1Password could use an instruction manual
This isn't a question. It's a bit of a rant.
I’m a new user of 1Password and have been trying to get it to log in automatically on an iMac (Safari), iPhone (iOS) and a PC (Windows 10, Microsoft Edge). I don’t know anybody who uses 1Password, so I had to try of figure it out on my own. The first question after getting a license is, how do I use it? At the 1Password.com website, down at the bottom of the page is Support. To me, Support is for when you are having a problem. Initially, I didn’t have a problem, I just wanted to know how to use it. OK, so now I had problem and went to Support :) . There one finds Get Started, which guides you through the process of getting apps for your devices.
The major problem I had, which took hours to figure out googling around and wading through videos at 1Password is that automatically logging in is accomplished using a 1Password button on the toolbar in Safari or Edge or activating AutoFill Passwords in iOS. Maybe that should have been obvious or maybe I overlooked something. Once I realized that was what I was supposed to do, getting them to work on an iPhone and an iMac was straightforward from what I could find online.
However, getting the 1Password button installed on the Edge toolbar took a long time to figure out. Under https://support.1password.com/1password-extension I watched a video called “Use the 1Password extension …”. At 0:25, it says “if you see the 1password button in your browser’s toolbar, you’re all set. If you don’t see it, go to 1Password.com/browsers to install 1Password in your browser”. Going to 1password.com/browsers, a window appears with a lot of options, including “download the companion app extension” with four icons, one of which apparently is the option for installation on Edge. When I selected that, it took me to a video of some sleepy looking guy 
https://youtu.be/yln4opypuO0 telling me how great 1Password is. (Generally, I don’t find the 1Password videos very useful. Reading is faster than watching video). After backing out of that blind alley, I went to https://support.1password.com/getting-started-windows/. Under "Use 1Password in your browser", I selected “Learn how to use the 1Password extension”, then “Sign in to websites”. It says “click on the 1Password button in your browser’s toolbar”. Of course, that was my problem. That button wasn’t there. So I googled around searching things like “Missing 1password button Microsoft edge toolbar” and found https://support.1password.com/missing-extension-button/. From that window I scrolled down and found Microsoft Edge, with instructions to click on the 3 dots on the toolbar and then “Extensions”. However, there was no Extension for 1Password. So I selected the “Explore more extensions option”, but there was nothing for 1Password. However, doing a search under “Explore more extensions” yielded the 1Password app. Downloading was straightforward, the 1Password button was installed on the Edge toolbar and I successfully logged onto a few websites as a test. Finally! (I hope). Is it supposed to be that hard? I probably wouldn’t recommend 1Password to someone unless they had an experienced user set it up for them on all their devices.
1Password Version: 7.3.712
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Windows 10 Enterprise
Sync Type: Not Provided
Comments
-
Hi @jidge
Thanks for taking the time to write in to share your experience. I'm sorry to hear you had such a difficult time getting started, and that you haven't found our videos to be very helpful. I'll be happy to share this feedback with our team so we can evaluate if there are any improvements we can make based on it.
Ben
0 -
Ha! At least I don't feel alone! I am exploring a subscription and it is maddening to find answers about installation. All the advertising is over simplified to suck you in. This is a robust program that takes some technical savvy to get it up and running smoothly. The learning curve is pretty high and takes hours of searching various places to find answers that fit your issues. Resorting to a support forum is irritating; why do I have to post all my quirky questions to a forum? A direct online chat would be so much easier...
0 -
Hi @katendonna
We do also provide support via email and social media if either of those is more convenient. The advantage of the forum is that answers can benefit anyone who is searching for them, whereas private communications don't enable that.
Ben
0 -
This is a robust program that takes some technical savvy to get it up and running smoothly. The learning curve is pretty high and takes hours of searching various places to find answers that fit your issues.
That has been my experience as well. But having said that I am impressed with the 1Password Team Members. (I just wish I didn't need them as much ;))
0
