Different one-time-passwords for two factor authentication on different apps

mhjk

1Password application on Mac is showing a different one-time-password for an account than the android-app. The one-time-password given by the android app is correct (and the one of the Mac app isn't). The 1Password account (accessed via internet browser) gives an incorrect one-time-password as well (the one-time-passwords on Mac app and on internet account are the same and in sync). The one-time-password was originally 'started' on the Mac application and then synced to the android app.
How can I avoid such a situation in the future, what went wrong?

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1Password Version: 1Password 7, 7.0.7 (70007000)
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: OS X 10.13.6
Sync Type: 1Password servers

danco

The one-time password is based on the time you ask for it (which is why it only last for about thirty seconds before changing).

I would guess that the time on your Mac is slightly off. I'm not sure of the best way to deal with this, but you could try going to the Date and Time preference, switching off Set Automatically and then switching it on again.

mhjk

Hi danco,

thank you very much for your reply and the solution.

Your suggestion solved the problem - the system clock of my Mac was off about two minutes (although syncing with a time server was enabled).

Thanks again,
Cheers.

danco

I'm not quite sure how time syncing works. It may well be that the sync with the time server only occurs when the Mac is turned on, and then the Mac runs on its own without bothering to sync until the next startup.

MrC

@danco,

Time synchronization on Unix-y systems (or any systems that use NTP) works at the system level - a hardware interrrupt "clock" fires off 60 or a 100 times per second (originally based on AC Hz) and biases the time using information gathered from a time daemon. It asks higher "strata" clocks for the correct time. This protocol accounts for network latency and continually skews the time slightly to ensure forward monotonic clock direction. It can be very precise.

macOS uses timed(8).

Some desktop systems that don't care much about this sort of precision just set the clock periodically, often using a utility like ntpdate.

It's possible that NTP packets can be blocked by overly aggressive router settings (NTP has had security issues).

mhjk

Hi there,

actually I'm visiting a friend these days and I use his wifi. Perhaps his router blocked the contact to the time server - therefore the wrong system time on my Mac; thank you for this hint, MrC.
The lesson I've learned is that time syncing sometimes isn't reliable and that it is always a good idea to check if the system time is correct if there's a problem with one-time passwords.

Thanks again!
Cheers.

Ben

Indeed. Time sync requires a reliable network connection between you and the source, which in some cases may not be the situation. Thanks for the update @mhjk. Glad to hear you were able to get this sorted out.

Ben