Have lost 1Password data file from some devices

stevefur

I have shot myself in the foot and wonder if you can help me fix the problem. My wife and I share 1Password (version 3 on computers and version 4 on iPhone and one iPad and earlier version on a second iPhone and iPad) with syncing via dropbox. We have an old MacBook Pro (every device we have is Apple). While removing personal information from the old MacBook I did something that then removed our 1Password data file from two other MacBook Pro's. What remains is 1Password on both phones and both iPads and for some reason, the Safari extension (with all of our 1Password data) on one of the two newer MacBook Pro's. How do I gracefully extricate myself from this problem?

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1Password Version: 3.8.22
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: OSX 10.10
Sync Type: Drop Box

Megan

Hi @stevefur,

(First of all, it appears that you had used your email address as your forum username. I've edited out the domain part. This makes it easier for us to send you '@' mentions, and ensures that your email address is not displayed in a public forum. If you would like your username to be changed to something else, please let me know, we can certainly make that happen!)

Now, I'm so sorry to hear that you've been having trouble with 1Password, and I'll do what I can to get this sorted for you just as soon as possible! In order to do that, I just want to confirm that I'm understanding your issue correctly, so I'll recap it here:

• You have 1Password 3.8.22 installed on 3 Macs (running OS X 10.10)
• You have 1Password 4 for iOS on 2 iOS devices (which iOS are these devices using?)
• You have 1Password 3? for iOS on 2 older iOS devices (which iOS are these devices using?)
• When removing data from the old Mac, you deleted the 1Password datafile (since you're syncing with Dropbox, the 1Password.agilekeychain file should have been somewhere in the Dropbox folder architecture.)
• This has removed the data from the 1Password 3 app on all computers, although you're still able to view it in the browser extension.
• You can still access your 1Password data on the iOS devices.

If you can still access your 1Password data on your iOS devices, we should be able to get this solved fairly quickly. Essentially, we'll ensure that sync is set up on your iOS, and then point 1Password on your Macs to the 1Password.agilekeychain that will be created in Dropbox.

Before we get started with the specific steps though, I'd like to get a few more details, in particular, the precise version numbers of 1Password on your iOS devices. You can find the version number on the Settings screen, just below the 'Recommend 1Password' option. Also, what version number of iOS are each of your devices running?

Once I know that for sure, we can get on with the instructions! :)

stevefur

Megan, Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Am encouraged by your comments. Here's the information you requested, at least part of it. I have my iPhone, iPad and macbook pro with me so I have those details precisely. Unfortunately, am working from a plane at ~40,000 feet so don't have my wife's information precisely but can give a very close estimate because everything is the same except our iPads. Every iPhone and iPad is running iOS8.3. All computers are running OS X Yosemite. My iPhone is running 1Password version 3.7.2; my iPad is running version 5.4.2; and my MacBook Pro is running version 3.8.22. I believe my wife has the same iPhone version, one of the 3. versions on her iPad and the same version as mine on her MacBook Pro. None of the iPhones or iPads have been upgraded to the new iOS 8.4 version just released. Also, one fact that you did not include in your recap of my earlier note is that I can access the 1Password data file from the 1Password "shortcut icon" (my term) on my Safari browser.

stevefur

Megan, one more thing....it is clear after finding all of the 1Password versions that we need to get every device moved to the latest versions of 1Password. Will appreciate your advice as to how to do that without corrupting data or losing data will be appreciated. If there is a clear set of directions that I can easily access, that's likely a good approach. And, I have recently purchased a 1Password 5 small business license.

stevefur

Megan, here's an update on my wife's devices...her iPhone is running version 5.2 of 1Password and her MacBook Pro is running version 3.8.22 of the software. We don't know how to get the version of 1Password running on her iPad because the data file on it is wiped and she gets a window asking if she wants to connect to an existing file or start a new account. There does not seem to be anywhere to find the version number. Looking forward to "hearing" what steps you suggest we take to correct our problem.
Thanks, Stevefur

littlebobbytables

Hi @stevefur,

Here is what we would recommend.

