"Native staking" means two different things, and mixing them up is the most common reason someone cannot unstake.

Native staking on Solana is the blockchain's own staking. You create a stake account and delegate it to a validator of your choice. You can do this from most wallets, or from a validator's own website.

Marinade Native is a Marinade product. Your SOL still sits in stake accounts you own, but Marinade spreads it across its validator set and manages the delegation for you.

Both leave your SOL in stake accounts you control. The difference is who chose the validator, and whether Marinade is managing it.

Open app.marinade.finance, connect your wallet, and look at your Earn positions. They are split into two groups.

Under Marinade are the Marinade product positions:

Under External are stake accounts in your wallet that are not one of those products. The row shows a validator's name and is labelled Stake Account. Two different things land here:

The row looks the same either way, so if you are not sure which one you have, the question is simply whether you staked it from Explore. Nothing is wrong and nothing is lost in either case.

You keep full control either way. The stake account is yours and the withdraw authority belongs to your wallet, so only you can move the SOL out.

To unstake it: open the ⋯ menu on the row and choose Unstake. You are asked whether you want to Borrow or Unstake, and choosing Unstake opens that validator's page in Explore with the unstake form ready, where you can take it out instantly or in about a day and a half. Going to the validator's page in Explore directly gets you to the same place. This works for both kinds of External position.

To exit immediately: Marinade's Instant Unstake accepts native stake accounts held in your wallet, not only Marinade positions. You receive SOL in a single transaction, with a market fee reflected in the quote you see before approving.

See Instant Unstake on Marinade.

To unstake it from your wallet instead: most Solana wallets list your stake accounts under a staking or earn section, with an option to deactivate or unstake. The stake takes about one epoch to cool down, then you withdraw the SOL back to your wallet.

To move it to Marinade Native: you can stake an existing stake account with Marinade rather than unstaking first.

See Migrate Stake Account to Marinade.

Q: Is my SOL at risk if it is under External?
A: No. It is in a stake account you own, earning rewards from whichever validator it is delegated to.

Q: Why can I see the position in the app but not unstake it the usual way?
A: The app shows stake accounts in your wallet so you have a full picture. For a stake account you delegated yourself, the Marinade claim flow does not apply, but you can still unstake it: open the row's ⋯ menu and choose Unstake, which takes you to that validator's page in Explore. You can also use Instant Unstake, or deactivate it from your wallet.

Q: Are my rewards protected on an External position?
A: Only if you staked it from Explore and that validator has a Protected Staking Rewards bond. Stake you delegated yourself outside Marinade is never covered. The Portfolio row does not show a Protected chip either way, so check the validator's page in Explore to see its bond status.

Q: I definitely staked with Marinade, but nothing is showing at all.
A: Then it is a different problem. Check that you connected the same wallet you staked from. See My Position Is Missing or I Cannot Sign When Using a Wallet App.

Q: How do I find out which validator my SOL is delegated to?
A: The name on the position row is the validator. If you are still unsure, send us your wallet address and we can check the stake account on chain.