This post will show you why it says “This Hotspot already has an owner” and how to transfer ownership of a Bobcat Miner 300.
If you receive a message stating “This Hotspot already has an owner” during onboarding, the blockchain has already been integrated with the Bobcat Miner 300. Hotspots can only be added to the blockchain once, and once added, they cannot be taken off.
The Bobcat Miner 300 will be connected during onboarding to whichever wallet your Bobber App is currently deeplinked to. After being onboarded and linked to a wallet, a Hotspot cannot be owned by no one, meaning it is always tied to the wallet which it was linked to during onboarding, unless ownership of the Hotspot is transferred to another wallet.
There is no way to “reset” the onboarding of a Hotspot and remove it from the blockchain to allow for another onboarding. This is as a result of how blockchains function fundamentally. The only way to switch the wallet that a Hotspot is linked to after it has been activated is to transfer ownership from the old wallet to the new one.
Also read: How to Reset Bobcat Miner 300: Step-by-step Guide
Table of Contents
Bobcat Miner 300 You Already Own
If a Bobcat Miner 300 you already own which you’ve previously onboarded yourself does not show up in your Helium wallet (in the Hotspots menu of the Bobber App), you are logged into the wrong Helium wallet. If you have multiple wallets, it’s possible that you entered the wrong wallet’s seed phrase or that you accidentally loaded a new empty wallet by mistake.
When users need to log into their wallets on a new phone after getting a new phone, this is most frequently the case. If you still have access to the old device, you can access your wallet via the Helium Wallet App and reveal your seed phrase in the settings menu to back it up. To access your wallet on your new device, use this seed phrase to log in, and then deeplink your Helium Wallet app to the Bobber app.
NOTE: Your control over your Hotspot(s) and money will be permanently lost if you misplace your seed phrase. Your seed phrase should never be shared with anyone; always keep a backup of it! See our article on wallets and seed phrases for more details.
Bobcat Miner 300 Purchased from Third Party
If the device wasn’t sealed or had been used before you bought it from a third party and it was a used Hotspot, the previous owner probably already onboarded it to the blockchain.
Access the Diagnoser or Local Dashboard to verify this. Click the Helium Explorer option in the Diagnoser to view the Hotspot on Helium Explorer for a Bobcat Miner 300. If the hotspot appears on Helium Explorer with information like a location, activity logs, and antenna details, it has already been onboarded to the blockchain. The Hotspot has not been onboarded if the page doesn’t load any details or if a search doesn’t return any results with a matching Miner name.
You won’t be able to onboard the Bobcat 300 miner to your wallet if it has already been onboarded. To transfer ownership from the current wallet to your wallet, you must instead get in touch with the seller. Before the Miner starts Proof of Coverage activity after ownership has changed, you must update the antenna information as well as the Miner’s location.
Transferring Ownership of a Bobcat Miner 300
Important Information
In order to transfer ownership of a Bobcat Miner 300, the device must have performed some Activity within the last 1,200 blocks, or roughly 20 hours, serves as proof of coverage. The Helium network has put in place this security measure to stop customers from buying hotspots that aren’t functional or functionally defective. Hotspots without Proof of Coverage activity cannot currently be transferred into another person’s ownership.
Only the wallet holding the private key or seed phrase for the wallet that owns the hotspot on the blockchain can transfer ownership of the hotspot. When a device is sold to a third party and the seller does not transfer ownership, Bobber has no way of doing so and is unable to help.
NOTICE: At the moment, the Bobber App cannot be used to manage hotspots associated with new 24-word Helium wallets. Stay tuned for the release of this functionality! In the interim, if you need to manage a hotspot that is currently owned by a 24-word wallet, you must first transfer ownership to a 12-word wallet using the Helium CLI wallet before using the Helium Hotspot App or Bobber App to do so. Consult the Nova Labs resource on the subject for more information on this procedure.
Also, please make sure you are transferring ownership of the hotspot to a 12-word Helium wallet or that the recipient is aware of this restriction and confirms they want it transferred to their 24-word Helium wallet.
Prerequisites
You must have the Helium Hotspot App deeplinked to the Bobber App and logged into the wallet that holds the hotspot in question in order to successfully transfer ownership of a Bobcat Miner 300. Additionally, you’ll need the wallet’s receiving address (public address) or the QR code for the address you want to scan in order to transfer ownership.
Process
The Hotspots tab can be found in the Bobber App. To transfer a hotspot, tap on it.
For the hotspot, tap the Settings cogwheel.
Tap “Transfer Hotspot” from the menu.
By typing the hotspot’s name in the field (there is no case difference), you can confirm that you want to move that specific hotspot. Once done, the “Continue Transfer” button will activate. Tap the “Continue Transfer” button.
Tap the QR Code button to scan the QR code of the receiving address, or paste the address into the “Buyer Address” field.
Once the “Buyer Address” field is filled with an address, the “Transfer Hotspot” button will activate. If the address is correct, tap “Transfer Hotspot” to confirm.
NOTE: There is a fee of 55,000 Data Credits ($0.55 USD) which is charged to transfer ownership of the device. Bobber does not charge this fee; it is a network fee that must be paid. If you don’t have enough Data Credits in your wallet, HNT in your wallet will be burned automatically to provide the 55,000 DC; no additional action is required.
You will be directed to the Helium Hotspot App where you must sign the transfer transaction.
After tapping “I Confirm” you will receive a success message. The blockchain can take up to 30 minutes to process the transfer. Tap “Got It!” to close the message.
Check the hotspot’s page on the Helium Explorer after 30 minutes. If the transfer was successful, there should be a red “Transfer Hotspot” transaction listed in the activity pane. The transaction will display more information if you click on it. Currently, the hotspot has successfully been transferred to its new wallet.
The new owner will now need to use the linked guides to update the location of the hotspot and the antenna information if it was or will be moved to a different location.
