1Password sync (Dropbox) - Mac and iOS displays different entries

jtummins

I'm running 1Password 5 on a Mac with Yosemite, and two iOS devices (iPad and iPhone). The keychains are sync'd using Dropbox. There's only one 1Password keychain in Dropbox. There is an error in the sync process somewhere.

• Entries created on the Mac do not show up on the iOS devices.
• An entry created on one iOS device shows up on both iOS devices, but not on the Mac

I've tried deleting the 1Password app on the iPad, reinstalling it, and resetting the keychain on Dropbox. That had no effect, and the error persists.

Is there some way to identify the source of this error, and more importantly, correct it?

jtummins

Just to clarify, the iOS devices are both running iOS 8.1.

James

littlebobbytables

Hi @jtummins‌ That is odd.

I had this massive block of text but it looked just too unwieldy when reading it back. Instead I'm going to ask you a couple of questions and then take it from there.

As it seems to be your mac that is the odd one out I'm wondering if Dropbox is synchronising any of your files at all. What happens if you add a file to your Dropbox space via their web interface, does it show up in your Dropbox folder after a moment or two?

If it doesn't. Can you check to see if you're running the most up-to-date Dropbox client. On the mac it seems to be version 2.10.41 at the moment and you can see what version you're running from the General tab of Dropbox's Preferences. If you're not up-to-date hold off updating and just report back here (I'd want to make sure you have good backups incase not having synchronised for some time has an adverse impact on your vault).

If your client is up-to-date and files added via their web interface show up then you know Dropbox seems to be synchronising. In that case go to the Sync tab in 1Password's preferences and see what keychain it is syncing to. Find the keychain via Dropbox's website (that's important) and after adding a brand new item via your iOS device and seeing it sync to your other iOS device, what happens if you view that vault using 1PasswordAnywhere? Can you see this new item and yet still not see it on your Mac?

Depending on your responses we'll list some steps (or maybe further questions if the answers are too puzzling) that will hopefully sort you out.

Just use @littlebobbytables‌ in your response so I'm notified you've replied :smile:

jtummins

@littlebobbytables‌

Thank you for you assistance in this matter. This is the first time I've had a significant issue with 1Password. I've come to depend on it, a lot.

Response to questions:

1) What happens if you add a file to your Dropbox space via their web interface, does it show up in your Dropbox folder after a moment or two? The file that's added appears in my local Dropbox directory, synchronizing as I expect. The same is true when I delete files from Dropbox.

2) What version of Dropbox am I running? v2.10.45

3) ... after adding a brand new item via your iOS device and seeing it sync to your other iOS device, what happens if you view that vault using 1PasswordAnywhere? Can you see this new item and yet still not see it on your Mac? Using 1PasswordAnywhere results in Javascript errors in Safari:

**https://dl-web.dropbox.com**
error URIError: URI error

**https://dl-web.dropbox.com**
An error occurred while processing item '2DD3280480014C4F8657349B60534AA2'.
undefined

**https://dl-web.dropbox.com**
An error occurred while processing item '1294E024072541259220187CA44C8713'.
Decryption failed

That said, I can see that there is a note that was added via the iPad (iOS). I just can't verify it's contents.  Javascript is enabled in Safari. I tried the same thing with Google Chrome, and got the same errors.

jtummins

@littlebobbytables‌

Just in case that it may be helpful, here are the error messages that I received when trying to view the note created from the iPad.

The page at https://dl-web.dropbox.com says:
error URIError: URI malformed

The page at https://dl-web.dropbox.com says:
An error occurred while processing item 'F4F7A03212E24D04B9104B0B7B370E7C'.
undefined

--
Jim

littlebobbytables

Hey @jtummins‌ I think I'm going to suggest disabling Dropbox on all devices and start with a fresh keychain. Given you have three devices what I'd like to know is does any one of your devices currently hold a complete copy of all your logins or are there non-trivial differences between the mac and iOS devices (which still seem to be in sync)? If one device can be used as a reliable starting point we'll make a good, known backup and then proceed from there. How do you feel about that?

jtummins

The Mac has the most complete set of data. I made a backup two days ago using File > Export. I'm ok with starting from the backup.

jtummins

@littlebobbytables‌

The Mac has the most complete set of data. I made a backup two days ago using File > Export. I'm ok with starting from the backup.

littlebobbytables

Hi @jtummins‌

Before we proceed I think I'd best warn you. If you have exported your vault then you probably want to empty your Trash, delete the file you created and then use Secure Empty Trash... from within Finder. I strongly advise this as all the export formats aren't encrypted like your vault is and most paramount is that your data is safe.

The backup I'd like you to ensure you have safely stored is different. In 1Password go into preferences and head over to the Backup tab. Click Backup Now and then the Show Files button. That will open a Finder window where 1Password stores all of its backups. Find the most recent one (the one you've just made) and then copy that to your desktop. This is probably all overkill but then you know you can safely proceed and that there is a copy where you know everything is good.

Having done so, I'd like you to disable Dropbox sync on all your devices, starting with your iOS devices first. Then when you come to your mac there will be a check box for deleting your keychain from Dropbox which you want to tick. A sanity check that you can do at this point is if you were to log into Dropbox via their website and do a search of your files, you shouldn't find anything ending in .agilekeychain (my secondary test vault shows up even at just .agile).

