Migrated from eWallet - feedback

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I've been an eWallet user for nearly a decade and have been lured over to 1Password because of its much superior iOS integration (touchId and Safari). I hesitated for a while before taking the plunge because the migration is non-trivial - though it would have nearly impossible without @MrC 's great Perl script!

So here are my impressions, hot off the press:

Even though the user interface may appear less polished than eWallet's at first glance, I actually find 1Password more useable.

My biggest issue is performance. This is on a reasonably capable Thinkpad X1 Carbon with 8GB RAM, running Windows 7 (x64). My main eWallet file contains 362 entries (as I said, I've been using it for a while...). I removed lots of old gumpf before exporting to 1Password, resulting in 238 items, yet 1Password's performance is sluggish compared to eWallet. A number of operations take 5-7 seconds, during which the app freezes and goes "Not responding". There's no CPU spike and the machine has plenty of free RAM.

A non exhaustive list of UI operations that reproducibly cause the 1Password app to grind to a halt for 5-7 seconds is:

  • unlocking the vault
  • deleting an item from Logins
  • clearing the search box after having filtered down the display (on 172 logins)
  • navigating from Accounts (5) to Logins (172) in the left hand panel

Syncing with my iPhone over WiFi is also rather slow at about 44 seconds, compared to eWallet's typical 2 seconds.

I'm fairly confident that the issue is to do with the fact that I store the vault on a network drive because performance was noticeably better when I copied it to the desktop - the size of the agilekeychain directory with all its contents is only about 630KB.

My question is: would using the OPVault format yield better performance? (does that store the entire vault in a single file like eWallet does). If so, is there any reason not to use this format (I only need Windows and iOS)?

Many thanks
Chris

Comments

  • svondutch
    svondutch
    1Password Alumni
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    I store the vault on a network drive

    1Password for Windows is very File I/O intensive. This is why we do not recommend storing your vault on a network share.

    Here are a few things you can try:

    1. File > Repair 1Password Vault
    2. Help > Advanced > Tune 1Password for max performance
  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Thanks for the quick reply. How do you suggest customers keep their vault data safe? Reason I have it on the network is that it sits on a RAID1 NAS drive which is backed up regularly, unlike my laptop's local disk...

    That said, I tried your suggestions and they made a massive difference, to the point where it's actually usable now, thanks.

    You haven't answered my question about the OPVault format? Surely it ought to be possible to keep ~600KB of data in memory, which would nicely minimize network traffic...

  • svondutch
    svondutch
    1Password Alumni
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    How do you suggest customers keep their vault data safe

    In the cloud (for example: in Dropbox).

    You haven't answered my question about the OPVault format?

    opvault is not that File I/O intensive (compared to agilekeychain).

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    opvault is not that File I/O intensive (compared to agilekeychain).

    That's good to hear. So is it ready for prime time? Any restriction to using it in my scenario (WiFi sync to iOS devices)?

  • svondutch
    svondutch
    1Password Alumni
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    So is it ready for prime time?

    It is not ready for prime time, but it should sync with your iPhone over Wi-Fi

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Hi there,

    I've just hit another oddity: I modified some data in a 1Password item on my iPhone, then went to sync with the desktop copy over WiFi. I've been syncing on a fairly regular basis without issues thus far (or none that I noticed) - note: vault is still in 'agilekeychain' fmt.

    Sync'ing went fine (no error msg and "last sync'ed" on the iPhone reports "a second ago" etc), however the item hasn't sync'ed properly, meaning the iPhone vault still has the new data (thankfully) whilst the Windows vault still shows the old data. What's even more peculiar is that "Last modified on" on the Windows entry reflects the time I modified the entry on the iPhone.

    Am I doing smth wrong? This is worrying as it could lead to data loss...

  • MikeT
    edited February 2015
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    Hi @sxc5324,

    What happens if you lock the Windows app and unlock it, does it show the updated data?

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Thanks @MikeT. Tried that and even rebooting my Windows box to no avail...

  • Hi @sxc5324,

    I've been trying to replicate this issue on my PC with the iPhone via the Wi-Fi sync. I'm not able to, so I'd like to try to replicate your steps as much as possible.

    Can you tell me what kind of changes you're making, is it a Login item and modifying its password or something else? As much as details as you can recall, please share it with me.

    One more thing, your iPhone, can you share its details like the iOS version, the 1Password version, and the type of iPhone it is.

    Thanks!

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Hi @MikeT thanks for checking this for me.

    The item in question is a credit card: I just received a new issue of an existing credit card (the old one was expiring), which entailed modification of the number, the "verification number", "Valid from" and "Expiry date" fields.

    This is an iPhone 6+ running iOS 8.1.3 and 1Password 5.2.

