Item counts in sidebar folders no longer accurate

bitb3nd3r

I had inquired about this issue almost a year ago and still have the problem. However, I have found a set of steps to recreate the problem this time.

I have two computers and my iphone that I sync my passwords between. If I start with doing a sync using the last computer I previously synced with (lets say my home computer) my folders and the associated password counts for each remain correct on my home computer.

Now, if I go to work and try to sync with my work computer I have to first select to change the WLAN server and then select "Disable Sync". I then select my work computer when it shows up in the list of WLAN servers available to sync with. Then I select "Sync Now". After this sync completes the folder count on my work computer is now incorrect but all the passwords are in the folders. If I copy all my passwords into the same folder the numbers are updated to their correct values. If I now do another sync with my work computer everything works fine.

So the problem appears to be related to switching to a new WLAN server.

Keith

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1Password Version: 6.2.1
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.11.6
Sync Type: WLAN
Referrer: forum-search:item counts in sidebar no longer accurate

ag_kevin

Hi @bitb3nd3r ,

I'm sorry for the delay in replying. If I understand you correctly, the first time you switch to syncing to your work computer, the counts are incorrect, but the issue corrects itself on successive syncs.

I also notice you are running version 6.2.1. If you update to version 6.3.2, does it still do that?

Thanks,
Kevin

bitb3nd3r

Hi Kevin,

Not exactly. They are correct before the sync but are incorrect after the sync. After the first sync, I have to manually recopy the contents of each folder (on my computer) back into the same folder to get the item counts to be correct. Then when I sync a second time they remain correct. On my phone the item counts in the folders always show the correct count. I retried running the latest version 6.3.2 and the problem still persists.

If you follow the steps in my original post you should be able to recreate the problem. If they are not clear please let me know and I'll try and type them up in a step by step format so they are easier to follow.

I ran one other test and on the same computer and WLAN. From my iPhone:

(1) Select "Sync" from the "Settings" tab
(2) Select "Primary WLAN" from the "Settings -> Sync" view
(3) Select "Sync Service WLAN" from the "Sync -> Primary" view
(4) Select "Disable Sync" (highlighted in red) toward the bottom of the screen
(5) Select "Disable Sync" when prompted in the dialog that pops up
(6) Select "Start Syncing"
(7) Select "Sync with WLAN server"
(8) Select your WLAN server from the list of available servers
(9) Select "Sync Now"

After step (9) the folder item counts in 1Password get set to some incorrect values, at least on my computer.

Hope this helps.

Keith

Drew_AG

Hi @bitb3nd3r,

I'm sorry for the delay in getting back to you! We've heard from one or two other customers who have reported a similar problem and we've been trying to determine if it's actually the same as the one you've described or if it's actually a different issue with very similar symptoms.

One thing I wanted to explain is that WLAN server/sync is meant to work between a single Mac and one or more iOS devices. Although it's possible to sync an iOS device with one Mac via WLAN, then switch it to sync with the other Mac, we don't recommend it because it requires you to disable & set up the WLAN settings again whenever you switch. Each time you do that, it removes a bunch of context data which is used to sync your vault(s). That context data is re-created when you sync with the other Mac, but all your info in 1Password must go through full conflict resolution again (every field of every item in your vault has to be verified in order to determine which data to keep, in case there have been changes).

Now, in theory this shouldn't cause any problems. However, it's possible (even if relatively unlikely) that something might go wrong. So I'm wondering whether or not that has something to do with the item count problem you're running into.

To be sure, it will help if you can test things between your iPhone and just one of your Macs. Get the item counts to match like you normally do (which I think is basically re-copying items to folders on the Mac). Sync a couple times and make sure it all still looks correct. Then add a new test item to 1Password on your iPhone (like a new Secure Note, Login, or whatever you want). Give it a name to make it easy for you to find, save it, and add it to one of your Folders. Then sync with the same Mac again. What happens to the item count for that Folder on the Mac?

bitb3nd3r

Hi Drew,

I tried what you asked me to test and everything work correctly.

What I am seems odd to me is that after I disable sync and enable it and before I initiate a new sync with either the same or a different computer, when I look in the folders I see all the passwords in the various folders on both the iPhone and laptop and the counts are correct. However, the confusing part is after a sync the item counts in each folder get modified only on the laptop to incorrect values even though when you look in the folders all the passwords are there on both devices. It appears to me as though the displayed item count is not based on the actual number of items in the folder but is calculated by some other means, maybe something based on the context information you mentioned. It would seem as though if the correct number items are being displayed when the folder is viewed that the correct item count should be able to be accurately calculated and displayed.

Keith

Drew_AG

Thanks @bitb3nd3r! I wonder if you can clarify something you mentioned:

...after I disable sync and enable it and before I initiate a new sync with either the same or a different computer...

