1Password - Dropbox Sync works on OS X 10.9.5 but not iOS 8

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tomjay6
tomjay6
Community Member

My 1Password 4.4.1 is syncing correctly with DropBox 2.10.30 between 2 Macs using OS X 10.9.5. The sync file in my 1Password preferences is in Dropbox/1P/1password.agilekeychain.

However, 1Password 5.0.1 on my iPhone and iPad using iOS 8.0.2 are not syncing, even though all looks correct in the iOS iPassword Settings/Sync/Start Syncing/Sync with Dropbox 3.4.2. The iOS devices don't sync with changes made from 1Password on OS X, and the iOS devices don't sync with changes made on 1Passwword on iOS. The 1Password iOS Settings shows a User ID, my correct Display Name, correct Total, Used, etc. I have tried the "Stop Using Account", and resyncing with Dropbox. All appears to set up correctly again, but no syncing occurs. In the 1Password iOS settings, I cannot see which sync file is being used like I can with the 1Password OS X settings. I have verified that Dropbox is syncing between the Macs and the iPhone and iPad, so that is not the problem.

Can you please help me troubleshoot this problem. It is especially disconcerting to have no error message or feedback that no syncing is occurring. Thanks.

Comments

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni
    edited September 2014
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    According to the new manual, it looks like 1Password 5 iOS is expecting the agilekeychain to be in a folder structure as follows: /Apps/1Password/

    You say your Macs are in sync. What if you disable syncing on all and then check to ensure Dropbox is clear of 1Password files, by default where does 1Password want to put the files when you restart syncing on one of the Macs?

    If it's the above folder then I think you can safely restart syncing on each device and you should be good to go. Maybe you got to chose where you placed the agilekeychain before or maybe the default location has changed over the versions - I'm not too sure. What I'm relatively confident in is that 1Password iOS does need the files in a particular place.

    Hope that helps.

    --Edit--

    Check out this thread before you do. I stumbled upon it and it suggests a slightly different tact, one where you don't need to purge the agilekeychain.

  • tomjay6
    tomjay6
    Community Member
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    Thanks for the reply. I changed the sync folder on my Macs to the new required default location of ~/Dropbox/1Password/1password.agilekeychain. This is the only 1password.agilekeychain in any Dropbox folder. I reset the 1Password Preferences/Sync to this new folder, and the Macs are syncing again just fine. The iOS devices are still not syncing.

    It just shouldn't be this hard to figure out why this is not working. There is no indication of a problem on the iOS end; I happened to notice that a new login that I entered on my Mac wasn't showing up on my iPhone. There is no way to figure out which folder the iOS version of 1Password thinks it is syncing with, and therefore no real way to troubleshoot the problem. I can't seem to "Remove the Account" or change the Primary Vault in the 1Password Settings; I go through the process, but the iOS devices don't sync and show old data. I have been using 1Password synced with Dropbox since 2010. I have spent about 2 hours of time trying to figure this problem out. Frankly, I am not sure it is worth it.

    Should I just uninstall 1Password on my iOS devices and start over?

  • tomjay6
    tomjay6
    Community Member
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    I deleted 1Password from my iPad, and reinstalled it from scratch. I set it up to sync with Dropbox, and went through the process of approval from Dropbox. Everything looks fine on the 1Password iOS dialog boxes; it shows my correct DropBox user name, etc. However, no items show up (I have 277 logins). Is the iOS app looking for sync folder in ~/Dropbox/1Password/1password.agilekeychain, or is there somewhere else it should be?

    Thanks

  • tomjay6
    tomjay6
    Community Member
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    I finally discovered a fix for the problem through brute force and trial and error. On my 1Password iOS Settings I had to go to Advanced/Erase Data and Settings. This then forced 1Password iOS to search Dropbox for the 1password.agilekeychain. A dialog box then showed me the exact pathname to select, ~/Dropbox/1Password/1password.agilekeychain. All Macs and iOS devices are now syncing. Amount of time to figure out this problem: 4 hours. I am pretty disappointed in the lack of resources and support in trying to troubleshoot this.

  • littlebobbytables
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    I'm in the UK so I tend to sleep when you made your last three posts.

    The one part I'm unclear about is why you used ~/Dropbox/1Password/ as the location. According to what I linked you to, the iOS version defaults to looking in /Apps/1Password in your Dropbox, so ~/Dropbox/Apps/1Password/ in your notation. I can't say for certain but I'd hoped that using that would have negated the need to erase data and settings in 1Password iOS.

