Is it possible to use 1Password X with multiple accounts?

I've looked high and low via Google searches and through every post in this forum category, but can't find an answer...

Is it possible to use 1Password X with multiple accounts? I have one paid account via my.1password.com and another via mycompany.1password.com. In 1Password X > Settings, I can manage to log into both accounts, but can't figure out how to actually switch between those, or better yet, just have the extension pull from all vaults across both accounts (just like the existing apps and extensions). Is this expected to work, and I just can't figure out how to do it? Or does 1PX only support one account right now? Any other thoughts on how to make this workflow work with 1PX?


1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: X 1.5.0
OS Version: macOS 10.13.3
Sync Type: Not Provided
Referrer: forum-search:multpile

Comments

  • goldenratio
    goldenratio
    Community Member
    edited March 2018

    After updating to 1Password X beta 1.5.2, I'm happy to report everything "just works" with regard to multiple accounts and vaults. :)

    I don't have a good explanation as to why this wasn't working in 1.5.0... I couldn't seem to get the second account (my work / for Teams account) to unlock properly.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    Glad to hear that you're enjoying the latest version of 1Password X! Just to clarify in case it help you or anyone else in the future, 1Password X unlocks accounts based on the Master Password you enter. So if all of your accounts use the same one, al of them will unlock simultaneously. Otherwise, you can unlock any given account by entering its own Master Password. Cheers! :)

  • goldenratio
    goldenratio
    Community Member

    Thanks for that detail brenty. I'm actually still having some trouble with multiple accounts, it took a little while for the issue to become clear, but what happens is as follows:

    1) Let's say I'm starting a new browser session, and so both vaults are locked.
    2) I hit cmd+shift+x to unlock the 1PX extension.
    3) I enter the master password for the primary/first vault. It unlocks.
    4) I don't use the same master password for the second vault, so it hasn't unlocked.

    This is really where the UX leaves something to be desired. There's really no clear, immediate indication that the second vault is still locked. I realize it later when all the entries from the second vault are missing from search/autofill/etc.

    What's worse is that there isn't an obvious, easy way to unlock that second vault. If I open the extension, click the gear icon, then click Settings, I now see "(locked)" next to the second vault. But there's no clear way to unlock it. If I click on the name of the second vault, it takes me to https://mycompany.1password.com/signin in a new tab. But after entering the master password, the vault is still locked in 1PX.

    The only way I've found to reliably unlock the second vault, is to go back to Settings in 1PX, click "Remove" next to the second vault, then click "Add an account", then add the second vault back again. At this point both vaults are unlocked and I'm happy for the session, but... there's got to be a better way.

    Am I missing an easier way to unlock the second vault (aside from using the same master password)?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    This is really where the UX leaves something to be desired. There's really no clear, immediate indication that the second vault is still locked. I realize it later when all the entries from the second vault are missing from search/autofill/etc.
    What's worse is that there isn't an obvious, easy way to unlock that second vault. If I open the extension, click the gear icon, then click Settings, I now see "(locked)" next to the second vault. But there's no clear way to unlock it. If I click on the name of the second vault, it takes me to https://mycompany.1password.com/signin in a new tab. But after entering the master password, the vault is still locked in 1PX.

    @goldenratio: Thanks for clarifying. I'm sorry for the confusion. However, that's very much by design. Our recommendation is to use a single long, strong, unique Master Password for 1Password. Using multiple Master Passwords can be, as you note, confusing, and also makes it harder to use (and remember) different strong ones for each.

    The only way I've found to reliably unlock the second vault, is to go back to Settings in 1PX, click "Remove" next to the second vault, then click "Add an account", then add the second vault back again. At this point both vaults are unlocked and I'm happy for the session, but... there's got to be a better way.
    Am I missing an easier way to unlock the second vault (aside from using the same master password)?

    I'm going to assume that you're talking about different accounts and not vaults, since that's what you unlock with the Master Password. And yes, there's an easier way! You can simply lock 1Password X and then unlock again with the Master Password of the account you want to use...or change them to both use the best Master Password you can come up with, which will be better than using weaker ones you can remember for each. I hope this helps. Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions! :)

  • goldenratio
    goldenratio
    Community Member

    I changed the Master Password on the second account to match the first. 1PX works more intuitively now. Thanks for the tip.

    My only feedback is, none of this was intuitive to me. In fact, having the same password on two accounts -- one work related and one personal -- is counter intuitive. Your entire ethos is to not reuse passwords, but in this case, we need to reuse passwords... d'oh.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @goldenratio: I'm glad that helped! And I hear you. But keep in mind that when you signed up for your account the suggestion given at that time, on the page where you're asked to choose a Master Password, that you use the one you're already using for 1Password there unless it's not a good one. So it's not so much that you're "reusing" it; you're using a single good Master Password for 1Password itself — sort of like how you have the same Master Password for accessing probably hundreds of items in 1Password. Not really reuse, just good security. I agree that we can always stand to make the whole process — from signup to everyday use — more intuitive though. Thank you for the feedback!

  • LukinhoCarlos
    LukinhoCarlos
    Community Member
    edited April 2018

    Hi,

    I have the same problem. I have two accounts - personal (family) and work. I CANNOT have the same password for both accounts, because the password for work account has to be in the safe for emergency reasons (and I don't want to put there my personal password!).
    1Password for desktop unlocks BOTH account without problem even if they have different passwords (and iOS and Mac app too...). You only enter the (new/changed/second) password once and you can unlock (both) of your accounts by entering your (first) password. The desktop app remembers the different password for second account.
    This feature should be implemented in 1PasswordX, so you can unlock two accounts with different passwords by entering the (first) one - the same way desktop apps works.