I might be misunderstanding, but are you saying you disable & re-enable WLAN before you sync, even if you are about to sync again with the same Mac? If so, you don't need to do that - if you're syncing with the same Mac again, just leave it enabled.

I tried what you asked me to test and everything work correctly.

Again, just to make sure I understand, if you sync your iPhone with just one Mac, the item count works correctly after each sync, even after adding new items?

If the problem only happens when switching to another Mac to sync via WLAN, this might not be part of the known issue we're investigating. Instead, it might be one of the side effects of switching between multiple Macs / WLAN servers, as I explained in my previous message. I'm not sure if I understood you correctly though, so I wanted to double-check. Thanks in advance! :)

Radoc

At @khad's request, I'm transferring a conversation from another thread here. In that thread I wrote:

"Several months ago, I gave up using ChronoSync and switched to keeping my Macs in sync with a USB stick and syncing my iPhone with one of the Macs. It's not very convenient, but it's worked flawlessly until now. Tonight, after I did a Wi-Fi sync between my iMac database and my iPhone, the item counts were different (343 on the iPhone, 505 on the iMac). So I wiped the data from the iPhone using the erase advanced option and tried again. I was prompted to enter the vault password as expected, but when the sync was finished the item count on the iPhone as shown under Categories was still wrong. (The item count on the sync screen was correct, however.)

To get it to work, I had to delete 1Password completely and re-install it on the iPhone. I also noticed that when I used the erase option on the iPhone, there was a notice that WLAN sync data was kept intact. What does this mean?"

The difference is that I'm only syncing between one Mac and one iPhone every time—I'm not using the iPhone as a go-between as I used to. The issue in common is the incorrect item counts on the iPhone. Unfortunately, I didn't think of checking to see if the items were still there and just the counts were too low.

As for @Drew_AG's comment about leaving WLAN syncing enabled all the time: Is it possible that turning it on and off could have the effect we're seeing?

Thanks.

khad

@Radoc,

Is it possible that turning it on and off could have the effect we're seeing?

Indeed. That is the working theory. Do you normally disable it between syncs?

Radoc

@khad: Yes, that's what I do. My iMac is connected to my modem via Ethernet. I also maintain a wireless network for other devices to access the Internet, but the only time I enable Wi-Fi on my iMac is when I want to sync 1PW between it and my iPhone, which is on the same Wi-Fi network.

I do it this way because it was my understanding that keeping the iMac's Ethernet and Wi-Fi connection active all the time wasn't a good practice. However, even if enabling and disabling WLAN sync is the cause of the incorrect item counts, the problem only appeared very recently.

Thanks.

khad

@Radoc,

Yeah, this is a recent issue. It's on our list for resolution in an update, but I don't have a time frame. For now, I'd recommend leaving the WLAN server enabled all the time. From a security perspective, no one can sync to it without both (1) the shared secret you entered on your mobile device when you set it up and (2) your Master Password.

It also has the benefit of syncing in a slightly more automated fashion. As long as 1Password is open and unlocked on both your Mac and iOS device, it will sync automatically. This can prevent the data from becoming too far adrift on the devices since it'll be updated more often.

If we can be of further assistance in the meantime, please let us know. We are always here to help.

Have a great weekend!
ref: OPI-884

Radoc

Hi @khad: Good to know that it's a known issue. So here's a crazy question: Do you know if the error manifests if the WLAN server is enabled all the time but Wi-Fi on the host computer is turned on and off?

khad

@Radoc, you mean leaving the WLAN server enabled in 1Password …

But turning off Wi-Fi on your Mac?

That shouldn't affect it.

Radoc

@khad: OK, I'll leave it enabled. Thanks.

Drew_AG

:+1: :)

Radoc

@Drew_AG, @khad: I did a Wi-Fi sync between my iPhone and iMac earlier and the item counts were off (the iPhone was missing 1 item). I checked the folders to see if it was only a matter of incorrect counts, but the item was actually not there. Next, I erased all the data from the iPhone under advanced settings and synced again. This time, the iPhone database was missing ~200 items. So I deleted the 1PW app from the iPhone, reinstalled it, and synced again. Now they match. This is the same behavior I saw recently. I'm going to leave the WLAN server enabled in 1PW.

What does deleting the app from the iPhone do that erasing data from within the app not do? The notice says that "your synced data in WLAN will remain intact," but what does that mean?

Pilar

Hi @Radoc

It sounds like you got it all working! That's great news. In general, deleting the app from the phone completely resets 1Password, not only the data that was inside. If there were any configuration issues or things like that they would all be wiped out by deleting the app. What "your synced data in WLAN will remain intact," means is that even if you delete the app you are only getting rid of what's in the phone itself, but the data in other devices will not be removed.

