Dropbox syncing not working consistently on Macs

Darrell

I have several devices using Dropbox to sync them together - a couple of windows computers, couple of iPads, couple of iPhones and a couple of Macs (running Mavericks). All are running the latest, non-beta versions of 1Password, the Macs running the Mac App store versions. As far as I can tell, all devices are syncing correctly except for the two Macs, which only sync occasionally.

I've verified the path setup in the 1Password apps on the Macs are correct to the dropbox location (and even searched for a duplicate agilekeychain file just in case). I tried right now to see what was up, I added a secure note on my iPhone, I saw the notification from Dropbox that files have changed, but it didn't show up in 1Password on one of the Macs (though I can see it with 1PasswordAnywhere, and the other devices) and it did show up on the other Mac. If I add a secure note on the Mac that didn't get the first note, it shows up nowhere, but when I did the same on the other Mac, it showed up in the iPhone, but not the first Mac. However, there are several logins that show up in all devices except the two Macs, so its definitely not like one is fully working and the other isn't.

This has been going for a couple of months, and it's very intermittent - sometimes it will work and sometimes it will not (I previously had the same or similar issue with V3, posted at http://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/13923/password-history-not-syncing that I thought I had figured out). Very confusing, and I never know what will happen, and I'm definitely starting to lose confidence in 1Password - passwords just haven't been there when I needed them.

John Raptis

I'm having the exact same issue. (Two iMacs, iPhone, iPad, Macbook) - syncing via Dropbox on all devices - well it doesn't appear to be working. Very frustrating not being able to get to your passwords.

sjk

Hi @Darrell and John,

I'm sorry to hear you're both having some issues with Dropbox syncing. Because multiple systems/devices are involved we'd like to work with you directly in email to determine the cause and help you resolve it.

Please send us a Diagnostics Report from each of your Macs, along with a link to this topic and your forum username, to support+forum at agilebits dot com. A brief comment here mentioning that you've sent the report would also be helpful.

Once we see the report we'll be able to better assist you. Thanks in advance!

Darrell

Took a few days to carve out the time, but I just sent a message with the diagnostics from each Mac with the issue. Hopefully you can figure something out from it.

sjk

Hey @Darrell,

We've received both reports you sent -- thanks!

Since you're currently running version 4.1.2, the latest version for users who purchased from the Mac App Store, it looks like you'll need to reset sync on your machines to properly write the sync permissions. This is because of a bug in a previous version of 1Password. You can read the details of this issue here: 1Password 4.1 Lost Sync Permissions after a System Restart, but resetting sync should get you all sorted out.

Please disable and reenable Dropbox syncing on each Mac, one at a time:

• Run 1Password, open the Preferences window, and select the Sync tab.

• Make note of keychain location, e.g.:

  

• Click Change Syncing…, leave the Delete data from Dropbox option disabled (unchecked), then click Disable Sync.

• Restart the Mac.
• Run 1Password and return to the Sync tab in Preferences.
• Click Dropbox, then choose vault….
• Select the keychain noted earlier before disabling syncing.
• Click Continue, then Start Syncing.
• Allow Dropbox to finish any syncing; its menu bar icon should have a green checkmark when it's done.

Then do some testing to confirm items are being synced correctly between all your systems/devices and let us know how that goes. If there's still trouble we can continue helping you resolve it through email.

Thanks!

Darrell

I tried the disable and re-enable syncing already one of of the Macs (about a month ago), and when I did that it pulled in a few more of the logins, but not all. I'll try it again, but not expecting it to work again. Maybe I can try also changing the vault location if the reset doesn't work, but that'll be a pain since I have so many other devices working at it. Will update on this topic once I've had a chance to try again.

sjk

Thanks for the followup, @Darrell.

If you've only reset syncing on one Mac since the 4.1.2 update it'll need to be done at least on the other one to fix the sync permissions. Until that's done it's more difficult to determine if there's something else that's causing the syncing inconsistency. Hopefully the sync reset will be sufficient to fix it.

Darrell

Tried the reset on one of the Macs, so far so good. Will try again on the other one and cross my fingers, hopefully it'll work all around this time. :)

sjk

Hi @Darrell,

Thanks for keeping us posted status on the status of this issue. I'll keep my fingers (and toes) crossed for your continued success resolving it. :)