"Add a Security Key" still missing -- bad documentation

tmsimont

I'm following this documentation:

https://support.1password.com/security-key/

I get to here: https://support.1password.com/security-key/#set-up-your-security-key

Step 4 is "Click Add a Security Key."

There is no "Add a Security Key" to click... very annoying.

I resort to searching google and find this: https://1password.community/discussion/109943/add-a-security-key-missing

There's a comment: "Only after you have done it you can add your security keys, as per the documentation page." Documentation page link points me back to the above... I'm in an infinite loop.

Escape the loop and come back to the old post... see that this is supposedly fixed?

I see this: "I am afraid that the solution for you would be the same: you have to enable an authenticator app (you can either use 1Password itself, if you prefer) before you can add security keys to your account."

Ok... how?

Why was that discussion closed over 1 year ago but the documentation is still not updated?

This is a terrible initial experience with 1password. Bad documentation and old outdated forum posts. This doesn't encourage a lot of confidence.

Chrome 88.0.4324.192 (Official Build) (x86_64)
macOS Catalina 10.15.7

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1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: macOS Catalina 10.15.7
Sync Type: Not Provided

tmsimont

forget it after running into like 5 more stupid problems and bugs I have decided that this service is not worth my time and money. good luck

Lars

Welcome to the 1Password Support Community, @tmsimont! I'm sorry for the confusion.

On the page titled Use your U2F security key as a second factor for your 1Password account, the instructions are prefaced:

Before you can use your security key as a second factor for your 1Password account, you’ll need to turn on two-factor authentication for your 1Password account.

The instructions at that link start:

Before you can use two-factor authentication with your 1Password account, you’ll need to install an authenticator app on your mobile device

The reason for this is that currently, not all of our native 1Password applications can directly use hardware security keys. As a result we still require setting up an authenticator app before hardware keys can be added. If you simply go through the process of setting up 2FA within your 1password.com account by visiting My Profile > More Actions > Manage Two-Factor Authentication, the only option is to click Set Up App. And if you search support.1password.com for 2FA, you should get the above page before you get the Security Key page. I'm sorry you found the experience unintuitive or confusing, and would welcome any suggestions you have for making it clearer that an authenticator app is required for 2FA before you can add hardware security keys.

tmsimont

Ok.. On this page:

https://support.1password.com/security-key/#set-up-your-security-key

There is a giant video player "above the fold"

("above the fold" means what you see before you scroll. This is where you will look first upon landing on a page)

That video walks you through some simple obvious things, explaining what 2FA is (why would I be on this page if I didn't already know?).

It says..

"To get started"... log in, click my profile, manage 2FA.

At 49 seconds into the video I now hear a quick "AFTER YOU SET UP YOUR AUTHENTICATOR APP"

But this is mentioned in passing... 49 seconds into a video and some time after we see a screen that doesn't match what I see when I am "getting started."

There's not really a call out to why we need an authenticator app and I'm already confused, 1 minute deep into a video that seems to have a lot of cruft and not much of substance. The video has failed to take me from a "getting started" standpoint to somewhere useful.

I scroll down, now lost.

This TIP suggests to me that an authenticator app will behave as a stand-in for my YubiKey. This is not the case. That TIP misleads my understanding of what this authenticator app is...

I now see "Before you can use your security key as a second factor for your 1Password account, you’ll need to turn on two-factor authentication for your 1Password account. "

I missed this before. It's easy to miss as it's a small preface to a list:

Why is that not just step 1? Why is the link hidden in a preface? Why isn't this a green callout box like the aforementioned misleading TIP

Now.. I go to that page mentioned in the preface for help...

Above the fold, what do we see?

It sure seems like this has zero to do with a security key and Yubikey...

I scroll through this page and see directions on how to use an Authenticator app, which at this point I believe to be an ALTERNATIVE TO A YUBIKEY... so why would I need this for a Yubikey? I'm confused, but I keep reading, and see another TIP:

Hey I do have a Yubikey, so I should use this instead, as per this helpful tip!

Oh boy.. I've linked back to where I started. I'm confused about the relationship between this proposed alternative app and the Yubikey.

I resort to google, and again find myself in an infinite loop of cross-linked docs.

The relationship between the Yubikey and the app are not clear. The docs are confusing and the "TIPS" create an additional layer of confusion.

I understand now that the authenticator app step is prerequisite of the key setup, but the docs are bad.

Lars

@tmsimont - thanks for the follow-up and sorry for the confusion. I'll pass along your experience to the docs team and see if there's a way that can be made more clear. :)