I hope that everything goes well for you from now on, but if you have nay other questions or there's anything else that we can help you with, we're always here for you :chuffed:

Radoc

Hi @Pilar: I'm also hoping that the databases remain in sync from now on, with correct item counts on all my devices. However, if this problem happens again, it would be good to have an option to wipe everything, including configuration settings, from the iPhone without having to delete the app itself. That would be a bit more elegant and faster than deleting and re-installing the app.

Thanks!

khad

I'll mention this to the team. Thank you for mentioning this, @Radoc!

Radoc

@khad: I guess I spoke too soon. This morning, I synced my iMac (the only one I sync with my iPhone) and iPhone via WLAN. As I wrote previously, I had kept the WLAN server turned on and activated the Wi-Fi network before I started. The item counts were incorrect again. So I deleted 1Password from the iPhone and tried again. The counts were still wrong. It took one more try to get them to agree.

Next, I did a folder sync with the opvault file on a flash drive in preparation for syncing my other computers. After I mounted the drive on the iMac here at work, the folder sync occurred without any further action on my part, as it always has. However, the item counts didn't agree. I couldn't find a way to delete the 1PW database on the iMac, so I manually deleted all the items and tried another folder sync. The numbers are still off after several attempts.

Clearly, something has gotten messed up somewhere. Is there a recommended way to wipe the slate clean on every device except one and then use that as the source of truth for all the others?

I realize that my use case may be at the edge, but it's the only way for me to use 1PW, which I rely on to have an up-to-date database on all my devices, subject to my keeping up with manual syncing.

Thanks!

Drew_AG

Hi @Radoc,

I'm sorry you're still having some trouble with the item counts!

Just to make sure we understand: Is it just the item count (i.e. the numbers next to the categories) that are incorrect? Or do you mean you are actually missing specific items on one device that are there on the others?

The reason I ask is because, as Khad previously explained, there's currently a known issue in 1Password that causes the wrong item count to be shown. That doesn't affect the actual number of items in each category, and all your items should all still sync correctly between devices, but the number shown next to each category may not be correct. So no matter how many times you reset 1Password and re-sync your data, you'll keep running into that problem until we fix it in the software.

On the other hand, if the problem is that specific items you add on one device are not syncing to your other devices, we can definitely continue looking into that to figure out what's wrong.

Thanks! :)

ref: OPI-884

Radoc

Hi @Drew_AG: I thought that there were instances where there was actually incorrect or missing data, but I'll check again. The majority of changes in my 1PW DB are new or deleted login items, replaced passwords, and the like. I have almost 200 login items, so I'll have to check them one-by-one to see if it's just the item counts. I see from previous posts that the item count issue is in queue for eventual resolution, but that there's no timeline as yet. I understand that keeping up with issues like this is like playing whack-a-mole. In this case, though, even if the data is actually there, the incorrect item counts lessen my confidence that all the DB instances are in sync.

Thanks!

Drew_AG

Hi @Radoc,

Hopefully the problem you've been running into is simply that the number shown next to a category doesn't match the actual number of items in that category. But if you find that new items or changes to existing items don't sync correctly between your devices, please let us know and we'll be happy to look further into that!

At one point, I think you said the item count was off by ~200 or so, and in a case like that, it should be fairly easy to tell if you're actually missing that many items. But you're right, it can be difficult to tell if you're only missing one or two, especially if you don't know which ones might be missing. In 1Password for Mac, it might help to sort item lists by date modified or date created, but unfortunately that same feature isn't currently in 1Password for iOS.

As far as I can tell, it doesn't sound like you're having a sync-related issue, but you can test that by adding one new item on each device and syncing them to see if each new item shows up on each device. To make it easy, you can include the name of the device where you create the item in that item's name. If new items sync correctly, I think it's extremely likely that the rest of your items have also synced correctly.

I know it's confusing and inconvenient for the number shown next to each category to be unreliable, and I'm very sorry about that. It's something I hope will be fixed soon (although as you mentioned, we don't have a timeline for that).

Radoc

Hi @Drew_AG. Back in the day when I used to use my iPhone as a go-between, syncing it with multiple computers round-robin, that's exactly what I did. I'd create items on one or other device noting the date, time, and device name and then see if they appeared on the other devices after Wi-Fi syncing. Then I'd delete them and see if that change propagated. I'll do the same with the current setup. I'm hoping that it's just the item counts that turn out to be wrong. I'll let you know.

Thanks!

khad

Thanks! Please do keep us posted. :+1:

Radoc

Hi @khad & @Drew_AG: So far, so good. The counts are wrong, but the items seem to be there. I added and deleted items on different devices and the changes were reflected in the other 1PW instances. Thanks.

khad

@Radoc,

Thanks for confirming that! That is consistent with our understanding of the issue, so — despite the issue itself — it is good to know we are at least seeing the same thing.

I don't have a time frame for a specific release, but this is on our list for resolution in an update.

Thanks for your continued feedback on this (and your patience).