iCloud Session Expired - Keeps asking me to sign in with my Apple ID

paul_nation

I am repeatedly being asked to sign in with my Apple ID because the iCloud session has expired. I've followed other forum advice and gone to 1Password > Preferences > Sync and selected "none" and re-selected "iCloud" and provided log in details "one more time". It's still broken. It's now becoming such a nuisance as I'm constantly being asked (several times an hour) for the same login details. What needs to be done to get this fixed?

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1Password Version: 6.8.1
Extension Version: 4.6.10.90
OS Version: 10.13
Sync Type: iCloud

Ben

Hi @paul_nation,

This certainly shouldn't be happening more than once every 8 hours (much longer if you select the box to be remembered when logging in). I'd like to ask you to create a diagnostics report from your Mac:

Sending Diagnostics Reports (Mac)

Attach the diagnostics to an email message addressed to support+forum@agilebits.com.

With your email please include:

• A link to this thread: https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/81746/
• Your forum username: paul_nation

That way we can "connect the dots" when we see your diagnostics 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 diagnostics and ensure that this issue is dealt with quickly. :)

Once we see the diagnostics we'll be able to better assist you. Thanks very much!

Ben

paul_nation

Support ID is [#KCL-57785-146]

desertman

The same thing happens to me (macOS 10.12.6) since some time every day (= after each restart). I'm quite sure this behavior started after the last update (to Agilebits store version 6.8.1). Before that it never happened. I therefore don't understand what "this certainly shouldn't be happening more than once every 8 hours (much longer if you select the box to be remembered when logging in)" is supposed to mean.

Is it possible that this has to do with the "phasing out" of stand-alone versions of the software and/or non-Agilebits synchronization options?

Moreover, where is the option thats tells 1Password to remember the login? I don't find it anywhere in the application preferences.

I also created a diagnostics report and sent it to you. The ID is #EHE-67658-284.

PS:
I just found the other thread to the same topic (#81392). I had already the suspicion that this might be connected to two-factor authentication (which I am using). But I'm also sure that this did not occur until very lately (last 1Password update) although I am using two-factor authentication for much longer. I also found the "Remember" option in the Apple ID login - it does not make a difference whether it is checked or not.

It would be great to hear from Agilebit how to fix this - or a clear word that iCloud synchronization should be ditched and Dropbox be used instead.

What I do not quite understand is the option to synchronize via Folder. Would that be a local folder on my Mac, and then the synchronization always and reliably happens when my Mac and iDevices are connected to the same wi-fi net? If that is the case, is that not kind of the least complicated way to synchronize?

Will Dropbox and Folder synchronization remain an option for the foreseeable future? I don't have to use iCloud for this, I just want it to work reliably (and I definitely want to stick to a bought-for-a-one-time-fee version of 1Password).

scoccera

Same problem as above -- iCloud session keeps expiring every day on all my macs (macOS 10.12.6). This just started happening recently (also using 1Password 6.8.1). I'm using the 1Password in a primary vault in iCloud and also team. I did try setting sync settings to 'none' and back to 'iCloud' after, but it didn't resolve the issue. Support ID: [#VFP-14877-273]

Lars

Thanks for the diagnostics report @paul_nation! Can I ask: are you regularly clearing out your cookies from browsing sessions? Say, on exiting your browser?

ref: KCL-57785-146

Lars

@desertman -- Thanks for writing in, and sorry you're having this occur frequently. However, I can reassure you it's definitely not a function of phasing out of standalone versions of the software and/or non-AgileBits synchronization options, because we have no intention of doing either of those things. In fact, we recently announced on our blog that local vaults will exist and standalone licenses will be a purchase option in the upcoming 1Password 7. So no worries on that score. :)

I don't believe this has to do with two-factor authentication, though. Unfortunately, this isn't within our control. Apple controls iCloud authentication, and we do our best to try to adapt to it. For a long time after the switch from Documents & Data format to the newer iCloud Drive and Cloudkit format for iCloud, Apple would allow ONLY Mac App Store applications to sync with iCloud. In fact, that is still primarily the case; I believe we are the only app available outside the Mac App Store that can sync via iCloud. It's a result of us having created AgileCloudSDK, once Apple released CloudKitJS. We've even made this available to other developers, if they wish to try to implement it in their own apps.

