io-user-manual/freewallet-functions/viewing-creating-and-importing-addresses.md) section. Make sure to [review and understand how the Electrum wallet](https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) works.
* <mark style="color:yellow;">Using Electrum, send the entire amount of BTC in your wallet to the same address your BTC is contained on (the same one you sent from)</mark>. This process is creating a new transaction with your own address as the recipient and will successfully consolidate all of the UTXO's on your address. Make sure to use at least twice the recommended fee because this transaction will also have to cover the previous unconfirmed one.
* In many users' experiences, this process will either <mark style="color:yellow;">create a Child Pays For Parent transaction</mark> that pushed the previous transaction through (assuming it had a high enough fee), or will use those unconfirmed coins and the previous transaction will be dropped from the unconfirmed queue.
* It is also possible <mark style="color:yellow;">when using this process (after broadcasting this CPFP process) with Electrum to now then use Replace By Fee function to then increase the fee higher if needed</mark>.

The bitcoin miners will have a higher chance of confirming both transactions once the Child transaction is chosen to be confirmed by the bitcoin miners.

Something to note about this process is the need to have extra bitcoin in your address to do this second transaction with the appropriate fee.&#x20;

<mark style="color:red;">It may be needed to send more BTC to this address if you cannot cover those fees.</mark>

If you'd like to learn more about CPFP in general, please reference [this guide](https://academy.bit2me.com/en/que-es-child-pays-for-parent-cpfp/#:~:text=The%20term%20Child%20Pays%20For,has%20no%20priority%20for%20miners.\&text=Bitcoin%20transactions%2C%20how%20do%20they%20work%3F).

If you would like to learn more about CPFP, but specifically for use with Electrum please reference [this guide](https://medium.com/@oshiiko3679/how-to-do-a-manual-child-pays-for-parent-transaction-in-electrum-31fe0f642187).


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