  • MikeT
    edited February 2015
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    Hi @sxc5324,

    I agree with brenty, try making a new item with the same credit card data and see if it syncs through. It'll help to narrow this down to a single item. Plus, this will serve as a backup in a different test for the affected item.

    If it does sync through just fine, try making a change to add some content in the note field of the affected item on the iPhone and sync again.

    I've tried several different changes to my credit card item and not able to replicate the issue. It is possible the import from eWallet may be the issue.

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Hi there, I have just reproduced the issue twice (using the lasted version of 1Password for Windows 4.1.0.547). Here's the sequence:

    1) Create new credit card entry on Windows, fill in Title, 1 Tag ("Banking"), Cardholder's name, Type (VISA), Number, Verification Number, Expiry Date, Valid From, Issuing Bank, Phone (local) - leave other fields blank
    2) Sync to iPhone - the card appears in the iPhone vault as expected
    3) Modify following entries on iPhone: Number, Verification Number, Expiry Date, Valid From
    4) Sync again (hoping to update the Windows entry)
    5) The Windows entry keeps old data but has "Last modified on:" field updated to reflect the iPhone modification time.

    Could the bug be triggered by the fact that I'm using the "free" version on my iOS device? I've been holding back paying for the "Pro" version until I'm confident I can use the software satisfactorily (issues documented on this thread).

    Many thanks

  • svondutch
    svondutch
    1Password Alumni
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    Could the bug be triggered by the fact that I'm using the "free" version on my iOS device?

    @sxc5324 No. Can you please update to these versions, and try again?

    • 1Password for iOS 5.2.1
    • 1Password for Windows 4.2.0.548

    Thanks!

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Done & reproduced the exact same problem using documented sequence.

  • Thanks for reporting this behaviour.
    We've reproduced the bug on our end and are working on fixing it.
    We're going to have to ask you to be patient for a bit.

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Thanks @AlexHoffmann glad the issue could be reproduced and that it'll be fixed! This seems a pretty fundamental bug - can you confirm the pattern: does it affect only credit card items or do I have to scrutinize the sync'ing of every modification made on an iOS devices?

  • We can't tell yet. But from what we can see the data isn't lost.
    Please make sure you keep backups like you would usually do. We'll let you know once we finish our investigation of the bug.

  • svondutch
    svondutch
    1Password Alumni
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    @sxc5324 Version 5.2.1.BETA-554 should fix this problem.

    https://app-updates.agilebits.com/product_history/OPW4#beta

    Can you please download version 5.2.1.BETA-554 and confirm the fix? Thanks!

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    @svondutch that seems to have done the trick. As soon as I opened the vault with the beta version, the correct data appeared on the card (including all the ones I had in the trash as the result of past attempts to reproduce the bug). I did repeat the complete sequence once more and can confirm it now works as expected. Thanks for taking care of this nasty bug.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
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    @sxc5324: Awesome! Thanks for letting us know that it is working for you now. On behalf of the S-meister, you are most welcome. Don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of help in the future. :chuffed:

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    @brenty thanks for ur kind offer. Well there is that massive shortcoming re inability to sync multiple vaults over WiFi, which I hit the minute I purchased the 'Pro' iOS version (ie: just after we confirmed that this bug is fixed...). Thread here.

    I hope this is on the list to be addressed real soon - please say! Otherwise I may have to go back to eWallet for good...

  • MrC
    MrC
    Volunteer Moderator
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    I hope this is on the list to be addressed real soon - please say! Otherwise I may have to go back to eWallet for good...

    Oh, no.... you've just permanently soiled your credibility I'm afraid! :-)

  • sxc5324
    sxc5324
    Community Member
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    Not trying to start a flame-war or anything but I don't think the eWallet mockery is justified: it's had this feature (ability to sync multiple "vaults" with iOS devices over WiFi) for smth like 5 years, probably more. I've also never encountered the kind of performance and serious sync issues documented in this thread with eW...

    It's a shame because I really like 1password's superior ergonomics and integration (browser and iOS). I've spent my cash and a fair amount of time trying to migrate - and help fix a nasty bug in the process - but it looks like I've now hit a roadblock on a basic feature so with regret, I don't think I have any other option than going back...

  • MrC
    MrC
    Volunteer Moderator
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    Chris, I was just teasing. No mocking intended.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
    edited March 2015
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    @sxc5324: Different strokes for different folks, as they say! I know 1Password has its own strengths and weaknesses which stem from our particular focus and goals. We'd be sad to see you go, but we'll still be here if 1Password proves to be a better fit for you in the future.

    I know all of us at AgileBits appreciate both the praise and constructive criticism: it's good to hear what you like and what you think we need to improve; both are what drives us. Continue to give us your feedback and we will continue to work on making 1Password even better! :)

This discussion has been closed.