Have 1Password account *and* sync with Dropbox

debora

Hi,

I signed up for a 1Password trial account, and I'm trying to set it up on my devices (Linux on my laptop and Android on my smartphone).

I understand there is no available app for Linux (unfortunately!). Because of this, after installing the app on my Android, I looked for the option to sync with Dropbox. This way, I would be able to have the vault as a file on Linux and use it locally, which would work great. However, it seems that I can either sync with Dropbox or have a 1Password account, but not both, which is very odd! So I guess my question is: how can I both have an account and sync my vault with Dropbox?

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1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided

fred909

I just encountered this... seems like a bug.

I was able to use both by removing the 1Password account, adding my dropbox sync account, then adding the 1Password account.

debora

Thanks @fred909, this worked! :+1:

It even led to an interesting side effect: I now have two Master Passwords: one to unlock the Android app and one from my real account. It happened because when I reinstalled the Android app, I used a different one (faster to type on mobile) because I thought my real account would sort of "re-claim" the app once I added it, but it didn't.

I know I could change the master password to be the same as my account's, but this feels somewhat more secure... Provided I don't forget it, of course. Kinda liked it :chuffed:

peri

Hi @debora. :)

As @fred909 so kindly pointed out, you'll need to first add any local vaults to 1Password and then add accounts, in order to be able to have both connected. Once you've added your account, it's not possible to sync a local vault.

That said, the Master Password required to launch 1Password on any device will be the one for the vault you first configure. So if you set up 1Password on Android to sync with Dropbox and then add your 1Password account after, your Dropbox vault's Master Password will be required to unlock the app, and then will unlocked any linked accounts vaults as well. If you had configured 1Password to work with your 1Password account (rather than the Dropbox vault), then it would require your account's Master Password to unlock the app.

Don't forget either of these Master Passwords, as you'll always need your Dropbox vault's Master Password to unlock your Dropbox vault, and you'll always need your 1Password account's Master Password to sign into your account.

That said, as far as Linux goes, you can access your account data on Linux from any browser, just by signing into our web app. You can also install our Windows app using Wine, if you're familiar with it.

I hope this clarifies things a bit! Let us know if you need anything else. Thanks!

debora

Hi @perl,

Thanks for your reply! I'm not sure I understood what you meant, though. You said that:

you'll need to first add any local vaults to 1Password and then add accounts, in order to be able to have both connected.

But I didn't have any local vaults to add. I had just created an account from the Web interface, and then I decided to try out the Android app. When I installed it, since I already had an account at that point, it never crossed my mind that I should have: chosen the option to not connect with my newly-created account, create a local vault that I would never use and then add my account. This is a very counterintuitive flow for new users and it's nowhere to be found in the docs.

I understood @fred909 instructions and it solved my problem, but in my view, this is a rather weird workaround that new users should not be expected to be aware of. Still sounds like a bug to me.

AGAlumB

@debora: I'm glad to hear you got it setup! You also make a really good point, and I can relate personally. But keep in mind that most people aren't you and me!

In most cases, folks will be using the standalone apps and syncing their own data (for example, using Dropbox), or they're 1Password.com subscribers who just login to their account on each device. After all, that's one of the primary benefits of the subscription service: not having to deal with sync configuration and manage multiple individual vaults between devices.

I certainly use both like you do, but we're in the minority. Using both is often more expensive, and always more complex, so it isn't a typical use case we should design the whole app around. That said, we definitely want to make 1Password as intuitive as possible, so if we can find a way to do this without introducing added confusion for the majority, everybody wins. Thanks for the feedback! :)

debora

Hi @brenty,

I understand you guys need to focus on the use cases that are most common for 1Password's users. I guess my suggestion would be to at least put a small footnote in the documentation :)

Cheers!

peri

Thanks for the feedback, @debora. I'll be sure to pass this along! :)