Folder sync is the option to have 1Password for Mac sync its internal sqlite database out to an encrypted keychain contained somewhere in a folder on your Mac (or attached drives). It does not actually sync anything between 1Password for Mac and any other copy you may have of 1Password on other devices. Folder sync is primarily a useful tool for local issues - for example, if you have a virtual machine running in Parallels or even a dual-boot system into Windows via Basecamp, you could set up folder sync to an attached USB drive that both macOS and your Windows partition/VM could access. But this would not sync your data with mobile devices, for instance.

If you've gotten this message about re-authenticating more than once, even after checking the Keep me signed in box, then I'm wondering whether you have either security software active or you're clearing your cookies at the end of browsing sessions (or periodically). If you clear out the cookies, that's possibly what's forcing you to re-authenticate more frequently.

To be clear, we don't, as a rule, recommend you use iCloud over Dropbox or vice-versa; both are supported sync methods for standalone users. For the majority of people who are using a copy of 1Password 6 for Mac from us (not the Mac App Store) and who also are choosing to sync via iCloud, checking that "Keep me signed in" box will resolve the issue for 30 days. But it won't rid you of it completely, because this is how Apple - not us - chooses to require authentication to iCloud via CloudkitJS. It isn't something we can fix, because we don't control it. If you're finding it annoying or cumbersome, then you'll have to decide for yourself how important it is to you to keep using our (AgileBits) version of 1Password AND iCloud sync, vs how annoying/disruptive it is to you. If the annoyance is more important, then I'd suggest you switch to either a 1password.com account or to Dropbox syncing.

ref: EHE-67658-284

desertman

Good answer, thanks. It summarizes the whole issue very well. I will probably switch to use Dropbox for synchronizing.

Yes, I do delete my cookies whenever I quit my browser, and I am doing this many times every day. I am still only getting asked to log in again once a day in the morning after turning my computer on.

ref: EHE-67658-284

Lars

Hi @scoccera -- I've answered your particular issue via email. :)

ref: VFP-14877-273

paul_nation

@Lars Thanks for your time looking in to this. Yes, I do regularly clear my browser cache, including tracking cookies (Chrome). However, I've been doing this for quite some time and haven't previously had issues like this until recently. One thing I did pick up from your comments above that I hadn't done was to tick the "Keep me signed in" option. In all honesty I had (wrongly) assumed that was one of those "save your password in your browser" questions, which I don't do (hence why I use 1Password). I've just restarted my computer and have once again been asked to sign back in with my AppleID due to iCloud session expiring. This time I've clicked the option to "Keep me signed in". I'll monitor this over the next 24 hours and see if I'm asked to login again - perhaps that's solved the issue - apologies if that turns out to be the reason. I'll also try clearing my browser cache tomorrow and see if I'm asked to sign back in again, although as I say, I've been doing that for some time and not had the re-login prompt until recently. If you could leave the thread open a little longer and I'll report back on how I get on. Thanks once again.

Lars

@paul_nation -- you're quite welcome! That's what we're here for, after all. :)

Keep an eye on things and let us know how it progresses.

jamjar36

I have the same problem and am always taken to a sign in page that has a box for user name, password and a box to check for keep me signed in but no place to send to anyone using Safari. My Mac Pro 1Password has not synced for 20 days as of today while my iPhones and iPad are working fine over iCloud. I'm not doing anything but basic authentication on any machine so this has to be a bug in the latest release of 1PW. I've been using 1PW since the very early days and this is a very frustrating issue that has me nearly read to dump it and find something else that does work.

jamjar36

I did do the disable sync and then sign back in to iCloud sync. The Mac Pro is now syncing to iCloud and my iPhones correctly. However, I do not want to have to do this every 8 hours or even every day. I have been a long time 1PW user since the very early days. I will be watching this to see how this works over the next few days as this is a very annoying PITA interruption to y work flow when I need to access 1PW and that pop up window freezes my computer until I do something about it!

sjk

Hi @jamjar36,

Glad to hear you got 1Password syncing with iCloud again on your Mac Pro. Sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you.

However, I do not want to have to do this every 8 hours or even every day.

That shouldn't be necessary if you selected the Keep me signed in checkbox when you signed in again. Be sure to let us know if you did select it and are still being frequently prompted to sign in again.

Larry Singer

Why do i have to keep signing in to iCloud to use the safari 1Password extension? I keep being told it is no longer syncing.

GerTeunis

I can confirm this. Over and over again.

