Sync of old overwrote new - on mac and one iOS device - how to get correct device to reverse?

pms

Hi,

I seem to have a weird issue, I had everything working but when I discovered an old iPad (likely not sync'd for 12-18 months) and wanted to wifi sync with 1password on the mac to get a site login on it and did so - it overwrote in some cases newer passwords on mac with old. I didn't notice immediately as new logins not on the old iPad were unaffected and this was then propagated another IOS device.

The versions are currently latest available (at least in uk 5.4.1 IOS , and on the Mac App Store version 5.3 (530029) although I may have updated the old iPad after sync as it was only a few days later I realised the issue.

Since I didn't notice until I tried a site which had been overwritten, I then worked out I only had one device with the correct passwords. Thankfully that iPad Sync fails with a 7027 error (which might be fixed in 5.4.2 - I did see a mention of this version but can;t get that here in uk app store currently) . I only have ever had one primary vault so no conflict there.

So given its likely in the gap I have added one or two new passwords to the mac where other passwords were overwritten I'm not quite sure the best way of approaching merge. I can see a date modified list on the mac - is there anyway I can see this on the iOS device?

I'm a bit nervous if you say the next version of iOS app will fix the 7027 as somehow even if I had an old version of iOS and it screwed up the mac, I'm not sure how that should have propagated to another iOS device which should have also had later date modified and was definitely on the newer version.

Any ideas on safest way to resolve with minimum of hassle ? I do have mac backups so I guess I could export selected items later than xx date then restore vault and import then sync with good device when 5.4.2 is out ?

cheers

Pete

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1Password Version: 5.3 (530029)
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: OS X 10.10.3
Sync Type: Wifi

littlebobbytables

Hi @pms,

We can do safe but the minimum hassle isn't looking great :( Please read over everything a couple of times before starting.

So what we need to do is identify the last good backup prior to the sync disaster.

1. Launch 1Password for Mac and open 1Password's preferences. Switch to the Backup tab and click the Backup Now button.
2. Using your knowledge of known items with bad data, you will need to restore each backup in turn, newest to oldest until you find the first backup that contains the good data. To do this:
3. Select a backup from the list and the Restore button becomes enabled. Click it and follow the steps.
4. After 1Password terminate as part of the procedure you will need to manually launch 1Password again.
5. As per step 2., repeat 3. & 4. until you find a backup that has the good data. Make a note of the date of that backup for later reference.

Now to export what you need from the current vault.

1. Return to the Backup tab in 1Password's preferences and restore the backup you made in step 1. from above.
2. Order your vault by Date Modified in the Item List.
3. Personally I would check that each one works starting from newest until you reach the date of the last known good backup.
4. Select this group of items and use the drop down menu option File > Export > Selected Items....
5. You will be asked for your Master Password, this is a security measure so it's okay to enter it here.
6. Leave the File Format: set to the default, 1Password Interchange Format (.1pif)
7. Save with a meaningful name to your Desktop.

Now to create a good vault again.

1. Using the steps above, restore the backup you noted in step 5. of the first group of steps.
2. Import your exported items using the drop down menu option File > Import..., select your exported folder from above and press enter. If you're running the Mac App Store version of 1Password for Mac there is a bug in the Import window where the Cancel and Open button buttons don't respond to being clicked but the window responds to the esc and enter keys so it's not a deal breaker (just needs fixed).
3. If you're happy everything is good don't forget to securely delete your .1pif folder. That contains an unencrypted copy of some of your items so you will want to be sure it is deleted and not simply left in your Trash.

This should now be a good vault on your Mac but what about all of your iOS devices?

This is where we address the dodgy iPad that caused all of this (pretty sure we're to blame too so you have our genuine apologies over that) and take care of the 7027 error at the same time. Thankfully one set of steps will address both states.

1. Follow our How do I start over with an empty vault? guide on all of your iOS devices. Because we've restored a backup we don't want any device being smart and thinking it needs to update stuff.
2. With 1Password for iOS in a fresh, never been run state you can follow our guide, Existing 1Password user (for iOS) to copy your Mac vault to your iOS device.

The only way to currently resolve the 7027 error is to start over. We're working on fixing that but there's no point keeping the good iPad out of action until it's resolved.

Now if you say "but I've got changes on the iPad I need to sync with the Mac then it gets more difficult. It's doable - we can definitely generate a set of steps that will work but it will be longer than above. The combination of these two errors is pretty damned unlucky for you - as in really unlucky.

So if you have changes on the iPad you need to keep let us know. If you have any questions about the above steps let us know and if you don't the let us know how you get along instead :smile:

pms

Sorry to say this just gets weirder.

I tried the above and it did;t work (the older passwords in backups that should have been correct were not correct) and I was tearing my hair out and starting to question my sanity. I had definitely sync'd between new iPad with correct passwords and Mac and then to iPod (I did this specifically in Feb before a long trip away and checked all the login accounts were the same).

