Unable to unbond KSM via Ledger controller account on Asset Hub - "1010: Inability to pay some fees" even on simple system.remark

Tech Talk
1

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to unbond my staked KSM on Kusama Asset Hub, but every transaction from my controller account fails with the same fee-related error, even the simplest possible extrinsic. I’ve spent considerable time troubleshooting and ruled out the most common causes, so I’m hoping someone here has seen this specific issue.

Controller free balance: 0.9993 KSM (confirmed via Chain State query: free: 999,344,543,807 planck, reserved: 0, frozen: 0, nonce: 0)

Error:
staking.unbond
1010: Invalid Transaction: Inability to pay some fees, e.g. account balance too low

What I’ve tried:

  1. Confirmed controller has more than enough transferable balance (0.9993 KSM vs ~0.0000659 KSM fee) via system.account chain state query
  2. Tried unbonding through the Staking Async module (Network → Staking Async → Accounts) on polkadot.js apps
  3. Tried submitting a plain staking.unbond extrinsic directly via Developer → Extrinsics — same error
  4. Tried the simplest possible transaction, system.remark, from the same controller account — same identical error. This rules out anything staking-specific.
  5. Switched RPC nodes multiple times (onfinality, Parity, etc.) — no change
  6. Confirmed “asset to pay the fee” is explicitly set to KSM (Native), not another asset
  7. Tried both the Ledger “Polkadot” app and “Polkadot Migration” app — same error with both
  8. Tried signing via Talisman and SubWallet (connected via Polkadot Migration app, using the original KUS-01 derivation) instead of polkadot.js apps’ direct WebUSB — same signing flow, transaction still gets rejected
  9. Noted the warning in polkadot.js apps settings that Ledger + staking (batch calls) support is “experimental” and may not work correctly

The Ledger device itself works fine — I can review and approve the transaction on the device without issue. The rejection happens at the node level, specifically citing fee payment, despite the controller account having ample native KSM balance and no reserved/frozen funds.

Has anyone encountered this specific error with a legacy Kusama-derivation Ledger controller account since the Asset Hub migration? Is this a known issue with the ChargeAssetTxPayment/asset-conversion fee extension and legacy Ledger apps? Any guidance on a workaround (e.g., changing controller to stash first, using a specific wallet/version) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!