    Please, consider implementing that in 1PasswordX!

    Thank you very much!

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @LukinhoCarlos: Thanks for your feedback on this. You raise a good point. However, I have to ask, why is this the case?

    the password for work account has to be in the safe for emergency reasons

    Could implementing a recovery plan help your company's 1Password Teams account?

    Definitely something we'll continue to evaluate either way, but that may make a difference for you now.

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Community Member

    I've encountered this issue since my company 1Password account is shared. I know, awful, but there it is. So obviously I can't have my personal account and this company account having the same password.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @lmcm: Gotcha. But at the same time, it can be helpful to keep things separate in that case too. What if you unlocked both accounts by entering your personal Master Password but accidentally saved personal data to a vault in the work account? Then someone at the company could access it. Having 1Password X unlock one account based on the Master Password you enter eliminates that risk. Definitely a bunch of different things to consider.

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Community Member

    @brenty: Good point, and really my company is creating it's own problems here. Nevertheless, this is maybe a point where the UI can be improved - it thought it a bug that I couldn't unlock both vaults at once.

  • Hey @lmcm and all,

    We absolutely want to improve the UI for using multiple accounts in 1Password X. The way it works should be much more obvious and visible in the app, and there should be a way to unlock other accounts without locking the whole app. Improving this experience is on our TODO list so thanks to everyone for giving us a push. :)

    -Mitch

  • andy_vdg
    andy_vdg
    Community Member

    Hi guys,
    Just encountered this as well... it should be a bit more obvious in the app that this is how it works rather than having to come to the forums for an explanation.
    I'll change the password on both to be the same (I usually keep personal and business password separate even if it's for the same thing)

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    Indeed, sorry for the confusion there. We explicitly suggest using the same Master Password when you setup any 1Password.com account, so certainly anyone who follows that advice won't run into this kind of issue; but we'll see if we can make the UI more instructive as well. It's just really hard to talk about things in terms of one Master Password versus another, as the whole concept is based on having, well..._1_Password. Thanks for your feedback! :)

  • knelson
    knelson
    Community Member

    +1 for NOT requiring the same password for different accounts. What about having the password for the 'secondary' account be stored as an entry in the Personal vault of the 'primary' account (a vault which isn't shared among other users on the account) for use by 1PX to unlock the secondary account?

    Also, why do multiple accounts work fine in the desktop client but not in 1PX. How is that accomplished and why can't it be done in 1PX?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    +1 for NOT requiring the same password for different accounts.

    @knelson: Just to clarify, it's not required, only recommended. Having multiple passwords to remember encourages us to use weaker ones than we otherwise would, and also makes it more likely that we'll forget one or more of them. That's why 1Password exists, after all! using a single strong Master Password means more opportunities to develop muscle memory too, and less to forget it. But it's totally up to you: if you want/need to use different ones for different purposes, you can. :)

    What about having the password for the 'secondary' account be stored as an entry in the Personal vault of the 'primary' account (a vault which isn't shared among other users on the account) for use by 1PX to unlock the secondary account?

    You can do that too. :)

    Also, why do multiple accounts work fine in the desktop client but not in 1PX. How is that accomplished and why can't it be done in 1PX?

    That's a very good question! With 1Password X, we wanted to try a different approach to a lot of things: unlocking, password generation, filling. Some things have been a huge success and we've begun to bring those changes to the other apps too. Others didn't work out, but still more had mixed results. I think Master Password / unlock handling falls into that category if for no other reason than it is different in 1Password X than in the other apps. I can't say what we'll end up doing, but this is an area we're looking at tweaking. Thanks so much for the feedback! :)

  • carsongross
    carsongross
    Community Member

    I like the suggestion above of having an entry in the personal account for the company account so that it chains through. Making all the passwords the same seems like a hack to me: it works but that's not how things should need to be. The desktop app used a master password for all accounts, so it makes sense for the browser extension to work that way too.

    Thank you for your continued work on this project, it is a big step forward for the open web!

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    Likewise, thanks for your support and encouragement! The way 1Password X works though is intentional, and a lot of folks prefer it this way. It's not really a "hack" to use a single Master Password, as that's actually central to 1Password itself — hence the name. But for folks who don't do that, there are options and we'll continue to evaluate everyone's feedback. Cheers! :)

  • Pyrre
    Pyrre
    Community Member
    edited September 2018

    I have the issue that I have the same password for my work account and my private account, but it will not unlock my work account for some reason.

    But I never put in my secret key in 1password x for my work account, but I can view the account in 1PX settings.
    It doesn't seem like I can remove the account and add it manually.

    What should I do?

    EDIT: Never mind! I got it to work, I was just blind and didn't see the remove button... FML

    I added the account again and now it works!

  • ag_sebastian
    ag_sebastian
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Pyrre, welcome to the forum!

    I'm happy to hear you got the issue sorted out. :)

    If you already have the 1Password X extension installed and you sign in to a 1Password account in the browser, you'll get a prompt to add the account to 1Password X. If you choose to add the account, you won't need to put in your Secret Key again.

    For the others that might stumble upon this topic, you can remove an account from 1Password X if you:
    1. Click on 1Password X icon and unlock your Vault
    2. Click on the gear icon and then Settings
    3. A new Settings tab will open in your browser. Click on Remove next to the name of your account.

    To add an account, click on Add an account and sign in.

    Cheers! :smile:

This discussion has been closed.