How to Unstuck a Transaction with MetaMask: A Step-by-Step Guide

Blocknative Ethereum Web3

A stuck transaction is a transaction that you submitted to go on-chain but it is unable to be completed for an unusually long time. The primary reason that this happens is underpricing the gas on your transaction. 

If you are facing issues with a stuck transaction on MetaMask ,this guide will help you resolve the problem in a few simple steps. To avoid this scenario in the future make sure you use an accurate gas estimation tool. In the meantime, follow along to get your transactions moving again.

Stuck Transaction Troubleshooting 


Step 1: Check the Status of Your Transaction

Before proceeding with any changes, it’s important to check the status of your transaction. To do this, go to Ethernow and enter your transaction hash. You can find your transaction hash in MetaMask by clicking on the transaction under the "Activity" tab.

Screen Shot 2024-06-10 at 2.28.22 PM

 On Ethernow, look for the status of your transaction. If it shows "Pending," (as above) it means the transaction is currently stuck and hasn't been confirmed by the network.
 
Note, if you sent your transaction privately with something other than Transaction Boost, it will not appear on Ethernow.
 

Step 2: Open MetaMask and Access Advanced Settings

  1. Open MetaMask and log in.
  2. Click on the account icon in the top right corner.
  3. Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu.

mm1

 

Step 3: Enable Customized Nonce

  1. In the Settings menu, select "Advanced."
  2. Enable the "Customize transaction nonce" option.
mm2 

 

Step 4: Find the Stuck Transaction’s Nonce

Go back to Ethernow and locate the nonce of your stuck transaction. This is a unique identifier for each transaction made by your account.

Screen Shot 2024-06-10 at 2.48.40 PM

Step 5: Create a New Transaction with the Same Nonce

  1. Go back to MetaMask and initiate a new transaction by sending a small amount of ETH to yourself or to another address you own
  2. Before confirming the transaction, click on "Advanced Options" to set the nonce.
  3. Enter the nonce of the stuck transaction that you found in Step 4. It must be same nonce as the stuck transaction.

mm3

 

Step 6: Increase the Gas Price

To ensure the network prioritizes your new transaction over the stuck one, increase the gas price. You can use our handy Blocknative gas estimator to determine the current optimal gas price.

mm4

Step 7: Confirm the Transaction

Once you’ve set the nonce and adjusted the gas price, confirm the transaction. MetaMask will process it as a new transaction with the same nonce as the stuck one, effectively replacing it.

Step 8: Monitor the New Transaction

Check Ethernow again to monitor the status of your new transaction. It should go through quickly if the gas price is sufficient.

Step 9: Verify the Stuck Transaction’s Status

Finally, verify that the original stuck transaction is no longer pending by entering the hash into Ethernow. It should be replaced or canceled once the new transaction is confirmed.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully unstick your MetaMask transaction and continue with your Ethereum activities without further issues. To avoid this scenario in the future make sure you use an accurate gas estimation tool.

Observe Ethereum

Blocknative's proven & powerful enterprise-grade infrastructure makes it easy for builders and traders to work with mempool data.

Visit ethernow.xyz

Want to keep reading?

Good choice! We have more articles.

how-self-built-blocks-unintentionally-introduce-base-fee-volatility
Gas

How Self-Built Blocks Unintentionally Introduce Base Fee Volatility

Thank You to Toni Wahrstätter, Justin Drake, Barnabé Monnot, Julian Ma and others who contributed..

no-more-decoding-headaches:-announcing-the-blocknative-decoding-api
Developer

No More Decoding Headaches: Announcing The Blocknative Decoding API

For builders working with Layer 2 (L2) solutions, one challenge has consistently slowed development..

blob-inversion:-an-investigation-into-the-june-20th-2024-blob-spike
Gas

Blob Inversion: An Investigation Into the June 20th 2024 Blob Spike

Thank you to all those who provided input and review on this piece, including Julian Ma, Soubhik..

Connect with us. Build with us.

We love to connect with teams who are building with Blocknative. Tell us about your team and what you would like to learn.

"After first building our own infrastructure, we appreciate that mempool management is a difficult, expensive problem to solve at scale. That's why we partner with Blocknative to power the transaction notifications in our next-generation wallet."

Schedule a demo