So with Dropbox clear, you want to start Dropbox synchronisation again from your Mac as that's the complete vault we'll be working from. Give it a moment to create the new keychain. At this point I'd hope 1PasswordAnywhere works better than it did - it ought to with no fighting Safari to do so.

Now if I were doing this I'd go this extra step and wipe the data from both iOS devices so you know all devices are using the same data at this point. The option is in Settings : Advanced and is titled Erase Data and Settings. That will leave 1Password on your iOS device as if it has never been run and when you next launch it you'd go through the steps of saying you have an existing vault.

Having done so on both iOS devices they will all be hopefully working from a good sync keychain and I'd hope that additions and edits on one device will now propagate to the others like they're meant to. If you have any doubts over any of these steps or it still doesn't behave after doing so then grab my attention like you did above and one of us will reply. All going well though you'll be reporting success :smile:

jtummins

Hi @littlebobbytables‌

I'm working through your instructions. I've disabled sync on the iOS devices. The Sync tab on the Mac does not have a "disable" option, and I don't see a checkbox for deleting the keychain. Is there another location that I should be looking?

littlebobbytables

@jtummins‌ That's probably me not being clear enough - sorry!

In the Sync tab it should show you as Synching Primary vault with Dropbox (or very similar) and then a Change Syncing... button. That is effectively disable syncing and when you click on that you should see a small confirmation window that is titled Disabling Sync with a checkbox for Delete data from Dropbox.

If instead you're seeing a list of sync options then your mac currently isn't trying to keep this vault in sync with your iOS devices and that would certainly help explain why you've been having so much trouble. Keep me informed!

jtummins

@littlebobbytables‌,

Here's a screen shot of the sync preference pane:

littlebobbytables

@jtummins‌ Well I think we might have stumbled upon why you've been having at least some of your issues. It seems that currently 1Password on your mac isn't trying to sync at all with Dropbox. Now if you had set it up to do so in the past and hadn't disabled it then that is odd indeed, it certainly shouldn't be disabling itself.

If you haven't set it up before, can I just confirm that you are using the Dropbox client on your mac as 1Password doesn't natively support Dropbox like the iOS version can. Depending on what you've done so far I'm going to link you to the guide for setting up Dropbox which assumes you haven't downloaded the client.

Given you were experiencing issues accessing 1PasswordAnywhere I'd maybe suggest that instead of having 1Password delete your Dropbox data (as sync isn't currently enabled) you instead do so yourself manually. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, searching via the Dropbox interface on their website will yield its location simply by searching for .agilekeychain (or even .agile). With that deleted you could then proceed with setting up sync first on your mac.

I think we're definitely making progress though :smile:

jtummins

@littlebobbytables‌,

I'm currently using Dropbox v2.10.45.

I had been using 1Password 4 with iCloud syncing. When 1Password 5 was installed, I was unaware that it no longer supported iCloud syncing. That may be when it "switch" to Dropbox, without really switching to Dropbox. The best copy of the keychain is the current Dropbox version, but it may not be complete.

I can delete the keychain in Dropbox manually, but it seems that leaves the state of 1Password in an ambiguous state. Where is the keychain it's currently using? When I ask it to show me, it points to the Dropbox keychain. However, I just created a secure note, and it does not appear in the keychain stored on Dropbox.

littlebobbytables

@jtummins‌ Unlike 1Password 3, both 1Password 4 and 5 use a local sqlite database to store your vault securely. Your local vault does not depend on the sync'd keychain at all. The keychain represents a copy of your vault so its loss won't affect any copy of 1Password 4/5 you happen to be running. That's why disabling Dropbox sync on your iOS devices doesn't stop you accessing the contents and why I later on suggest wiping the devices - so their contents don't interfere at all with the fresh sync copy you will create.

At the moment, based on that very helpful screenshot you posted, your mac isn't syncing with Dropbox. Now you could start syncing and use the existing Dropbox keychain but the errors displayed by Safari regarding 1PasswordAnywhere made me think creating a fresh keychain wouldn't be such a bad idea. So if Dropbox syncing on your iOS devices is still disabled and your mac isn't currently syncing to the keychain, then it ought to be safe to delete (or if you wish simply move from Dropbox to say your desktop until you're happy it has all worked out).

Does that clarify the situation at the moment?

jtummins

Hi @littlebobbytables‌,

I think I answered my own question about the ambiguous state of the 1Password keychain. It appears that each device has its own copy of the keychain, and the Dropbox copy is the "sync" copy -- changes are posted to and retrieved from there. Is this correct?

littlebobbytables

You've got it in one @jtummins‌ Now that wasn't always the case so if you've been a long term user than you might be remembering how it used to work.

jtummins

Hi @littlebobbytables‌,

I completed the process you outlined, and the sync problem has gone away. The keychain seems intact, and I have successfully created and deleted entries that propagate across all devices.

Thank you very much for your help!

Jim

littlebobbytables

Woohoo!

Great to hear it's all working as expected. Have a good day @jtummins‌ :smiley: