Why does 1Password for Windows 10 require the "join the family subscription password" to unlock?

Hi Agile-Bitters,

I've been a 1Password user since version 3 and I'm slowly figuring out all of the changes that were involved in moving from a database which I kept synced with Dropbox between my Macs, my iOS devices, and a Windows 7 machine (using the old Windows version.) I've now added a Windows 10 machine to the mix, and although I subscribed to 1Password for Families a year or more back, I hadn't used your 1Password "cloud" online syncing until recently. I believe I've gotten everything moved from my previous "Private" vault synced by Dropbox to a new "Personal" vault on 1Password.com, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why I cannot unlock my database on my Windows 10 machine with my usual "one password" that unlocks 1Password for Mac and iOS. Instead, I have to type in the extremely-long 50+ character "correct-horse-battery-staple" type password that allows family members to join into our 1Password for Families account. Needless to say, this gets extremely tiresome and annoying when I could be typing a 13-14 character password instead. Did something go wrong with my database move? Is this expected behavior on the Windows 10 version of 1Password? (And if so, for the love of all that's good, WHY?) Is there a way I can fix this without shortening the password to join the family account and/or making it the same as my "one password" to unlock my personal vault? (Obviously this would not be a desirable solution.)

Thanks,

-Eric W.


1Password Version: 7.1.567 for Windows
Extension Version: 4.7.2.90
OS Version: Windows 10
Sync Type: 1Password.com family account
Referrer: forum-search:windows 10 family password

Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @ericwacker: Thanks for reaching out! It sounds like there's definitely some confusion. Have you setup different Master Passwords in different places?

    I have to type in the extremely-long 50+ character "correct-horse-battery-staple" type password that allows family members to join into our 1Password for Families account.

    This sounds like you and your whole family are using the same 1Password account with the same Master Password, instead of each having your own under the 1Password Families plan. Is that the case?

    I guess the main question in order to move toward a solution is, are you able to sign into the 1Password.com website in your browser and access all of your data there? Let me know.

  • ericwacker
    ericwacker
    Community Member

    Hi Brent,

    Well, up until now "my whole family" just involves my wife and I. But now that we've got an online vault and we're beginning to think about emergency "what-ifs" (like what our son might need if we get hit by a bus, etc.) I'm thinking about a Shared vault, and my wife's dad is interested in 1Password as well.

    That said, I tried logging in at 1Password.com as you suggested and it does require the 50-character diceware phrase as the password, not my 13-14 character "one password." Is that supposed to be my personal master password instead of a password for joining the family account? If so, is the only piece of information family members need to join [teamname].1password.com account the "Secret Key" of A3-XXXXXX-YYYYY-ZZZZZ-VVVVV-QQQQQ? (i.e., there is no actual password for joining the group?) I guess I had assumed it was a two-part sequence, like a username and a password.

    If I completely misunderstood how this works and the 50+ character passphrase is my "new" 1password master key, why does my original (and much shorter) "one password to unlock everything" still work to unlock my 1password app on my Mac and iOS devices? Especially now that I've disabled the Private vault and am only using the "Personal" online vault?

    Best regards,

    -Eric W.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @ericwacker: You have completely misunderstood how 1Password.com accounts work, but that's totally our fault. I apologize for the confusion. I'll try to clarify:

    Each 1Password.com account has its own Master Password (of the user's choosing) and a random Secret Key (e.g. A3-XXXXXX-YYYYY-ZZZZZ-VVVVV-QQQQQ). These are both used to encrypt the data, and neither are ever transmitted to us. That way, even if an attacker steals the encrypted database from our server, they cannot decrypt it. And they will also not be able to simply attempt to guess your Master Password; they'd need to simultaneously guess the (128-bit) Secret Key.

    And in the case of a 1Password Families plan, each person you invite will have their own 1Password account, with a Master Password they choose, a unique Secret Key of their own, and a Personal/Private vault that no one else can access.

    In practice, as a user, you're only entering the Secret Key the first time when authorizing a device. After that, you can unlock 1Password there with just your Master Password. I think what's throwing you off is that you were already using 1Password without an account, and when you setup your account you chose a different Master Password for it.

    We recommend using a single long, strong Master Password instead of different ones to avoid this sort of confusion. Maybe you used a different one when setting up the account because you wanted to make it stronger. That's great! But it sounds like you still have your original setup in the app(s) and are either not using the account to store your data at all, or you've got some weird hybrid setup.

    If you sign into 1Password.com in your web browser, do you have all of your data there? If so, you can remove the old vault from the app (resetting the app is a quick way to start over, so you can set it up only with your account). And then once you have only your account setup in the app, its Master Password will be the one used to unlock it, same as on the website.

    Anyway, I hope that helps a bit but definitely let me know if you have any followup questions. :)

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