Just installed 4.1.2 and am so completely lost....

fullboat2
fullboat2
Community Member

I've been using 1Password on the Mac forever. I had the last version of the App on my iPhone and iPad. Managed to shatter my iPad so I went out and bought a new one and a new iPhone 5 as well.

Figured it would be a good time to update my to the new 1Password app....v4.1.2. I have been banging my head against my macbook all night. I'm not even sure what happened. It used to be so easy...open 1Password on the MBP, open the 1Password App on the iPhone/iPad and the sync was done automatically. Nothing to it.

Now, as far as I can tell, I have to set up a dropbox account or something? It took me a good two hours to limp my MBP's info onto my iPhone and I honestly am not sure how I did it exactly. Then I read something about a USB tool which I tried. It told me that there were 469 records on both platforms. The iPhone showed 44. I started all over again and this time I believe I got all of my info transferred.

Since I was on a roll I decided to try changing something on my MBP. I synced via iTunes...that did nothing on the iPhone. So I tried the USB tool. This time it showed there was one change...one less record on the MBP. So I clicked sync. It then said it copied the record I had deleted from my MBP to my iPhone. But that didn't make sense...I deleted it from my MBP and it was already on my iPhone.

At this point I give up. I've tried reading all of your blogs and instructions and I'm sure there is a good reason why the new system doesn't work as well as the old one did but in all honesty, had I known what I was getting into, I would never have spent the $18 for the app.

If there is some simple fix that has completely escaped me please let me know what I missed. I'm at a total loss right now. I just want 1Password to work like it used to.

I'm not familiar with Dropbox, but doesn't Dropbox copy stuff from my computer and put it out there somewhere in the cloud? Doesn't that just put my password file (which is apparently more crackable than I thought after reading your blog today) out there in the ether as opposed to just being on my hard drive? If someone can hack a Dropbox password aren't I more exposed than just using old fashioned wifi?

Sorry for the long post. Just reallllllly confused and disappointed.

Comments

  • danco
    danco
    Volunteer Moderator

    It seems that wifi sync worked fine for many people, but badly for many others, and gave rise to lots of support requests. So Agile removed this option. For those who had wifi sync working fine, this was a step back, but it did solve things for other people.

    USB sync is still in beta, so may have problems. Syncing via iTunes should work, but is clumsy.

    Yes, Dropbox is less secure than wifi, and some people won't use it, but many are happy. The Agile people themselves use it.

  • khad
    khad
    1Password Alumni

    Thanks for taking the time to contact us, fullboat2. I'm sorry that you are having so much trouble. As danco mentioned, the old Wi-Fi syncing method never made it into 1Password 4 for iOS since it was very brittle. You can review the Wi-Fi Sync Troubleshooting Guide yourself to see just how many things could go wrong.

    And this list didn't cover everything as we still have customers with unusual network configurations and have never been able to sync via the old Wi-Fi method. It's very frustrating to the users and for us. It may have worked well for you, but it was a nightmare for many other users.

    There are some valid use cases at the moment where direct sync is needed, though. For example, a really nice fellow from China emailed us explaining that the Great Firewall prevents all Dropbox access and he's been using Wi-Fi syncing as a workaround until iCloud syncing is available for Mac. We told him to keep using version 3 for now until iCloud support is available for Mac.

    Then there's the user experience itself: even when Wi-Fi worked it was cumbersome. You had to start 1Password on each device and trigger the sync. If you added new accounts and forgot to sync (or remembered to sync one device but not the other), you'd be without your data.

    For 4 years, all we heard about Wi-Fi sync was that it is a huge source of problems and disappointment for our customers. We rewrote 1Password from the ground up for version 4. There is no code shared with version 3. Re-implementing Wi-Fi sync again was never on the list.

    The iTunes File Sharing is more secure than Wi-Fi sync and does not have any of its connectivity issues. It is less convenient though. So we looked at ways to make things easier and have now rolled out USB syncing in beta form.

    If you cannot use Dropbox, you will be able to use iCloud in the new year when it's available on Mac. If you are unable to use iCloud and Dropbox and the iTunes File Sharing doesn't suit your needs, USB syncing is a great option.

    We're always evaluating new sync options, and we are very pleased to continue to offer a solution via USB where you can sync without relying on a central server but without all the heartache that Wi-Fi caused.

    All that said, Dropbox syncing is extremely secure.

    From the moment we designed the Agile Keychain data format we ensured that it was able to withstand an attack should your data fall into the wrong hands, either as a result of a Dropbox breach or if someone physically stole your computer. As such, we use AES encryption with PBKDF2 key strengthening to protect your sensitive 1Password data as well as many other mechanisms to stop an attacker from ever accessing your information and we detail this here:

    Security of storing 1Password data in the cloud

    So, as long as you use a secure master password that you don't use elsewhere, your 1Password data is incredibly safe even when stored on a service like Dropbox. If you're not sure about the strength of your master password, please do take a look at our recent blog post on this:

    Toward Better Master Passwords

    I can't think of many better ways to show just how strongly 1Password protects your data than by pitting it against the pre-eminent password cracking tool John the Ripper. We did exactly that:

    1Password is Ready for John the Ripper

    But the choice is yours to make. You can sync via USB if you are cloud averse. :)

    1Password USB Syncing

    All of us at AgileBits use and recommend Dropbox syncing as it is fully automatic once you turn it on. You never have to manually open 1Password on both your Mac and iOS device at the same time like you used to for the old Wi-Fi sync. There is nothing to remember (or forget). It just works.

    If you are having trouble setting it up, can you please tell me which step in the User Guide you are stuck on?

    How To: Set up Dropbox syncing with 1Password

    Again, once you enable Dropbox syncing as outlined in the User Guide, it should Just Work. The process is essentially as simple as clicking a button in 1Password's preference on your Mac and flipping a switch in 1Password's settings on your iOS device(s). if you create a new Secure Note in 1Password on your Mac, is it not showing up in 1Password on your iOS device(s)?

    Please let me know. I'd be more than happy to further assist you.

    Cheers!

  • fullboat2
    fullboat2
    Community Member

    Khad, thank you for your informative reply. My post was filled with frustration as I'm sure you noticed. I decided to go ahead and set up the Dropbox account for now and it seems to be working fairly well. I used to enjoy having two separate passwords for the databases...one on my computer which was slightly more secure and one on my iPhone which was a little less secure (and easier to enter) but you had to go through three layers of security to get to. Now it appears both DB passwords have to be the same. Which is no big deal I guess, just sort of a pain on the smaller keyboard of the iPhone. Anyhoo, thanks again for the reply....

  • khad
    khad
    1Password Alumni

    I'm glad I was able to help. You might find the Quick Unlock Code to be very helpful (Settings > Security). It allows you to create a 4-digit code for quick access to the app on your phone as you switch back and forth among other apps. You'll always need to enter your full master password when 1Password is opened for the first time, but you can configure your security settings to suit your needs.

    I hope that helps. :)

    Cheers!

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