Password containing non-alphanumeric characters doesn't work

Bocaboy · May 2015

I've been having this problem before even 1Password 5 was released. If I have a password that contains characters like $ or !, they do not work using autofill. If I enter the exact same information manually into the site's username and password dialog box, the credentials work fine.

The only hint I can offer is that when I use those characters, they appear in red in 1Password. I have no idea if that's normal or not.

Can someone figure this out? I have the problem regardless of whether I use 1Password on my MacBook Pro, iPhone or iPad.

I'm on a mid-2010 MacBook Pro running the latest build of Yosemite. I use an iPhone 6+ and an iPad Air for the mobile versions of 1Password. 1Password is the latest version on all platforms.

Many thanks.

danco · May 2015

The red colour is normal. For convenience 1PW distinguishes between alphabeticals, numbers, and symbols, by showing them in different colours.

Have you by any chance changed keyboard layouts? I don't know if that could affect things, but it might.

AGAlumB · May 2015

@Bocaboy: Sorry for the trouble! danco is correct: different colours are used to improve readability.

Regarding the login issue you're having, I haven't seen this myself so I wonder if it's related to specific sites. Could you tell me the URLs for the login pages where you're having this problem?

As danco suggested, this may also be a character encoding or keyboard issue. Different codes can generate characters that appear identical, but to the computer they are distinct. If typing them in works fine, try copying and pasting from 1Password instead. If it's the characters themselves, that will not work. Also, you can try retyping your password and saving your login item.

And to be clear, 1Password does not AutoFill. Rather, 1Password will fill your credentials when you manually select a login. If you're seeing or expecting something else, it may be the browser itself. Please let me know what you find!

Bocaboy · May 2015

I don't think this is an issue with remapping the keyboard, which I haven't done. The only thing that is slightly different on my MacBook Pro is that I use Text Expander for abbreviations that enter text. Note, however, that none of my passwords are anywhere close to the abbreviations I've created, so I'm ruling that out as well. In addition, I have the same problem on my mobile devices where I do not use Text Expander.

The primary URL where I have this problem is UBS (https://onlineservices.ubs.com/olsauth/ex/pbl/lo?se=1650&status=1#login)

I can use the copy function of 1Password and manually paste it into the password field and it will work. I can also simply type it myself and it will work. The failure happens when 1Password attempts to fill the field with my password.

For the record, my browser is Chrome.

Bocaboy · May 2015

Oh, and yes, I've reentered the password in 1Password and the behavior is still the same.

One last thing. When I click on the URL for UBS in 1Password and it tries to fill in my credentials, it gets the username correct, but after the site tells me my credentials are wrong, 1Password pops a dialog box asking whether to save or update the new credentials.

Huh?

littlebobbytables · May 2015

Hi @Bocaboy,

I've done a little testing although it was with Safari, I need my other machine to test Chrome.

The testing I've done so far suggests it should work and I'm wondering if you've tried creating a new Login item at all recently using our How to manually save a Login guide? I tried an all symbol password and what I found was the field was being correctly filled but there is a 15 character limit to the password. If you paste in a longer password it is truncated while if 1Password fills in the field it bypasses this i.e. I can get it to fill in a 33 character, all symbol password which will never be accepted.

So I'm curious if you can confirm if your password is 15 characters or less, ideally exactly 15 for security reasons and if the behaviour is still present if you create a new Login item. The one aspect I can't confirm is what happens when you log in due to the fact that you a bank account with them. This is usually what makes banks one of the trickier sets of sites to test because we can't easily create test accounts.

Please keep us informed and if need be we'll continue the troubleshooting with you :smile:

Bocaboy · May 2015

Thanks for the help, LBT. I've made several logons manually and they all worked, although none were done using the gear icon in the browser extension. I did as you suggested (using the gear icon), and voilá, the logon now works. Thanks for this simple fix!

One thing I did notice that I hadn't before was the word "Conflict" above the username and password fields in 1P for the original entry. Conflict with what? I've used the exact same credentials for the new logon I created as were in the old one, so I don't quite understand where the error might have occurred.

Anyway, alls well that ends well! I've been using 1Password since version 1 and think it's an essential piece of software for every computer user.

AGAlumB · May 2015

@Bocaboy: Aha! Thanks for following up -- and your kind words! I'm glad to hear that did the trick for you! :)

I'm sorry for the frustration that must have caused, as I recall running into the exact issue a few times myself. Often this happens with banks, as they use older systems that store actual passwords rather than hashes, and therefore password length is limited. And the site doesn't tell you that your password is too long, is just chops off the end and accepts everything else. So you end up with a saved password that really isn't your password after all. :unamused:

Anyway, resaving it works because it ensures that 1Password is saving what is actually submitted in the login form, rather than what you and 1Password thought it was.

This 'conflict', I believe, is a separate issue, however. We've actually been trying to track down the cause, so (if you don't mind), I'd really appreciate it if you could share the affected Login item.

If you'd be so kind, go into 1Password Preferences > Advanced and select Show Item > Copy JSON menu item:

Then take your Login item with the 'conflicts' and Duplicate it ( ⌘+D ), edit the duplicate to remove your username and password (and any other personal information), save it, and press ⌘+J. Paste the code into your reply here (or send it to me in a private message if you prefer) only after scanning the contents to verify that there isn't any private information in it (and remove it if necessary -- replace with zeroes or something). It may help us figure out where they're coming from. Thanks in advance! :)

Bocaboy · May 2015

As requested. I followed your instructions and found that while there was no username or password information visible in 1Password, my username did show up in this extracted code. The code was "edited" in BBEdit to change its occurrence to xxxxxxx. In addition, I noticed in the extracted Notes section in this code that an entry containing my password was still there. It has been changed to XPASSWORDX. Note again that this is not visible in 1Password from the card itself.

Hope this helps!

littlebobbytables · May 2015

Hi @Bocaboy,

Glad to hear you've eventually found success and now have a working Login.

Now @brenty may have something else in mind (it sounds like it) but when I hear the word conflict in 1Password my first thought is sync issue. If you still have the original Login item does it look something like this or is it different?

Sections like that in an item are when 1Password is syncing and it unfortunately has reached a state where it can't reliably say which version is correct. Rather than risk loss of important information we keep one copy in the correct fields and then store the other copy in a custom section titled Conflicts. The user can then decide which is correct and manually alter the item. Is this kind of what you were seeing or am I off on a tangent?

Bocaboy · May 2015

Unfortunately I no longer have the original Login for UBS that started this thread, but the explanation above about Conflicts would make sense. I'll keep my eyes open if it happens again. And I agree that rather than lose the correct information, 1Password should keep both and let the user make the decision as to which entry is correct. Somehow that didn't seem obvious to me when I was looking at the Login.

Many thanks for the help in resolving this problem.

littlebobbytables · May 2015

Glad we could help @Bocaboy :smile:

Password containing non-alphanumeric characters doesn't work

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