Recovery of iPad 1Password Notes Data from iCloud?

recmsoj

I had also posted this query to a Mac discussion list who suggested I post it here. I've been testing 1Password on my iPad 4 running iOS 7.1. It has a feature for saving valuable data in a specific Notes section. In addition to multiple passwords and websites, I had saved a Note about locations of important documents, keys and so on and then accidentally managed to erase it today while trying to edit it. I've been wondering if I can restore the data to my iPad version of 1Password, and thus the lost Notes file, from iCloud, to which the iPad has been regularly backed up, including at 2 AM today before my disastrous edit. I haven't dealt much with iCloud other than just backing things up to it and never needed to restore anything. From the "Restore from an iCloud Backup" instructions it seems there's no way to just restore a particular app and that I'd need to do a full-on Restore after erasing the entire iPad, which would be fine as it was so recently backed up. There is one line mentioning that to "make an app a priority for downloading, click on its icon", which is pretty vague. The main concern I have is whether the Restore would actually restore the data input I lost or just the native app itself without any of my personally entered password and Notes data, since I'm unfamiliar with exactly what is stored in iCloud. I can slowly reconstruct the bulk of my Notes data, but would much prefer to just download it in a single set if possible. Would this Restore from iCloud do what I need?
Thanks,
Dick

Megan

Hi Dick ( @recmsoj‌ )

I'm so sorry to hear that you're having trouble with 1Password right now. Do you use 1Password on any devices other than your iPad? Unfortunately, the iCloud backup on your iPad doesn't work the same way as a 1Password backup on your desktop, so I can't guarantee that restoring to an iCloud backup will have any effect on your 1Password database.

The main concern I have is whether the Restore would actually restore the data input I lost or just the native app itself without any of my personally entered password and Notes data, since I'm unfamiliar with exactly what is stored in iCloud.

Your iCloud data is stored on the server and not only on the device, so restoring your iPad shouldn't have an effect on your database.

However, it would be nice to confirm that your data in iCloud is complete before restoring your device. Even if you do not use 1Password 4 for Mac, do you happen to have access to a Mac computer?

recmsoj

Thanks for your reply. This was entirely my fault, as I erased a Notes file in 1P totally by accident while trying to add data and edit it. I still don't know how I did it. I've only got 1P on my iPad so far, from which it was wirelessly backed up to iCloud multiple times. Part of your reply, at least the way I read it, seems self-contradictory, or I may be reading it wrong. If my data is stored in iCloud as well as on the device, it should restore that data to the device. But, as we've said, I don't know if iCloud has my personal data or just the Program, and I have no way (yet) to know what's in the cloud. I do have Mac computers, but since I'm evaluating 1P against another password program and the Mac versions are expensive (to me), I've only got the two programs on my iPad for now. What would I do if I had 1P on my Mac?
Many thanks,
Dr. Johnson

Megan

Hi Dr. Johnson ( @recmsoj‌ )

I do apologize if I confused you with my previous post! Regardless of fault, we'll try to get this sorted. :)

Part of your reply, at least the way I read it, seems self-contradictory, or I may be reading it wrong. If my data is stored in iCloud as well as on the device, it should restore that data to the device.

When you sync with iCloud, the data stored in iCloud is a copy of the data stored on your device. The data in iCloud is updated whenever you make a change to the data on your device. Your iCloud backups are a separate process and I don't know if they include the 1Password data as it existed at the time that the backup was made.

What would I do if I had 1P on my Mac?

You can install a free 30-day trial of 1Password for Mac from our downloads page. Ensure that you are logged into your Mac with the same iCloud account that you are using on your iPad, and that 'Documents and Data' is enabled. When you open 1Password 4 for the first time, it should detect your data in iCloud automatically, and prompt you for your Master Password. Please note, you may need to give iCloud 15 minutes or so to download your database if you haven't previously enabled Documents and Data. This is not to say that sync will always require 15 minutes, but iCloud sync happens on Apple's schedule, not ours, so patience is sometimes required.

Now, the reason that we want to take a peek at your data on your Mac is simply to ensure that you have a safe copy backed up on another device. Just in case you attempt the Restore and things don't go exactly as you had planned. (When dealing with sensitive data such as passwords, you can never be too careful!)

recmsoj

I just put a new Trial copy of 1P on my MacBookPro running Lion 10.7.5. I started it as you said with iCloud Documents and Data enabled, but it did not detect the iCloud backup. It asked me several times under different functions to find a pre-existing backup but was limited to files already on my MacBook, not in iCloud. Is there a way with this version to sync or retrieve my 1P backup already in iCloud from my iPad 1P? Thanks, Dr. Johnson

Megan

Hi Dr. Johnson ( @recmsoj‌ ),

I should have clarified your operating system there. 1Password 4 does require 10.8.5 to run, and since 1Password 3 didn't offer iCloud support, we might not be able to check your iCloud data before going ahead with the restore. As I mentioned above, restoring your iPad shouldn't affect your 1Password database in iCloud.

If you're willing to give restore a try to get this note back, please do let me know how it goes!