Wi-Fi Sync worked for 2 months, now fails after license upgrade

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threadhead
threadhead
Community Member
edited October 2015 in iOS

Wi-Fi Sync worked for 2 months, now fails after license upgrade. Sync IOS -> Mac 10.9.5 1password4. Wi-Fi Sync screen on iPhone Refresh List is always empty


1Password Mac Version: 4.4.3
_Extension IOS Version: Latest
_OS Version: 9.0.2
_Sync Type: Wi-Fi
_Referrer
: forum-search:ios to mac wifi sync fails

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  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni
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    Hi @threadhead,

    Can we just confirm what version of 1Password for iOS you are running please. It might also be worth trying a reboot of both your Mac and iOS device if the issue is related to seeing the Mac at all. For that we use Apple's Bonjour so if it has gotten gummed up at all that would affect it. The reboots will force both devices to broadcast new information about their presence. I often have to do this to get my iOS devices to perform a Wi-Fi Sync with iTunes. If that doesn't help please do let us know :smile:

  • threadhead
    threadhead
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    Thanks for responding. I did reboot everything to no avail. I was however able to sync with a private network, but still no Wi-Fi ...

    I was running version 6.0 but I just checked to be sure and there is a new version of the IOS that just came available (6.0.1). I will install that and report back

  • threadhead
    threadhead
    Community Member
    edited October 2015
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    Just installed and tested 6.0.1 - same problem. It's not the network, Wi-Fi or anything else. It's the 1password software.

    That's unfortunate, looks like I'll have to return it. Without Wi-fi sync, this software is useless

  • threadhead
    threadhead
    Community Member
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    Also ... i was able to sync to a private network again, but the 1Password 4 Mac Desktop locks up after a successful sync - so the issue may be the 1Password desktop software and not the IOS end. Either way, the software is not in a production-ready state.

    Just providing more info

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    @threadhead: If that were true, I wouldn't be able to use Wi-Fi Sync either. I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble, but, to be clear, Wi-Fi Sync depends entirely on your network environment to work properly, and that's entirely outside of 1Password's control. If your devices aren't even able to 'see' each other then something is blocking Bonjour traffic.

    Now, there are some things we can do to help you troubleshoot though! I know you've probably tried some of these steps already, but I want to make sure that we account for every point of failure this time. Please try each of the following:

    1. Make sure your devices are connected to the same network
    2. Reset device Wi-Fi (both devices)
    3. Restart OS (both devices)
    4. Soft-reset router (if possible)
    5. Hard-reset router
    6. Reset sync settings (both devices)
    7. Forget the Wi-Fi network and reconnect
    8. Disable software firewall
    9. Disable security software
    10. If security or firewall software turns out to be the issue, turning it back on and setting an exception for the traffic may work, provided that is an option.*

    *You'll need to open UDP port 5353 for both outbound and inbound traffic, which is the port that Bonjour (Apple's zeroconfig implementation) uses for connecting available services on the network.

    OS X Firewall settings: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201642

    Keep in mind that you may need to set this up in your router as well if it is blocking traffic, but generally that won't be the case.

    You can also set up an ad-hoc connection to eliminate the router as the problem:

    How to create an ad-hoc wireless network

    And finally, if your Wi-Fi setup is simply not conducive to syncing, you can always use Dropbox Sync instead, which tends to work better since they handle all the heavy lifting, rather than depending on your network configuration.

    Please let me know what you find. I look forward to hearing back from you! :)

  • threadhead
    threadhead
    Community Member
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    Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to respond.

    However, there is nothing wrong with my Wi-Fi or Bonjour for several reasons:

    1. I've already tried all of the options you listed
    2. Wi-Fi is working wonderfully on several different devices and applications throughout the office (different nodes and device types - Android, iPhone, iPad, Macs, Windows), several different applications on the same node, and most of all,
    3. It works (mostly) with an ad-hoc network between iPassword 4 OSX Mac and IOS 1Password 6.0.1.

    So as you said above, the devices ARE able to see each other. In fact, as I have already said, I AM able to perform an ad-hoc network connection AND properly sync the devices (almost).

