recommended procedure for switching from Dropbox sync to iCloud sync

chongolcn2

Hello,

I wish to drop my use of Dropbox. :) My last holdout for Dropbox use is a 1Password vault that I sync via Dropbox.
I would like to switch to syncing this vault via iCloud.

The Dropbox vault is synced/used between a MacBook Pro running macOS 11.2.3, an iPhone running iOS 14.4.1,
and an iPad running iPadOS 14.4.1. I am using 1Password version 7.8.

What is the recommended procedure for switching from Dropbox sync to iCloud sync?

chongo (Landon Curt Noll ^oo^

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1Password Version: 7.8
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: macOS 11.2.3, iOS 14.4.1, iPadOS 14.4.1
Sync Type: dropbox

chongolcn2

p.s. I am aware of an answer way back in Oct 2013 to a somewhat similar question, however a lot has changed since then. That reply contains workarounds relating to Known Issues in 1Password 4 for Mac. I am hoping for a more "modern" :) procedure that might be relevant to current versions and/or experience.

ag_ana

Hi @chongolcn2!

Our recommended sync method is 1Password.com, but I would be curious to know what made you want to switch from Dropbox to iCloud? iCloud has more limitations than Dropbox as a sync method (only one vault allowed, only Apple devices etc), so I wonder if you had perhaps considered 1Password.com instead?

chongolcn2

Hello @ag_ana,

Thank you for taking the time to comment. And thank you to the 1Password team for making an excellent product.

Since you asked us about Dropbox:

<sidebar>

It is not our intention to defame Dropbox. So, let's just say that our audit convinced us that our previous trust in Dropbox needed to be reconsidered. While our internal audit of 1Password and its vault mechanics was extremely satisfactory, our other uses of Dropbox were not. So, we embarked on a program to remove Dropbox from all of our platforms. We have moved everything else out of Dropbox. Today, a single 1Password vault is the last 'holdout 'using Dropbox. 1Password was allowed to use Dropbox for this long. in part, because of the excellent way 1Password does not blindly trust Dropbox.

We know there are a number of alternatives to Dropbox. Sadly, many of those alternatives are as bad or worse in terms of security and trust. We know that many people use those even worse alternatives, while others hang on to Dropbox for various reasons.

For anyone reading this thread who is a Dropbox user please understand: our opinions are based on our own findings and experience. You need to make your own assessment. Nevertheless, if you ask us "should you use Dropbox?" our answer, in our opinion, is no.

But we do not want to derail this thread on the pros and cons of Dropbox, so exiting this Dropbox sidebar ...

</sidebar>

In this special vault, we make extensive use of smart folders. There appears to be no support for smart folders that are managed under 1Password.com. If this is the case, we cannot use 1Password.com to sync this special vault.

QUESTION: Are smart folders supported for vaults synced with 1Password.com?

We only need to sync this one special vault via iCloud. We only use this special vault on macOS, iOS and iPadOS devices. For security reasons, we do not permit this special vault to be synced on devices running Windows, nor on devices running Android.

QUESTION: Besides the above limitations, are there any other limitations or syncing issues we should be aware of in syncing a single vault across macOS/iOS/iPadOS devices via iCloud?

Returning to the original question:

QUESTION: What is the recommended way to change the sync method of a single vault from Dropbox to a vault synced via iCloud that is synced across multiple macOS/iOS/iPadOS devices?

Please advise, thank you.

chongo (Landon Curt Noll) /\oo/\

ag_ana

@chongolcn2:

Thank you for taking the time to comment. And thank you to the 1Password team for making an excellent product.

Thank you for the kind words :)

QUESTION: Are smart folders supported for vaults synced with 1Password.com?

They are not supported at the moment.

QUESTION: Besides the above limitations, are there any other limitations or syncing issues we should be aware of in syncing a single vault across macOS/iOS/iPadOS devices via iCloud?

Those are the main ones I think, but you can find the list on this page, in the Notes section.

QUESTION: What is the recommended way to change the sync method of a single vault from Dropbox to a vault synced via iCloud that is synced across multiple macOS/iOS/iPadOS devices?

The previous link has the instructions: on Mac you can just switch from Dropbox to iCloud in the dropdown menu, for example. When you add other devices (Mac or iOS devices), you will need to choose the iCloud option in the setup screen.

chongolcn2

Thank you, @ag_ana,

Success!

• We quit the 1Password app on each our iOS and iPadOS device.

• We backed up my Dropbox synced vault.

• We turned off networking (turned on airplane mode) on our iOS and iPadOS devices.

• We switched on my macOS the sync plan for the single Dropbox vault, allowing Dropbox to delete the Dropbox file, verifying that the Dropbox file was removed, enabled iCloud sync, and waited for there sync to complete.

• On each iOS and iPadOS device (one at a time) we turned on networking (turned off airplane mode), started the 1Password app, clicked OK when the app complained about no Dropbox device, changed the sync mode to iCloud, waited for the sync to complete.

Thanks!

chongo (Landon Curt Noll) /\oo/\

ag_ana

You are welcome @chongolcn2! And thank you for the update :) If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out anytime.

Have a wonderful day :)