I am unable to sync my home iMac with the mobile app in iOS

Craddick777

I've several times downloaded the 1Password iOS app, and followed the steps outlined to sync with my desktop iMac (latest version of the OS) through iCloud, but i always get a error message and can't sync it. don't know what further to do.

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1Password Version: 5.4.1
Extension Version: 4.4.4
OS Version: 10.11.1
Sync Type: iCloud
Referrer: kb-search:can't sync through iCloud, kb:icloud-faq

Ben

Hi @Craddick777,

Thanks for taking the time to write in. I'm sorry to hear about the trouble getting iCloud sync working. Could you please let me know what, exactly, the error message you get is?

Thanks!

Ben

Craddick777

Thanks Ben, I'm getting the following "No 1Password data was found on iCloud"........thoughts?

Craddick777

one thing I have noticed, is that I'm NOT using the 1Password from the Mac App store. I've had 1Password for years and years, long before there was a App store......don't know if this helps at all...but thought I'd mention it.

Ben

Thanks, @Craddick777, that explains it. Unfortunately iCloud syncing requires a purchase from the Mac App Store. Please see this guide for further details:

Why does iCloud require at least iOS 8, OS X 10.10, and the Mac App Store?

If you'd rather not have the expense of 1Password for Mac from the Mac App Store it is also possible to sync using either Dropbox or WiFi:

Sync | 1Password for iOS guide

Thanks!

Ben

Craddick777

So, because I was a early user (purchasing before there was a App store), I'm now penalized and have to purchase the software a second time?!!? to say I'm disappointed is a understatement.....

Ben

@Craddick777

I do understand the frustration, but it certainly isn't intended as a penalization (at least on our part). Apple runs the iCloud service, and at this time they only make the CloudKit API (which we use to sync with iCloud) available to apps purchased from the Mac App Store. They do not allow apps sold outside of it to sync using it.

Dropbox and WiFi sync do not have any such restrictions.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Ben

Craddick777

well whatever the "intent" may be, it is in reality a penalty.......quite a reward for faithful longterm users. Has a effort been even made with Apple to arrange for previous users to obtain the App Store version without payment? I don't think that should be a difficult thing to arrange where the App Store allows someone to input their license number to get it without charge (or with a minimal charge); instead of putting us in a position of having to repurchase the full software or use some other service......it would be great to see some effort to protect and provide for your users.

dteare

Hi @Craddick777,

I'm very sorry for the frustration. It's a pain in the ass but Apple does not provide any mechanism to do an automatic migration of licenses like you suggest. We've reached out to them several times, and our contacts understand the problem we're in, but there does not seem to be any interest in changing the current App Store in any way. We were able to make our webstore version detect Mac App Store receipts and unlock automatically, but we are simply unable to do it the other way.

Note that we're not alone here. Just last week, MacRumours published Popular Design App 'Sketch' Leaves Mac App Store Due to Poor Customer Experience, describing why Bohemian Coding removed their app completely from the Mac App Store. They follow many other popular apps that made similar decisions to leave the App Store. While most developers report lack of upgrade pricing as the primary complaint, the same limitations are the source of pain you're experiencing here.

I want to make clear that I'm not blaming Apple here. They made the decisions they needed to make. If I had to guess, I'd wager that they are valuing simplicity above all else. If they needed to deal with upgrade pricing, cross grade pricing, bundle pricing, and the like, things would get quite hairy. While I would really love some additional flexibility here from Apple, I respect their decision. It was theirs to make.

The question is what's better for our customers? Should we only sell on our website or should we also make 1Password available within the Mac App Store? Despite the pain points, many users prefer to purchase through the Mac App Store and so we've decided to publish 1Password there.

There is a great ray of hope, however. Apple recently announced to developers that iCloud is now supported in applications distributed outside of the Mac App Store. This is fantastic news and is something we're investigating adding to a future version of 1Password for Mac. We don't have anything to announce yet, so I cannot share any timelines at this moment, but it's certainly something we're very interested in pursuing.

In the meantime, I wholeheartedly recommend using Dropbox syncing. It works great and is what I'm using at the moment. If you really want to use iCloud immediately, then I'm afraid you'll need to purchase again from the Mac App Store.

I wish I had a better immediate answer for you, but I hope I've done a good job explaining the current problem.

Take care,
++dave;