Dropbox sync between Mac and iOS not working [Resolved: see steps in Post #5]

mverde

This discussion was created from comments split from: Dropbox sync broken.

PaulS

I am not sure if this is already addressed - I looked through a few questions but nothing exact... in the last few months 1Password keeps not syncing with dropbox. I make a change on the MAC and notice (later) that the change is not reflected in the iPhone. Both sync to the same agilekeychain in dropbox. The date of that file is stuck at April 30 2014 in terms of last opened and Modified... The Mac app reports having just synced so I would expect the agile keychain date to update to today but it does not. After some fiddling and shutting off / on of sync I am able to get things syncing again but this is the third time I have had to done so and have never had issues in the past 4 years..

Could you explain why the dropbox file doesn't show as Modified and whether you are aware that updates seem to shut off syncing thereby causing the user to have to go in and re-enable and select the proper sync method and vault.

Thanks

Megan

Hi @PaulS,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble syncing with Dropbox right now. First of all, to answer your question:

Could you explain why the dropbox file doesn't show as Modified

The 1Password.agilekeychain is actually a file bundle with several folders containing all your data inside. For example: 1Password.agilekeychain/data/default. Since the operating system only changes the 'Date Modified' for the next level folder, the date modified on the 1Password.agilekeychain itself will not reflect if/when changes have been made within the data/default folder. :)

Now, let's see if we can't get you all synced up! I've got a few very basic things that we want to check regarding Dropbox first, before we get into the serious troubleshooting:

• Please ensure that Dropbox is installed and running on your computer
• Check that you are logged in with the same account on all computers and devices
• Confirm that Dropbox sync is selected in 1Password > Preferences > Sync on your Mac
• Confirm that Dropbox is selected in Settings > Sync on your iOS device

If all of those items check out, let's run a test and see where things are getting tripped up:

• Create a test entry on your Mac ("Test, Mac") and add some data
• Create a test entry on each of your iOS devices ("Test, iPhone/iPad") and add some data
• Does "Test for Mac" show up on either of your iOS devices?
• Does "Test for iPhone" and/or "Test for iPad" show up on your Mac?
• Log in to the Dropbox website and click on the 1Password.html file inside your 1Password.agilekeychain folder
• Enter your Master Password
• Do either or any of your test entries show up in your database here?

Please let me know the results of this little experiment - once we have a better idea of where things are going sideways, we should be able to get this straightened out simply for you :)

RocketmanCC

I am having the same problem.

Try test above and the Test Mac shows up in the database when clicking on the 1Password.html file. But, the Test iPhone does not show up.

Jasper

Hi @RocketmanCC,

Could you please try re-setting sync:

• On your iOS devices, open 1Password 4 for iOS, tap Settings > Sync > Sync Service, then Disable Sync.

• On your Mac, open 1Password 4 for Mac, and click the 1Password 4 menu, then Preferences. Click Sync, and then Change syncing.

• Check the box to remove the data from Dropbox and confirm that you want to disable sync.

• Restart the Mac and iOS devices.

• Check your Dropbox folder and delete any other 1Password folders or files that the remove data checkbox did not take care of.

• On the Mac, go back to the Sync preferences, and click Dropbox. Click Choose vault, then navigate to your Dropbox folder and select Open. This will regenerate a 1Password folder in Dropbox, and that will contain a new 1Password.agilekeychain file.

• Allow Dropbox to fully sync.

• Go back into the iOS app and re-enable Dropbox sync.

Let us know if that helps! :)

Van Brollini

Dropbox sync is broken. I can sync between my ipad and my mac with wifi, but not with dropbox. how do I get the dropbox sync to work from my ipad. the sync is working with my mac to dropbox, by not my ipad to dropbox. thanks
Van

Jasper

Hi Van,

Have you already tried following my instructions for re-setting sync in post #5 above?

lengold

I have the same problem, dropbox not syncing with my iPhone - test from the mac shows in dropbox but not on iPhone and test from iPhone only shows on the iPhone. I have tried re-setting all as in item 5 above, but did not work.
?

lengold

I think I have just solved this. I deleted the Dropbox app from my phone and then re-downloaded. Went through the sign in process in Dropbox from scratch, all appears to be working now.

Megan

Hi @lengold,

I'm so glad to hear that you managed to get things sorted out, although I'm sorry we didn't get here in time to be of any use to you.

Please do let us know if you have any further questions or concerns, we'd be happy to help!

RocketmanCC

Hi JasperP:

I have 1Password and dropbox sync set on 3 different computers.

Does it matter which one I remove the data from?

And, if I remove the data what happens to all my saved Log-ins?

thanks
Carlos

RocketmanCC

Removing the dropbox app from my phone and reinstalling did not work for me.

Other files have recently been updated on the iPhone but not the 1Password data.

Will try the removing sync option when I get home.

RocketmanCC

Hi JasperP:

Thanks, that worked.

Jasper

Hi @RocketmanCC,

I'm glad to hear that worked for you. Please let us know if you have any other questions. We're always happy to help! :)

rujamajoco

I had same issue a couple of times. At some point when I upgraded 1Password app, a different Dropbox file was created, at the top level of Dropbox. But a folder still existed in Dropbox called 1Password, with the older synch files under that, which had not been modified for months.

I went into the lower, older folder and renamed the 1password.agilekeychain to OLD, and then the iphone, when asked to synch manually (under PRIMARY VAULT synch service) finally saw both the top level keychain file and the 1password directory and asked which one I wanted. Answer the top directory level file. After that the synch restored to the latest updated file correctly.

Megan

Hi @rujamajoco‌

I'm sorry to hear that you've been having trouble keeping things synced up. If you ever run into this problem again, keep @JasperP's steps in post #5 above in mind. Resetting sync is a great way to fix sync issues. The benefit of 1Password 4 is that your data is always stored locally in addition to the sync location, so you can remove the sync file from Dropbox and allow 1Password to create a fresh one without worrying about losing data. (This is a big change from version 3, where your data is stored only in one location.)

Please let us know if you have any further problems with sync, we'd be happy to help!

rujamajoco

Ah a useful tip thanks. I was not confident to actually delete the file! I just yesterday found that my ipad was suffering the same issue and I resynched that OK by forcing a new synch with dropbox. Againg it saw the two files and asked for a choice to be made. Then I was warned about the dangers of merging vault files and I took the risk, which paid off with a full merge being performed perfectly.

Megan

Hi @rujamajoco‌

I'm so glad to hear that 1Password merged your database successfully! I hope that 1Password keeps you synced up properly from now on, but if you hit any other snags, we're here for you. :D

DaisyL

Hello,
I am new to 1P, and would like to sync my vault (which I create on my Mac, OS 10.9.5) to dropbox, to use on my iPhone.
When I open 1P on my iPhone, I am having trouble at the step that requests 'Sync w. Dropbox': no agilekeychain is found in my Dropbox.
I've checked, and the file is in my desktop Dropbox folder, but not in my Dropbox when I log in to online.
Is this where the problem is occurring? How long to I have to wait for my Dropbox to sync, so the file is available?
Thanks for your help!

Ben

Hi @DaisyL‌

The problem in that case is with Dropbox. Please make sure that Dropbox is running on your computer and that other files are syncing properly.

Thanks.

RRockley

Having similar problems and found this thread.

I followed the steps in post #5 and now 1PW on my Mac is saying "Syncing with Dropbox." It has been stuck on that for about 30 minutes now. Something has locked up.

I have 1PW on (a) iMac at home (b) iPhone (c) PC at work.

I logged on to dropbox to access 1PW anywhere. The PC is synching with dropbox (changes on PC appear in Dropbox version). This syncs with iPhone. It won't sync with the Mac. Changes on the PC do not appear on the Mac (but they do appear on iPhone). Changes on the Mac do not appear on either the iPhone of the PC. I followed the instructions in #5. 1PW on Mac is saying "Never Synced" and "Syncing with Dropbox." Nothing is happening. What do I do now?

Ben

Hi @RRockley‌

Do other files you save in Dropbox on the Mac appear on the other devices? Or vice versa?

RRockley

No. Changes on the Mac do not appear on either of the other two devices. Changes on PC do not appear on the Mac.

Ben

Okay. You have a problem with Dropbox then. Please make sure the Dropbox client is running on your Mac and that it is signed into the same Dropbox account as all the other clients.

RRockley

Not sure what you mean. I just downloaded dropbox (again) and installed it. It says "created today." Is something supposed to happen when I click it?

Ben

Yes. When you click on the Dropbox icon in your menu bar (the bar the clock is in) you should get a screen that looks like this:

You also need to verify that Dropbox on your Mac is set up to sync to the same account as Dropbox on your other devices:

Select Preferences > Account from the gear icon and be sure the account displayed is the same one displayed on your other Dropbox-enabled devices. On iOS you can check this within the Dropbox app under Settings > Email.

RRockley

I was clicking the icon on the bar at the bottom. Seemed logical. Anyway I clicked the one on the bar at the top as you suggested and I do get (1) up to date and (2) the account displayed is the same one displayed in 1Password.

MikeT

Hi @RRockley,

Just one more test to confirm this is truly an issue with Dropbox:

On each Mac and PC, create a test file (not related to 1Password, just any random file you want to create), name each file something like "Test_Mac1", "Test_Mac2", and "Test_PC1". Store them in the root of the Dropbox folder and wait for Dropbox to finish its sync.

Now, go to Dropbox.com in your web browser and see if any of these files showed up in the root folder. On any of the computers where it didn't show up on Dropbox, please try the suggestions in this article from Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/help/72

You might have to try reinstalling Dropbox as the last resort and/or get in touch with Dropbox's support team to help you resolve this.

RRockley

Thanks - that worked. I was leaving it for a few days to make sure it was working (and didn't stop again) but it seems OK now. It was definitely dropbox, somehow. Not sure what but I followed the instructions at the Dropbox link you provided and that seems to have done the trick. Thanks. I'll try to keep an eye on that Dropbox stuff in future.

Ben

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear it is working now. :)