Problem adding a backup

Bruce_Abel
Bruce_Abel
Community Member

Hi,

I recently went through the process of removing my old 1Password for Mac Vaults (previously managed via a Dropbox Share) – as I now manage everything via Dropbox for Teams.

All the old vaults were unshared from within 1Password for Mac Application preferences, then removed from the Dropbox folder, then the vaults deleted from the Mac Application.

Once that was done, I added the credentials to the Mac Application allowing it to connect to the Teams account. This worked and now the only Vaults present are the Teams ones.

I still want top run the Mac Application occasionally, so that I am able to manage backups. I will do this until such time as a Backup feature is provided from Dropbox for Teams web-app.

From the Mac Application I went to preferences > backups and deleted all the old backup files. I then created a new Backup by clicking "Backup Now". However I am now having trouble adding the new ones to list them. The application seems to be creating the new files OK, but it won't allow me to add them to the list of Backups (now empty of course). As I am unable to add them, I am also unable to select them to do a "Restore".

I have attached some screen captures to Illustrate.
http://imgur.com/a/pDzkx

I have already removed the application and re-installed it. Not sure if I managed to do this properly, as it is still able to identify the original licence file.

Any assistance would be most appreciated - I feel a little vulnerable with no Backup mechanism in place.


1Password Version: 6.3.1 (631006)
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.11.5
Sync Type: 1Password for Teams
Referrer: forum-search:backup

Comments

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Bruce_Abel,

    Thanks for reaching out to us for help! Sorry to hear you're having some trouble with 1Password backups, but I'm sure we can get things sorted out one way or another.

    I'm not sure I understand a few things you mentioned, so it'll be helpful for us if you could clarify some details:

    I recently went through the process of removing my old 1Password for Mac Vaults (previously managed via a Dropbox Share) – as I now manage everything via Dropbox for Teams.

    It sounds like you previously synced your 1Password vaults via Dropbox, but now you have a 1Password Teams account. But I'm not sure what you mean by "manage everything via Dropbox for Teams" since 1Password Teams doesn't have anything to do with Dropbox. Did you simply mean you've migrated your data from the old vaults to your new Teams vaults?

    All the old vaults were unshared from within 1Password for Mac Application preferences, then removed from the Dropbox folder, then the vaults deleted from the Mac Application.

    So you disabled sync for the old vaults, deleted the sync files (.agilekeychain or .opvault) from Dropbox, and then deleted the vaults from the 1Password app on your Mac. I just wanted to double-check: Did you move the data from those vaults to your new Teams vaults first?

    Once that was done, I added the credentials to the Mac Application allowing it to connect to the Teams account. This worked and now the only Vaults present are the Teams ones.

    Glad to hear you're up and running with your Teams account in 1Password for Mac! To make sure I understand your setup, did you also delete your Primary vault after signing into your Teams account? The Primary vault is a standalone/local vault which is not part of your Teams account. It's not necessary to delete it, I was just curious about that in case it makes a difference for troubleshooting purposes.

    I still want top run the Mac Application occasionally, so that I am able to manage backups. I will do this until such time as a Backup feature is provided from Dropbox for Teams web-app.

    As I mentioned above, Dropbox and 1Password Teams don't really have anything to do with each other. Are you requesting the ability to store backups of your Teams data in Dropbox? Or if not, can you elaborate on what sort of backup feature you'd like to see?

    From the Mac Application I went to preferences > backups and deleted all the old backup files.

    There's no option to delete the backup files from the 1Password preferences, so I'm assuming you clicked the Show Files button and delete the backup files from the folder that opened. That's fine, but I'm curious if there was a particular reason you did that? You probably don't need them as long as you've moved all your data over to your Teams account, but those backup files won't cause any problems.

    I then created a new Backup by clicking "Backup Now". However I am now having trouble adding the new ones to list them. The application seems to be creating the new files OK, but it won't allow me to add them to the list of Backups (now empty of course). As I am unable to add them, I am also unable to select them to do a "Restore".

    Thank you so much for the screenshots! They're very helpful. When you click Backup Now, the new backup file should appear in the Preferences > Backup window right away. So you shouldn't need to manually add a new backup file to the list, but if I understand, it sounds like the file was created but doesn't show up in that list. If that's the problem, I'm not sure why that would have happened.