    The problem that occurs when I do that, EVERY TIME, is that the 1Password 4 Mac desktop app locks up and never recovers (requiring a force quit). What this shows is that a connection is indeed established, data is flowing correctly between the 2 devices just fine, but the handshake to terminate when complete is failing (the thread is locking up on the Mac side) indicating a programming / timeout issue not being handled correctly at the application layer. Unfortunately, many of these APIs do not provide a timeout option during communication, so perhaps it is a mismatch between underlying communication library versions between the Mac App and the IOS app? - who knows.

    Even if I were able to get that to work, the "normal" Wi-Fi sync (without an ad-hoc network) doesn't work at all - the 1Password IOS app cannot even "see" the 1Password4 Mac app device WITHOUT an ad-hoc network.

    What I would like to know (before I ditch this app for another that works) is if anyone can reproduce this error using the same hardware / software combination:

    OSX version 10.9.5 (Mavericks) running 1Password 4 version 4.4.3
    IOS 9.0.2 - iPhone 1Password version 6.0.1
    Hardware: just an FYI - Macbook Pro Retina, Mid 2012

    What software /OS versions are you using?

    Dropbox (or any other cloud lazy man "solution") is not an option for me, and a great many of other potential users. None of this data can be hosted in the cloud. That is the whole reason I purchased the desktop app, right?

    It doesn't seem a likely cause, but as I said before, this was all working fine before the timeout with the trial license that expired on the Mac desktop app. After I upgraded the license and paid for it, it no longer works.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    It works (mostly) with an ad-hoc network between iPassword 4 OSX Mac and IOS 1Password 6.0.1. [...] Even if I were able to get that to work, the "normal" Wi-Fi sync (without an ad-hoc network) doesn't work at all - the 1Password IOS app cannot even "see" the 1Password4 Mac app device WITHOUT an ad-hoc network.

    @threadhead: Indeed. If you're able to Wi-Fi Sync between the two devices with a direct ad-hoc connection, this means the problem is on the network itself (or the configuration of one or more devices when connected to the network). That's the whole purpose of ad-hoc: it by passes the Wi-Fi network itself to make a direct Wi-Fi connection between the two, to help determine where the problem lies.

    The problem that occurs when I do that, EVERY TIME, is that the 1Password 4 Mac desktop app locks up and never recovers (requiring a force quit). [...] Unfortunately, many of these APIs do not provide a timeout option during communication, so perhaps it is a mismatch between underlying communication library versions between the Mac App and the IOS app? - who knows.

    Thank you! That certainly helps. Certainly if the app is damaged it could prevent just about anything — Wi-Fi Sync, for example — from working properly. But 1Password 4, 5, and 6 all use the same Wi-Fi Sync engine.

    Dropbox (or any other cloud lazy man "solution") is not an option for me, and a great many of other potential users. None of this data can be hosted in the cloud.

    I am totally comfortable with being called 'lazy', but I'm not sure that every other person who uses Dropbox is. :p

    What I would like to know (before I ditch this app for another that works) is if anyone can reproduce this error using the same hardware / software combination:
    OSX version 10.9.5 (Mavericks) running 1Password 4 version 4.4.3
    IOS 9.0.2 - iPhone 1Password version 6.0.1
    Hardware: just an FYI - Macbook Pro Retina, Mid 2012

    We don't normally test current 1Password versions with unsupported ones, but I deleted 1Password and reinstalled it on my iPhone 6 to double-check this particular configuration — the only difference being that I used a 2013 15" MacBook Pro Retina. Initially the sync timed out, but I toggled the OS X firewall on and off, and then it happened so fast I wouldn't have known it had even worked, had it not populated the freshly-installed app with data.

    Even if I were able to get that to work, the "normal" Wi-Fi sync (without an ad-hoc network) doesn't work at all - the 1Password IOS app cannot even "see" the 1Password4 Mac app device WITHOUT an ad-hoc network.

    Without being able to discover each other via Bonjour, your devices won't be able to connect and sync together. That's why the ad-hoc network is significant. I can't tell you exactly what the issue may be with your normal network configuration, but the steps in my previous post have helped both myself and others sync successfully. But apart from my other suggestions, it's certainly worth a shot to simply drag the 1Password app to the Trash and try reinstalling a fresh copy from our website.

    No need to thank me, though it's certainly appreciated! I am more than happy to reply and continue to working with you on this, but I do worry that we're running out of options. Please let me know how it turns out!

