Trouble accessing password data on both PC and Mac
Last week, I bought the 1Password for Windows and Mac. My PC uses Windows 7 and my MacBook uses OS X Yosemite. I was able to create a new vault on the PC without much problem. I prefer to keep my password data on an encrypted USB drive, as I'm not 100% comfortable with syncing over Dropbox. However, I've tried using both the USB drive and Dropbox, but I cannot seem to access my passwords on the Mac. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I tried following the steps in the post titled "How To: Move your 1Password data file between PC and Mac", but when I followed the instructions under "Important note for OS X 10.7 and up users", I got a message saying, "The folder can't be found." Are there any SIMPLE solutions available?
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Hi @eY75_nK6ui,
I'm sorry you're having trouble syncing your data between Windows and Mac. On Windows, where is your 1Password vault currently located? This will be a bit easier if it's in your Dropbox folder, but if it isn't, please stop here and let us know.
Assuming your vault is in Dropbox and works in 1Password for Windows, you can go ahead and follow these steps to sync with your Mac:
- Open 1Password 5 on your Mac.
- If it takes you through the setup, choose "I've used 1Password before" and then choose the Dropbox option.
- If you've already created a new, empty vault, unlock it with your master password and go to the menu for 1Password > Preferences.
- Click the Sync tab.
- Select Dropbox from the drop-down menu next to "Sync vault with".
- Click the Choose button, then choose your .agilekeychain file from your Dropbox folder (and click Open).
- Click Merge with Existing to start syncing.
If you run into any problems with that, please describe exactly what happens. Thanks!
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Thank you for your reply. On Windows, my 1Password vault (1Password.agilekeychain) is currently located on my USB drive, and it seems to work fine. Since Windows is on my work PC and the Mac is my home computer, I would rather not keep the vault directly on the PC itself. Is there some way to sync my Windows and Mac data just through the USB drive? Also, how secure would my vault be on Dropbox? Maybe you could provide some reassurance that my security concerns about storing the data on Dropbox are unfounded.
Thanks for your help.
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Hi @eY75_nK6ui,
I'm glad you're thinking strongly about the security of your data! To answer your questions first, we're very confident about storing 1Password data in the cloud. Your data file is encrypted with an exceedingly secure encryption algorithm called AES, and even if someone were to acquire a copy of your 1Password data file, it would be extremely difficult (approaching impossible in a human lifetime) for them to actually gain access to your passwords without your Master Password. You can find more information about that here: Is it safe to sync my data over the cloud?
However, you can certainly sync your 1Password data using a USB drive instead of Dropbox, it will just take some extra steps on your part since you'll need to remember to bring that USB drive back & forth and connect it to the computer you want to sync. On Windows, you can open 1Password and go to File > Open 1Password Vault, then choose your keychain on the USB drive. 1Password for Windows should remember the vault you were last using, so if you remember to connect the USB drive before opening 1Password, it should automatically find that vault and ask for your master password.
The Mac version of 1Password stores your vault locally, and uses the .agilekeychain file/folder just to sync changes. You can set up the Folder Sync option in 1Password for Mac to sync with the keychain on your USB drive. If you don't have the USB drive connected to your Mac, 1Password will give you an error because it can't sync, and will prompt you to fix that in the Folder Sync settings (but even if it isn't syncing, it will still work with the locally-stored vault).
I hope that helps! If you have more questions, we're here for you.
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It worked. I am able to store my vault on the USB drive and use it with both the PC and the Mac, with no need to sync using Dropbox. Thanks!
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On behalf of @Drew_AG I'm happy to hear he got everything worked out for you :smile:
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