Master password not working after copying vault to new Mac

mattbailey

I recently did a clean install of OS X Mavericks on my laptop. Naturally I backed up all my data first. I then copied the 1Password folder back into my Dropbox.

When I opened 1Password it asked me to locate the vault, which I did. I then tried to log in with my master password, but it doesn't recognise it. However, the password hint that pops up is the hint for the password that I'm using. I realise that the master password is associated with the machine or device that you're using, so maybe this is why it's not set. However, I assumed copying over the 1Password folder would include the password.

What am I missing? Can anyone help?

sjk

Hi @mattbailey,

I'm sorry you're having trouble unlocking your 1Password data in Dropbox with 1Password 4. Are you able to unlock the same Agile Keychain in Dropbox using 1PasswordAnywhere?

Which version of 1Password are you running? When you first ran it after the clean install of Mavericks, was your data in Dropbox automatically detected like shown in the Existing Users section of the Setting Up 1Password 4 for Mac guide? Is that the step when your Master Password didn't work? Are you still trying to create a Primary vault in 1Password from your Dropbox data or did you already create another (empty) one?

Thanks in advance for any additional information about where you're currently stuck so we can suggest the best way to recover your 1Password data.

mattbailey

Hi @oversoul, thanks for replying and for your suggestions, I'm getting somewhere now :)

I logged into Dropbox in my browser as you suggested and opened 1Password.html. I entered my master password when prompted and it didn't recognise it. On the offchance I tried an older master password and would you believe it, it opened!

So now I have a dilemma - this would lead me to believe that the copy of my vault on Dropbox isn't up-to-date (I'm not sure how that can have happened though). I use 1Password on my Mac at work, and my Mac at home. My Mac at work definitely has the most up-to-date version of my vault. How can I make sure that this one is the one uploaded to Dropbox so I can re-download it on my Mac at home?

Does that make sense?

Megan

Hi @mattbailey,

Thanks for getting back to us with that extra information! I'm curious, have you recently changed your Master Password? it is a Known Issue that a change to your Master Password on one Mac will not sync to other Macs. Our developers are working on getting this fixed, but in the meantime, if you changed your Master Password on one device (say your work Mac), please be sure to update it on other devices (like your home Mac) to ensure that it's the same.

I hope this gets you sorted out, but if you're seeing any sort of data discrepancy beyond this Master Password blip, please let us know and we'll investigate further! :)

mattbailey

I think I may have discovered what the problem is. In my Dropbox are two 1Password folders. One called '1Password' and one called '1Password Sync'. They both have a file in them called '1Password.agilekeychain'.

On Monday I will check which one my work Mac is pointing to and then make sure my Mac at home is pointing to the same one.

Hopefully that will resolve things :)

Just out of interest, do you know which folder it should be (i.e. what does 1Password 4 call the folder when it creates it)?

sjk

Hi @mattbailey,

My fault for not asking earlier if you had multiple Agile Keychains stored in Dropbox. Good detective work. :)

Dropbox/1Password/1Password.agilekeychain is the default and recommended location for syncing with the Primary vault in 1Password 4. If possible, that's probably what you'll want to use instead of the 1Password Sync subfolder.

mattbailey

I'm curious as to why I have two folders? Would I have created the '1Password Sync' one myself at some point? Can I delete it - I'd rather not have two vaults, it's confusing as we've discovered?

sjk

Hi @mattbailey,

1PasswordAnywhere could help you determine which keychains to keep and remove. If the keychain in 1Password Sync has the data you want then you can move it to Dropbox/1Password/1Password.agilekeychain after removing the other one that's there (keeping a copy on Desktop as a temporary backup until you're sure it's not needed). If 1Password is currently configured to sync with either or both of those keychains on any systems/devices you'll want to disable it before doing any keychain relocation, then reenable it using the correct keychain.

We're here to help if you have trouble with any of this. :)

mattbailey

Thanks for the help everyone.

So I think I know which vault is the correct one. However, before I go ahead and delete anything (I will of course back everything up before doing so) I wanted to check about two other files in my Dropbox:

.ws.agile.1Password.settings
ws.agile.1Password.settings

The same name, but obviously one is hidden (I'm a web dev so I usually show hidden files).

Which one is 1Password (v4) using, and can I delete the other one?

mattbailey

So I did an experiment and moved both of those files out of my Dropbox. 1Password didn't regenerate either of them, so I assume they're old files left over from 1Password 3.

I think I'm all set up now. Thanks guys :)

Megan

Hi @mattbailey‌,

I'm glad to hear you're getting things sorted out here. Now the hidden .ws.agile.1Password.settings file helps 1Password 4 for iOS find your keychain in Dropbox. Without looking at the contents of that file, I can't tell you which one is pointing at which keychain, so I can't tell you which one is extraneous and which one is necessary. If you don't use 1Password 4 for iOS, you don't need this file, but I would recommend leaving it there if you do use 1Password on your iOS devices.

mattbailey

Interesting. I temporarily removed those two settings files. I even deleted and reinstalled the 1Password app on my iOS device. Everything is working as expected and neither of those two files have been recreated, so I'm not sure they're needed...

Either way everything seems to be back to normal, plus I had a bit of a password 'spring-clean' in the process ;)

sjk

Hi @mattbailey,

With Primary vaults in 1Password 4 for Mac, plus a few 1Password 4 iOS clients, syncing with Dropbox/1Password/1Password.agilekeychain, I removed ~/Dropbox/.ws.agile.1Password.settings after retiring 1Password 3 to see what would happen. It's never been recreated and I haven't encountered any issues. I'd have left it as-is if my Agile Keychain wasn't in its current location or Dropbox/1Password.agilekeychain when syncing with iOS.

mattbailey

Yes, same situation as me - maybe it's only required if you move the vault from the default location?

Thanks again for all your help guys :)

Megan

Hi @mattbailey,

I'm glad to hear that things are working smoothly for you. If your keychain is stored in the default location (Dropbox/1Password/1Password.agilekeychain), the iOS app and the Android Reader can find your 1Password data even without this file. However, for users with Windows Phone, this file is required, even if your data is in the default location. We are hoping to train the mobile apps to locate the 1Password.agilekeychain file even outside of this default location, but for now, it's generally best to leave the ws.settings file where it is. :)