Restore backup only works on single computer and doesn't replicate

hfrifeldt
hfrifeldt
Community Member

This weekend I tried out your Family account and moved all my 1password entries to the family account. Before moving the data I created a backup using 1Password 6.2.1 on a Mac. I later realized my wife wasn't able to use the family account on her work computer as it isn't Win 10, so I decided to wait until you guys support that. I restored data from the backup and then deleted all the family vaults again.

On that same computer everything looks fine and Preferences->All Vaults only show "Primary" (ie. no more shared vaults). This primary vault should point to my Dropbox (as that's where my default vault was located) but I don't know how to double-check that in 1password.

Problem is that opening 1password on a different computer (tried different Mac and 2 different Windows computers) now shows totally empty vault and even though I have restored the backup, the password I need to use to open 1password is the password I had chosen for the family account. I checked the files under 1Password.agilekeychain/data/default and they all seem to be there. But somehow no 1password app picks them up except the very computer used to restore the data.

Any advise on how to do a proper restore of my backup?

Regards,
Heine Frifeldt


1Password Version: 6.2.1
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: OSX 10.11.4
Sync Type: Dropbox
Referrer: kb:teams-troubleshooting-signin, kb-search:restore, ug:mac/backup-preferences, kb-search:restore, kb:dropbox-troubleshooting

Comments

  • hfrifeldt
    hfrifeldt
    Community Member

    I just realized that part of my problems here must be that the "sync" option gets reset to None when I restore a backup. However, when I try to set it back to dropbox it asks me to merge with the existing data and since the data in dropbox probably is never, the merge operation results in no entries. I also tried to just create a new folder in dropbox, but when I then select that on a different Mac I get the same prompt to merge and back at no entries. Is there now way to just select an existing keychain like on Windows?

  • Hi @hfrifeldt,

    I'm glad you were able to figure out what was going on with sync. The next update will have a dialog that tells you that you'll have to turn sync back on when restoring from backup.

    Relating to the dropbox vault merge question: are you working with a 1Password.agilekeychain or 1Password.opvault? Did you select the Dropbox folder or the file itself when you re-connected Dropbox sync?

    Hopefully those answers will shed some light on what's happening with your vault sync.

    Rudy

  • hfrifeldt
    hfrifeldt
    Community Member

    I don't feel I really know the right process for restoring a backup. At first I left my 1Password files in dropbox as-is (which were agilekeychain at the time). After restore, I re-enable sync on my Mac and in doing that, the sync deletes all entries in 1Password (sorry, my previous description wasn't entirely clear on that). The files are present in dropbox, but the sync process itself makes all entries in 1Password disappear.

    I just want my backup to be the authoritative entries again, so since 1Password doesn't give me the option to not merge, I tried to just delete my entire 1Password folder in dropbox and start over. So: Another restore and this time when enabling sync a new set of files in dropbox were created (now, opvault). Worked great. NOW my synced files were equal to my backup. I ensured all files were synced to dropbox, but when I started 1Password on my iPhone it too would delete all entries. Back to scratch with all data gone. This happens regardless of what i-device I start as the 2nd device after a restore. That 2nd device will delete all data that was just restored.

    I am getting to the conclusion that the only restore process that may work is to:
    1) Uninstall all 1Password apps across all devices (except the one containing the backup files)
    2) Delete any 1Password files in dropbox
    3) Restore the backup
    4) Enable sync and create new files in dropbox
    5) Re-install 1Password app on each device and setup sync from scratch (thereby initiate a 1-way sync instead of a merge)

    Is this correct or is there an easier way?

    Having the next update advise the user to enable sync would have helped with my initial problem where I didn't know it was disabled. However, IMO it seems the "restore" feature is missing an option to pick a destination and not just disable sync automatically. Either "local 1Password db" or overwrite existing sync files.

    Heine

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi Heine ( @hfrifeldt ),

    I’m sorry that this has been a bit of a frustrating process for you.

    I just want my backup to be the authoritative entries again, so since 1Password doesn't give me the option to not merge, I tried to just delete my entire 1Password folder in dropbox and start over. So: Another restore and this time when enabling sync a new set of files in dropbox were created (now, opvault). Worked great. NOW my synced files were equal to my backup.

    Sounds like you’ve done everything right here - so far, so good!

    but when I started 1Password on my iPhone it too would delete all entries.

    Since our goal here is to use the backup (and the new data in Dropbox) as the one true set, you’ll want to start fresh on your iOS devices as well. Starting fresh with 1Password for iOS is simple - delete the app and redownload from the iOS store. Then when you start 1Password, you’ll have access to the new user screen and can select the datafile stored in Dropbox.

    I am getting to the conclusion that the only restore process that may work is to:
    1) Uninstall all 1Password apps across all devices (except the one containing the backup files)
    2) Delete any 1Password files in dropbox
    3) Restore the backup
    4) Enable sync and create new files in dropbox
    5) Re-install 1Password app on each device and setup sync from scratch (thereby initiate a 1-way sync instead of a merge)

    Is this correct or is there an easier way?

    It is a bit of a process, but starting fresh on all other devices is the way to ensure a one-way sync instead of a merge. Hopefully this isn’t something that you have to do often!

    I hope that this helps you get everything all synced up again, but if you have further questions, we’re here to help.

  • hfrifeldt
    hfrifeldt
    Community Member

    OK, thank you. Just wanted to verify this is indeed the recommended (and working) approach.

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @hfrifeldt,

    Happy to help! :)

  • hfrifeldt
    hfrifeldt
    Community Member

    @Megan. Well, even though this works on an iPhone, I cannot get this working on my 2nc Mac. I've deleted all data files per guides at https://support.1password.com/starting-over/mac.html and https://support.1password.com/uninstall-1password/mac.html, but regardless of what I do, 1Password still starts up as normal on first launch (also tried reboot). Even with (supposedly empty state) I still have to use my master password to unlock the empty vault.

    The above guides suggest the uninstall steps are for 1Password 4, but since this is v6 I guess the files may be saved somewhere else?!

    Just to be clear, my current state is;

    • Mac #1 is restored and synced with fresh files to dropbox.
    • 1P on iPhone is re-installed and working.
    • Mac #2 is in weird state as 1Password is empty but need master password to unlock. All my entries are in the trash folder in 1Password. Sync to dropbox is disabled. If I enable sync, it deletes all my entries in dropbox.
  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi Heine ( @hfrifeldt ),

    Well, it sounds to me like your second Mac might be finding some old data somewhere. Let’s take a closer look at your system to see if we can determine where things are getting tangled up.

    I'd like to ask you to create a Diagnostics Report from your Mac (the one we’re calling #2):

    Sending Diagnostics Reports (Mac)

    Attach the Diagnostics Report(s) to an email message addressed to support+forum@agilebits.com.

    Please do not post your Diagnostics Report(s) in the forums, but please do include a link to this thread in your email, along with your forum handle so that we can "connect the dots" when we see your Diagnostics Report(s) in our inbox.

    You should receive an automated reply from our BitBot assistant with a Support ID number. Please post that number here so we can track down the report(s) and ensure that this issue is dealt with quickly. :)

    Once we see the report we should be able to better assist you. Thanks very much!

  • hfrifeldt
    hfrifeldt
    Community Member

    Done. Support ID for the diag report was #MQU-57224-188

  • Vee_AG
    Vee_AG
    1Password Alumni
    edited April 2016

    Hi @hfrifeldt,

    Thanks for sending that report! Someone on our support team will have a look and get back to you as soon as possible via email with next steps. :+1:
    ref: MQU-57224-188

This discussion has been closed.