    Have you closed the Preferences window and reopened it to see if it refreshes itself to show the new backup file? If that doesn't work, you can try quitting & reopening the 1Password app to see if that helps. And if it still doesn't show the backup file, go to Help > Troubleshooting > Restart 1Password mini. Unlock 1Password after it restarts and check the Backups - does it show the backup file now?

    Whether or not that works, I wanted to take a step back for a moment to explain that the backup files created by the 1Password for Mac app only backup local/standalone vaults (in other words, the vaults you used to sync via Dropbox). It doesn't backup your Teams vaults, but it doesn't actually need to because those are automatically backed up to the Teams servers. You can restore that data on a new device by simply signing into your Teams account in the 1Password app. You can also use the item history feature to view and restore previous versions of any item in your Teams vaults.

    So, the new backup file you created might not actually have any data in it at all (unless you still have items stored in a local/standalone vault in 1Password for Mac). You can tell by reading the full file name of the .1p4_zip backup file - it's a long name which includes the number of profiles (aka standalone/local vaults), items, folders, and attachments.

    Sorry for any confusion about that! I hope this helps explain how it works. We can certainly help solve the problem with the new backup file not showing up in the preferences, although I'm not sure if that's actually helpful for you since those backup files won't contain your Teams data. But let us know how it all goes and if you have more questions about that! :)

  • Bruce_Abel
    Bruce_Abel
    Community Member

    Hi Drew,

    Thanks for your response. Sorry about any confusion.

    But I'm not sure what you mean by "manage everything via Dropbox for Teams" since 1Password Teams doesn't have anything to do with Dropbox.

    Oops that’s my Typo... I meant 1Password for Teams.

    Essentially we have already migrated all data that was previously managed directly via the desktop application to our Teams account.
    Any old vaults have now been removed from the Desktop version. We are managing only from Teams now.

    I am trying to make sure we have a local backup of the Vaults in Teams, as otherwise we are 100% reliant on the cloud. While I am sure you have very good systems in place – nothing is 100% foolproof. I would sleep at night if I was confident we can generate snapshots every so often.

    I was hoping this could be achieved by syncing the teams items to the Desktop application and then create backups from there. Seems like this is not possible, as Teams accounts are not included in any backup from the Desktop application?

    Additionally, there is no feature from Teams to generate a local backup...

    I am guessing the other problem I mentioned of Backup files not appearing in the list is a moot point at this stage if the above is true...

    Any suggestions?

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Thanks for the clarification, @Bruce_Abel! That all makes much more sense now.

    As I mentioned, the 1Password for Mac app doesn't make local backups of your Teams data. To be clear, a copy of your Teams data is stored locally on your Mac, so you can still access it even if your Mac is offline. But the Backups feature in 1Password for Mac only works to backup local/standalone vaults, not your Teams vaults.

    Your Teams data is backed up on the Teams servers, and I suppose you might also think of the local Teams data on your devices as local backups of the server data. But I know it's not what you're used to, and I understand what you're saying - a lot of people feel better if they have a local backup instead of depending on a backup on some mysterious server somewhere. And to a certain extent, I'm the same way - I prefer to backup my Mac to my own local backup drive. Of course, the advantage of having your Teams data backed up on our servers is that you'll still be able to access that data even if something happens to your local computers and backup drives.

    Although I can't make any promises about if/when we might add a feature to backup your Teams data locally, I'd be more than happy to let our developers know you'd like to be able to do that.

    If you have more questions about that, please don't hesitate to let us know. Cheers! :)

  • Bruce_Abel
    Bruce_Abel
    Community Member

    Hi Drew,

    I just tried this on the desktop application while offline, and the data is visible.

    Presumably there a secure local copy of the Teams vault data on my Mac?

    Is this editable while offline / will it sync to cloud server when I am back online?

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Bruce_Abel,

    Presumably there a secure local copy of the Teams vault data on my Mac?

    That's correct - as I mentioned, there's a local copy of your Teams data on your Mac. When your Mac is offline, all the data you normally see in the 1Password app will still be there, so you can still use it like normal.

    Is this editable while offline / will it sync to cloud server when I am back online?

    Absolutely! When your Mac is offline, you can still view/edit/create/use all your items in the 1Password app like usual. Once you're back online, any changes you've made locally will sync to the server (and to other devices).

    I hope that helps! :)

This discussion has been closed.