1. On your iPad, the one running 1Password 5 for iOS, launch 1Password and enter 1Password's Settings (it's the cog icon in the bottom left hand corner).
2. In there tap on the line that will either say Sync or possibly Syncing given the disappearance of the Agile Keychain.
3. I believe the top line will say Start Syncing. If this isn't the case for any reason please let us know. Assuming it does say that though tap on that line.
4. At this point our iOS guide for Sync with Dropbox will help. When you get to step 4. I expect 1Password for iOS to ask if you want to create a new file in Dropbox.

Once you've done that 1Password for iOS on your iPad will create a brand new 1Password.agilekeychain in Dropbox, and will likely do so in /Apps/1Password/ where that first / represents the root of your Dropbox folder. In other words should you log into your Dropbox account via their web site you should find first an Apps folder and inside that a 1Password one. The contents of this 1Password.agilekeychain will be whatever was in the vault on your iPad.

For other copies of 1Password 5 for iOS the steps are mostly the same. The difference will be in step 4. where it will ask you to choose an existing Agile Keychain to link to the vault on this iOS device. It will talk about merging but that's okay - we say that as we haven't looked deeply inside the two vaults and can't say how identical they are. Given they were all syncing until very recently they should be nearing on 100% identical.

For the Mac running 1Password 3 for Mac I'm guessing all of them are currently displaying the Welcome to 1Password screen and asking if you want to create a new data file or find existing. They might pick up the new Agile Keychain and ask if you want to use it. Worst case click on the Find Existing button and point them all to the new Agile Keychain.

Should you find the instructions are a bit too spartan and you'd like more detail please do say.

All going well though you should have a working 1Password Agile Keychain available to all your iOS devices running 1Password 5 for iOS and 1Password 3 for Mac. You'll notice I've not mentioned 1Password 3 for iOS. It sounds like all of your iOS devices are running iOS 8 and if so you can run 1Password 5 for iOS. I would suggest downloading the newer version and follow our guide for Existing 1Password users (iOS), pointing the new version to the Agile Keychain in Dropbox. I suggest that because sync options for 1Password 3 for iOS are very limited - in fact the only option is Wi-Fi Sync with a copy of 1Password 3 for Mac.

Given you now have a 1Password 5 for Mac licence you might decide to skip resurrecting 1Password 3 for Mac and instead install 1Password 5 for Mac. If you decide to then this guide, Finding existing 1Password data during setup (Mac) should be all you need. Whether you first return 1Password 3 for Mac to a working state and then install 1Password 5 for Mac or go directly to 1Password 5 won't make any difference, 1Password 5 for Mac likes to check all the default locations for an Agile Keychain which include Dropbox. When it finds it it will create the local copy of the vault based on the Agile Keychain and then automatically set up syncing so any changes are pushed back to the Agile Keychain.

Basically, the existence of 1Password 5 for iOS on your iPad means the situation is easily recoverable because 1Password 4 & 5 maintain a local vault and the Agile Keychain is used only for syncing.

There is one item I haven't mentioned yet and that's the 1Password 3 Browser Extension. We do have to be a little careful here. Do you have any reason at all to believe there is something visible in the extension that is only visible there or have you ever noticed a little red exclamation mark prior to this whole episode? If you've seen a little red exclamation mark for a while we may have unsynchronised items between the browser extension and the main 1Password application. If you have any concerns what we'll do is request a diagnostic report and confirm for certain. If you're 100% sure the extension holds nothing unique to it then you are free to uninstall the extension and install the newer one that is available from our 1Password Browser Extensions page. This is the extension you need for 1Password 4 or 5 for Mac as the older one only works with 1Password 3 for Mac.

So there's a lot of information there. I suggest reading it a couple of times and make sure you're happy with everything I've written. If you have any questions do please ask, make sure you feel confident about what and how will happen. If you feel confident though hopefully we'll be hearing about how everything went smoothly. Keep us updated though!

stevefur

Megan et. al. I have followed your instructions. they were quite clear and my wife and I now have the latest versions of 1Password installed and running on our respective MacBook Pros, iPhones and iPads with dropbox as our sync vehicle. We have saved our data! We are ecstatic!!! Thanks so much for your fabulous support!! Regards,
Stevefur

littlebobbytables

Hi @stevefur,

Thank you for letting us know everything is working and running smoothly, this is a great post to read to finish off my weekend :chuffed: so thank you in return :smile: