Switching between family members in Family Account

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Cari
Cari
Community Member

I have 1Password installed on my Macbook, iPhone 7, and iPad Pro. I have a family account, but am only just attempting to add family members. I had added the 1password app on my daughter's computer, and I logged into my own account, not realizing that would mess things up. I invited her to join, she accepted, I confirmed. She can go on 1password.com, sign in, and view her currently empty private vault, the logins which I imported for her, and the shared family vault. However, when she attempts to use the app on her computer, the only master password it will accept is mine, and it goes to the full family account I set up (with access to ALL logins/passwords) and not her personal account. If she attempts to use her own master password, it will not accept it. We have tried quitting the 1Password and 1`Password Mini apps on her computer, deleting the app, and reinstalling, but it will still only accept MY (the family) master password. I'm at a loss here.


1Password Version: 6
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: OS 10.12.6
Sync Type: Not Provided

Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    @Cari: Thanks for reaching out. I’m sorry for the confusion! 1Password will use the Master Password of the first account/vault setup in it for unlocking, so you'll need to sign out of your own account completely there (Preferences > Accounts). That way she can sign in to hers and use her own Master Password and data. I hope this helps. Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions! :)

  • Gardatek
    Gardatek
    Community Member
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    I also setup the master family account on a company owned laptop (not knowing that I couldn't just sign into any of our family's profiles on any of our devices). I want to use my personal login on the company laptop and the master account on the one that is setup. @Carl, you answer above makes it look like we can just go into Preferences>Accounts and log out but I sure can't find anything relating to Log Out in Preferences>Accounts. On the PC I did see an option that looks like a logout but the wording makes it look like all of the vaults saved on that PC will be removed and I get the impression I might have to start from scratch with adding logins.

    I am the Director of Training & Support for a software company and am pretty tech savvy, but I have to say that the setup of this whole thing and the terminology you use for different things isn't intuitive to me at all. Once it's setup it's nice and easy to use, but getting there was a struggle. How can I log out of my personal account on my PC and into the master account and log out of the master on my laptop and into the personal account? Or does it even really matter? If I make my personal account a Family Organizer, is that basically the equal to logging into the master account?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    @Gardatek: I think there may either be some confusion, or you are just trying to do things a bit differently. Can you explain the distinction and setup you're trying to achieve with a "master account" and "personal login"?

    Just to clarify a few things, you're right: you're not meant to sign in and out of the apps repeatedly. There shouldn't be a problem with doing so, provided you're online and 1Password was able to send all of your data to the server first (if you'd made changes). But 1Password just isn't designed with this use case in mind, so it is not a smooth process.

    1Password.com memberships are also intended to be used one account per individual (at least within a family — obviously some folks have a family account as well as a team account). If you're setting up two 1Password.com accounts for yourself within your 1Password Family plan, that's probably unnecessary. You're complicating things a bit, and also taking up one of your "slots" for family members If this is what you're doing and you have a specific reason, knowing that might help me make a recommendation though. Let me know!

  • Gardatek
    Gardatek
    Community Member
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    Yes, I probably did over complicate it. When I first set it up, I used an email account that both my wife and I have access to thinking that way either of us could log into that - the Master account. Then I invited everyone in the family (including myself for my own passwords) and discovered that I probably should have just setup myself as the initial master account. Now that I've done it, I'd like to just ditch the master account in favor of each of us with our own, but I'm sure I can't do that even if I have assigned myself and my wife as Family Organizers.

    Here's my main concern: The master account is setup on the company laptop. What if I get a new laptop or leave the company? I would want to log into the master account on one of my other computers, but each of those have already been setup with one of the other accounts. So how would I get into the master account then? Or transfer the master account to the PC that has my personal account on it?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    Yes, I probably did over complicate it. When I first set it up, I used an email account that both my wife and I have access to thinking that way either of us could log into that - the Master account. Then I invited everyone in the family (including myself for my own passwords) and discovered that I probably should have just setup myself as the initial master account. Now that I've done it, I'd like to just ditch the master account in favor of each of us with our own, but I'm sure I can't do that even if I have assigned myself and my wife as Family Organizers.

    @Gardatek: Thanks for getting back to me! While that isn't quite how 1Password.com is designed, that makes sense. I can especially see where that might seem natural if you'd been sharing 1Password between the two of you before 1Password.com.

    I guess let's think of it this way: when you first sign up for a 1Password Families plan, that initial account is what you're referring to as the "master account". That makes a lot of sense, but strangely I can't say it's come up before so we just don't think of it this way generally. You're right though that that original account is the one responsible for billing and overall account management, so it is slightly different than even another Organizer you setup.

    Here's my main concern: The master account is setup on the company laptop. What if I get a new laptop or leave the company? I would want to log into the master account on one of my other computers, but each of those have already been setup with one of the other accounts. So how would I get into the master account then? Or transfer the master account to the PC that has my personal account on it?

    If you get a new laptop or have to turn it in to the company, you can always just deauthorize that device and sign in to your account on a new one. That part's easy.

    I'd definitely recommend setting up things with each of you having your own, just so you can each have your own Master Password and Personal/Private vault, and it will simplify things sharing and account management since everything is designed with separate accounts in mind. Since clearly you and your wife don't have trouble sharing an account, there probably won't be any issues with what I'm proposing for you to migrate to that setup, but please let me know if you have any concerns:

    1. Treat the "master account" as yours (so that you'll still be in charge of billing, if that's what you want)
    2. Make sure your wife sets up her own personal account
    3. Sign in to both on a device so she can move her data to her new account
    4. Set her new account as an Organizer too if desired
    5. Move anything else you need to your "master account" (it sounds like you might have some stuff in the personal account you setup separately)
    6. Sign out of any accounts other than the "master account" on your devices
    7. Have your wife sign in to her new personal account on hers
    8. Delete any unneeded accounts (after ensuring you've moved all the data elsewhere) — for example, the personal account you'd created for yourself

    Now, this is just what I'd recommend based on how 1Password.com is designed, and the intentions you've expressed to me. There's nothing wrong with using things the way you have been, or another way entirely. But I feel like doing this would reduce confusion, and you can still share data with all family members using the Shared vault, and create additional vaults to share explicitly with your wife. I hope this helps. Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions! :)

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