Why can't i change the save destination for backups ?

marcustorres
marcustorres
Community Member
in Mac

Hi, i just upgraded to 1password 6 and was sad to see that i can no longer specify a dropbox folder a save location for my 1password backups. Why is this so ? If I lose my main computer, then i lose my backups.

1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: El Capitan
Sync Type: Not Provided
Referrer: ug:mac/sync-dropbox, ug:mac/backup-preferences, kb-search:backup to dropbox, kb:backup-faq

Comments

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @marcustorres,

    Thanks for contacting us with your question about the backup location! Backups are certainly important, so I'm glad that's something you're thinking about.

    Although it's not possible to change the backup location in 1Password 4 and higher, it's actually very easy to copy those backups somewhere else. Just open the main 1Password app and go to File > Backup, then click Show Files. That will open the folder containing your backup files, and you can copy those wherever you want.

    As I mentioned above, backups are very important, and if you're not already doing so, I highly recommend backing up your Mac (using Time Machine or a similar backup solution). Backups of your Mac should also include your 1Password backups, so if you lose your Mac, you'll still be able to restore your 1Password data.

    Hopefully this helps, but we're here for you if you need anything else. Have a great weekend! :)

  • marcustorres
    marcustorres
    Community Member

    Thanks for the reply. Was there a specific reason the decision was made to remove this functionality that was available in prior versions ? (v3). Seems like a random feature to take away for no good reason.

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @marcustorres,

    With 1Password 3, we saw far too many cases of missing backups: backups would get moved to an external drive and then the drive would become disconnected, and 1Password would be unable to write fresh backups. In cases where our solution to an issue was restoring to a backup, a user could be left without access to their data ... and that’s a situation we want to avoid at all costs.

    So, the decision was made in 1Password 4 to make the backup location unchangeable.

    I’m glad that you’re thinking about contingency plans for what happens if your computer is lost. Hopefully Drew’s tips help you out. Are you currently syncing your 1Password data to any other devices using Dropbox (or iCloud?) Although syncing is not quite the same as performing a backup, it can act as an extra safety net and help protect against the loss of one device.

    Of course, if you have any further questions, we’re happy to help!

  • marcustorres
    marcustorres
    Community Member
    edited May 2016

    ok. thanks Megan. Yes my vault is in dropbox and my iphone pulls from it so i should be fine. I've implemented a workaround for now using cron to perform a sync to dropbox daily, which i guess is better since now i have 2 copies (a local and a remote).

    marcus-iMac:~ marcus$ crontab -l |grep Drop

    01 9 * * * /usr/bin/rsync --delete -v -a "/Users/marcus/Library/Application Support/1Password 4/Backups" /Users/marcus/Desktop/Dropbox/Backup/1Password/1Password-v6-backups /tmp/1password-bkp.log 2>&1

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @marcustorres,

    Thanks so much for sharing your workaround - I’m glad you’ve found a solution that works for you. :)

This discussion has been closed.