  • threadhead
    threadhead
    Community Member
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    Didn't mean to imply Dropbox users are lazy - I use it all the time. I just meant that a solution of using Dropbox was not an option for me.

    Anyway, I reinstalled the desktop app to no avail.

    I suppose I could delete & reinstall the iPhone app next - that may be the issue as well since that is the app that cannot "see" the desktop app. Of course, that would leave me with possibly no way of using the app at all since all the data will be deleted. Of course, I could export it, back up the data, try to import it in, etc. and hope that works. What a cluster.

    ugh!

    This really, truly sucks. Obviously, I won't be recommending this software to anyone

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    @threadhead: I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps I misunderstood. I was under the impression that your devices were able to discover each other using the ad-hoc connection. Certainly, you can backup your data and reinstall the app to see if that helps before restoring:

    1Password Backup and Restore (iOS)

    Again, I know this is frustrating, but the only appreciable difference between my own setup I tested syncing with earlier and yours is the network configuration. If you're still having trouble and if you've tried what I suggested previously, the best thing to do will be to generate a diagnostic report and send it to support+forums@agilebits.com so we can look at the logs to determine exactly what is happening:

    Sending Diagnostics Reports (Mac)

    Sending Diagnostics Reports (iOS)*

    *In 1Password Settings > Advanced > Diagnostics > Log Settings, enable Sync and Wi-Fi Sync

    Just be sure to include a link to this forum thread and your username in the email so we can 'connect the dots'. We will get to the bottom of this! :)

  • threadhead
    threadhead
    Community Member
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    Thanks - sent the log this morning.

    Also installed the 1Password4 desktop app on a windows machine and the IOS app has the same problem - it can't "find" the Windows Desktop app.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    Thanks - sent the log this morning.

    @threadhead: I'm not seeing it under this email address, but if you can post the Support ID you received from BitBot I'll make sure we take a look at that as soon as possible for you!

    Also installed the 1Password4 desktop app on a windows machine and the IOS app has the same problem - it can't "find" the Windows Desktop app.

    That makes sense. Whatever is preventing the Bonjour traffic from getting through from one computer is also having the same effect on the other. And that indicates something with the network itself, since it isn't limited to just one machine. :glasses:

  • threadhead
    threadhead
    Community Member
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    YPG-22736-192

  • Ben
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    Thanks, @threadhead. It appears we've received your diagnostic report and Yuanou has already started working with you. We'll continue to reply via email.

    Thanks!

    Ben

    ref: YPG-22736-192

  • threadhead
    threadhead
    Community Member
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    FOUND IT!

    @brenty you were on the right track. Turns out, some of of my bonjour-enabled devices were working (printers, etc), others not. I tried everything except for one thing no one mentioned - renewing the DHCP lease.

    Oddly, rebooting the devices and the network does not do this automatically??? Argh !!!!

    For future reference, if anyone runs into this on a Mac, go to your Airport Utility and select your device -> edit -> Internet -> Renew DHCP lease. Then click [update]

    Thanks for all your effort

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    I tried everything except for one thing no one mentioned - renewing the DHCP lease.

    @threadhead: Great googley moogley...

    Oddly, rebooting the devices and the network does not do this automatically??? Argh !!!!

    Aha! Indeed: DNS cache poisoning. This is a problem whose situation has improved within the past few months, but that still plagues many of us it seems. The problem is that because devices often cache DNS information to make connecting easier, if some bad (stale, inaccurate) data is cached by even one device, it can propagate to the others. So the only sure way to clear everything out is to power down any connected devices and hard restart the router — or in some cases, it's possible to manually re-lease all devices, as you did with the Airport. Thank you so much for sharing your results! :chuffed:

    I had thought that this problem was going away, but am definitely adding this to my checklist going forward, just in case. And I'll repeat it here as well, for future generations who may stumble upon this thread:

    Renewing DHCP to reset DNS cache

    Airport Utility > (router) > Edit > Internet > Renew DHCP Lease > Update

    iOS: Settings > Wi-Fi > (network) > Renew Lease

    OS X: System Preferences > Network > (adapter) > Advanced > TCP/IP > Renew DHCP Lease

    Windows: WIN+R > cmd.exe > ipconfig /renew

This discussion has been closed.