    Either way, it's syncing for you now which is the important bit. I've seen a couple of posts that suggest the desktop version is a lot more accommodating of Dropbox locations and even filenames whereas the iOS is a lot more strict and yeah, it's caught out more than a couple of users as a result.

  • tomjay6
    tomjay6
    Community Member
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    Thanks. What concerns me is that (1) I didn't change anything except to upgrade to the latest versions of software. (2) There was no indication of a problem from 1Password, such as a dialog box that said, "1Password.agilekeychain not found", and (3) That I could not find which 1Password.agilekeychain file the iOS version was using or trying to use.

    There are also different answers in this forum as to where the agilekeychain file should be located in Dropbox. This post from @JasperP‌ of agilebits says it should be in ~/Dropbox/1Password/1Password.agilekeychain
    https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/18090/why-two-files-1password-agilekeychain-when-using-dropbox-sync

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni
    edited September 2014
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    Hi @tomjay6,

    I'm sorry to hear about the trouble that you've been having here. I'm so glad that you were able to get things straightened out, with @littlebobbytables‌ help. I do apologize for the delay in response - it's been a bit busy around here since the launch of iOS 8 and 1Password 5 for iOS, and we're all putting in extra hours to get back to our normal snappy responses just as soon as possible!

    (1) I didn't change anything except to upgrade to the latest versions of software.

    Sometimes updates have just the bug fixes you're looking for. :)

    (2) There was no indication of a problem from 1Password, such as a dialog box that said, "1Password.agilekeychain not found"

    Now that you've got the problem sorted out, it might be tricky to determine just where things were getting tangled up. In 1Password 5 for iOS however, 1Password should notify you when sync becomes disconnected.

    (3) That I could not find which 1Password.agilekeychain file the iOS version was using or trying to use.

    The information on which keychain is being used for a particular vault can be found by tapping on the ⓘ (info icon) next to the vault name. From there, tap on 'Sync Service'. You'll be taken to a sync screen that displays your current sync method. Below that is the address of the keychain that 1Password is syncing to.

    There are also different answers in this forum as to where the agilekeychain file should be located in Dropbox.

    The post that you reference here is from November 2013. At that time, the Dropbox/1Password/1Password.agilekeychain location was indeed the default. Since that time, Dropbox has introduced its 'Apps' folder. This folder's purpose is to keep all the data from 3rd party apps organized and tucked out of sight. For users who use Dropbox for storing a lot of things, this helps to prevent clutter. Whichever location you use, 1Password should be able to find your data and keep you synced up.

    I hope this helps, but if you have any further questions or concerns, we're here for you! :)

  • glawster11
    glawster11
    Community Member
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    If it helps, I had a very similar problem to tomjay6. iOS 8 on an iPhone 5S, Yosemite Public Beta on a Macbook Pro, Mavericks on a Mac Mini, all 1 Passwords at latest update. The Macs synced but the phone didn't. This caused problems when I changed a password via my phone, but then couldn't log in via a Mac because it wasn't syncing. In my case, the Dropbox folder used is exactly the one it should be: Dropbox/Apps/1Password. I had been aware of the problem for at least a couple of weeks but hadn't invested a lot of time into solving it short of trying to force syncs. I quickly found this thread and solved the problem when I erased data and settings. So thanks to you all for the solution. It isn't just a one-off problem.

  • Ben
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    Thanks for the update @glawster11!

  • cealus
    cealus
    Community Member
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    Had the same thing happen to me. I just got a new iPhone 6 and restored all apps from backup from my iPhone 4s. When I selected 1PSW it asked how I wanted to sync. I directed it to my Dropbox account, gave it permission and it showed me my keychain file. If I tapped that, it said it already had it on the phone, but that file was empty. I did as Tomjay6 suggested and went to Advanced>Erase Data and Setting. It complied and said it would erase and then quit. I restarted 1PSW and this time when it asked to sync with Dropbox, the keychain file was in blue (instead of grey). Once selected syncing proceeded and I was able to see my original logins and passwords. Seems to be something that Agilebits needs to fix.

  • Hi @cealus,

    Thanks for writing in about your experience, you're right, it is something we need to fix on our side. I'll file a bug report and we'll have it fixed in a future update.

This discussion has been closed.