As I am reasonably technical (I run a dev team and deal with lots of customer issues) I spent a long time trying work out how I was being a muppet as surely that must have been the case ;).

Anyhow just realised I had renamed an older version of 1Password (5.1 Agile Web store (as opposed to 5.3 Apple Mac App Store)) before I upgraded to 5.3 and it was still in my application folder and when I open that I see the correct password for the accounts I would expect see - Note the last modified dates for each password and that all my vaults are the same name (I never used two....).

[images redacted by khad]

So I'm guessing somehow the vaults on the newer have some weird issue on sync with old iPad which hasn't affected the older 1password version ? Its interesting that the older version picks up the conflict (conflict field shows the old password).

I think I had the 5.1 agile web store version installed due to testing a beta or something in the past.

I should also note the backups reference far more items than seem to be in the 5.3 'All items menu' (216 in backup vs 174 in all items) and in the 5.1 version it.

Anyhow - bit uncertain how to proceed - I could trigger a backup from 5.1 then try and restore into 5.3 if that was something that actually worked and did;t break something else....

Anyhow appreciate any advice - sorry to be one of those customer problems ;)

littlebobbytables

Hi @pms,

Okay, I think I'm with you and I think I know what we need to do.

The first thing that you'll be interested to learn is that the AgileBits Store and Mac App Store versions of our software store their support files in different locations. The Mac App Store version is sandboxed as per Apple's requirements while the AgileBits Store version isn't. The first time you move from one to the other we import your existing vault but after that they can and do behave as separate vaults. If you keep both versions around it does allow for the possibility of weird sync happenings if one version is launch inadvertently.

Now the numbers part. All Items refers to the number of 'active' items while your backup adds in anything in your Trash (which we backup too). I suspect you'll find the difference is explainable with just that nugget of information but obviously knowing in advance helps :smile:

So it sounds like we'll need to alter the instructions from above to include using a backup from the AgileBits Store version, importing the changes from the Mac App Store version and then make sure that's all in the Mac App Store one.

If that tallies with your understanding then here is a slightly different approach.

1. Launch the Mac App Store version of 1Password and as we covered before, export the changes using the File > Export > Selected Items... drop down menu option.
2. What we're going to do now is start over in just the Mac App Store version. By doing this we're going to force it to import your AgileBits Store vault. So it's a bit like restoring a backup (in a weird way). The guide is on our How do I start over with an empty vault? page and you want to make sure you don't follow the steps for the AgileBits Store version - we need those files where they are.
3. When you start 1Password it will default to importing your old AgileBits Store vault.
4. You can then follow the steps from the post above to first import the changes and then the whole restart on all the iOS devices so they don't do anything crazy to the good vault. I am still assuming there aren't changes on any iOS device you need to keep. You will also find you need to reconfigure Wi-Fi Sync on the Mac side as you started over.
5. Once everything is up and running again you'll want to make sure this can't happen again. The easiest way to do so is to simply remove the AgileBits Store version of the 1Password application from your machine so it can't be accidentally loaded. You can also follow our starting over guide again but this time carefully only following the section for the AgileBits Store version.

With those files moved to your Desktop (for example) you could go one further and move the backups from there into the backup folder for the Mac App Store version. You don't have to but they may be worth keeping. So say you do and you've moved the 1Password 4 from ~/Library/Application Support/ to your Desktop, you'll find in 1Password 4 a folder titled Backups. Now open 1Password (the Mac App Store version) and enter the preferences. Switch to the Backup tab and click on the Show Files button. This will open a Finder window in your current Backups folder. Copy everything from the Backups on your Desktop into here and you're done :smile:

Now hopefully we've nailed it this time but if need be we'll be here for any questions or gotchas. Let us know how you get along :smile:

pms

Hey sorry for the delayed reply - just to confirm managed to sort everything out in the end. really appreciate your help.

One thing I might ask as a future feature request is the ability to see sort by date modified on IOS as I still had a number of passwords to go through and transfer manually off the IOS device that would not sync and that feature would have helped a lot.

Thankfully not too long to sort out

keep up the good work

thanks

Pete

PS - Nota huge deal as my passwords are so long ;) but just realised I forgot to pixelate the username/email in the screenshots above and I don't seem to be able to retroactively edit - do you mind either pixelating/blacking out or deleting the images from my post above

khad

Hey sorry for the delayed reply - just to confirm managed to sort everything out in the end. really appreciate your help.

That is great news, @pms! I'm glad everything is working well.

One thing I might ask as a future feature request is the ability to see sort by date modified on IOS

I agree that could be useful. I've made sure to pass your feedback along to the team.

And I removed the images for you. :)