GerTeunis

I still see the issue. Did even disable iCloud sync and re-enable it again. Every day it keeps asking for iCloud credentials.

paul_nation

@Lars It's been over 24 hours and no requests for iCloud login credentials. Hooray! In that time I've restarted the device a few times, cleared my browser cache as I've always done, and 1Password has not asked me for iCloud credentials like it was previously. Seems like the "Keep me signed in" not being selected was the cause. Happy to close this question off from my perspective. Thanks for engaging with me.

Lars

@paul_nation - that's great to hear! Glad you're free from annoying requests to reauthenticate. To be clear: you aren't completely free of them; you may have to do this once a month or so. But the every-eight-hours bit should be over. Yay! :)

Lars

Hi @GerTeunis - sorry for the inconvenience. Apple have recently change the timeouts for iCloud re-authentication to 8 hours. You can change this the next time you get the prompt to re-authenticate, by checking the box marked Keep me signed in -- this should reduce the re-authentication requests to about every 30 days.

ref: HPU-71625-394

Lars

Hi @Larry Singer and @GerTeunis -- I've merged your thread with an existing thread, I hope that's OK. We've had a number of reports about this issue, so I thought it would be best to keep the discussion all in one place. Please see the explanation and solution for this issue right above this post. Thanks!

mikeindc

I'm getting the requirement to keep logging into iCloud also, even when I have not cleared out the cache from Safari. The box to keep me signed in is checked. I do have the standalone/one time purchase version. I don't want to use dropbox and am increasily getting frustrated with 1Password.

Lars

Hi @mikeindc -- thanks for writing in. If you've got the Keep me signed in box checked, then I'm not sure what might be going wrong, off the top of my head. Since you're already using iCloud and you say you're not interested in Dropbox, it would be remiss of me not to mention to you that our only other cloud-based sync solution happens to be by far the most trouble free, secure and robust one of all -- a 1Password.com Membership. You can read about the benefits of a 1Password membership here, if you're interested, but one of those benefits is not being at the mercy of Apple's re-authentication rules. However, they extend far beyond having a dedicated sync service built and maintained by us, the same people who wrote the 1Password apps.

If you'd like to continue on with iCloud syncing, I'd suggest disabling iCloud sync in 1Password by going to Preferences > Sync and toggling the drop-down menu to "None." Then quit 1Password, reboot your Mac, and try again - turn iCloud syncing back on, and be sure to check the Keep me signed in box. Let us know if that works for you!

ref: 957184

mikeindc

So far nothing is working, every time I clear the browser cache it asks me to log in again. It really looks like 1Password is no longer working for me and its not worth the subscription cost so I will be looking elsewhere for a password manager.

Ben

@mikeindc,

If you have a subscription I'm not clear on why you're using iCloud with 1Password at all? The 1Password subscription service handles everything iCloud does and much more.

In any event, I'm sorry to hear it isn't working out. I hope you're able to find a solution that you are comfortable with and confident in. If you change your mind we're happy to continue troubleshooting.

Ben

mikeindc

I don't have the subscription, I purchased the standalone version.

Lars

@mikeindc - clearing your browser cache is what's causing this issue. Apple recently changed their security requirements to 8 hours, so unless you're not away from your Mac for long at all, it'll seem like you have to re-authenticate with iCloud every time you use it...unless you check the "Keep me signed in" box. That should last you for 30 days...unless you clear out your browser cache, which will delete the authentication. If you aren't willing to stop emptying your browser cache on a regular basis, you can switch your sync method to Dropbox or you can set up a 1password.com account - the easiest and most trouble-free way to use 1Password.

Thraxmanius

Arrggghhh, I am starting to go mad with this issue. I completed the disable sync and then logged back in to iCloud sync many times now and it is not working for me.

What is going on here, why all of a sudden should this issue raise itself with no appropriate fix?

Lars

@Thraxmanius - Did you check the "Keep me signed in" box on the sign-in page? That's the only solution for this that will work, moving forward. Apple has changed the security requirements for iCloud authentication to every 8 hours, unless you check the "Keep me signed in" box. Try that, and see if it helps.

stomgb

Experiencing the same issue. Switched from syncing via Dropbox to using iCloud.

AGAlumB

@stomgb: As mentioned above, the only solution is to check the "Keep me signed in" box to get a longer authentication token from iCloud, or use a different sync method.