Password Management Proving Very Difficult

I have only the highest regard for 1Password and have no issues with it, but I don't know where to turn for general password management help. My New Year's resolution to shape up my passwords is proving disastrous. I have used 1Password pretty much since its inception and have 457 logins saved. Working through the ones beginning with letter A and now halfway through B, I find that almost half are broken one way or another. I don't take this issue casually and have been quite diligent with updates and changes.

I doubt that others have problems like this, so somehow I missed the secret. There's a quick fix I've missed to keep website data accurate. Websites, especially e-commerce ones, have every incentive to keep customers, however not being able to login consistently and easily is driving me away. Even though I've properly stored site data in 1Password, I still often encounter password and login problems.

How does everybody else do it so that logins remain easy?

George


1Password Version: 6.8.9
Extension Version: 4.73
OS Version: macOS 10.14.3
Sync Type: WLAN

Comments

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @keoki,

    If I find a Login item that I'm sure used to work now doesn't the first thing I will try is copy and paste, make sure 1Password's details are still correct. If that works I will try saving a new Login item using the steps outlined on our support page How to save a Login manually in your browser and see if a new Login item is all that is needed. If you're still having trouble but you know the credentials are at least correct then it could be the case where 1Password itself struggles with a particular site and we'd want to learn more about where 1Password is failing.

    It may be working through an example or two could help highlight certain issues you're fighting as well rather than trying to view everything from a very high, generalised level.

  • keoki
    keoki
    Community Member

    Thanks for the info. I've used this long enough so I'm pretty good with manipulating the various fields. The problems seem to arise more from the passage of time. AgileBits was founded about 2006, so maybe I started using1 Password about 2008. My 400+ logins have been accumulated for about 10 years. When I first set up a particular site, the login through 1Password worked perfectly. Now it doesn't.

    For example, while working through the letter "B"s, I gave up at Best Buy. I probably haven't purchased anything there for five years. At that time, the login worked perfectly. Now it's "your username and password combination is not found in our database". So now it requires work and time to get back to start all over. This is the kind of thing that is happening over and over and over, making the concept of a password manager less useful than it first seemed. If I have to start from scratch on one-third to one-half of the logins saved in 1Password, then the way I've set it all up is wrong.

    I can't believe others are having problems like this. So again, "How does everybody else do it so that logins REMAIN easy?"

    George

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @keoki,

    The scenario you describe I'm less confident on. If they're reporting that even after the likes of copy and paste I can only postulate that some sites have been pruning dormant accounts but I have nothing to support that theory. Only vaguely in the same area I recently had created an account on the Japanese version of Amazon as they're a separate entity compared to the Amazon deployed in all other countries. I went to log in and ended up in a vicious cycle of it refusing the credentials I believed to be correct or allowing me to create an account, claiming my email address was invalid. A number of days after this and I could sign in. I still have no idea what all of that was about.

    In a couple that you've dealt with, do they acknowledge that you have an account and that you can regain access after using a forgotten password feature or is it even more weird than that?

  • keoki
    keoki
    Community Member

    Some of both. Continuing on with the "B's",

    BMW reads "The information you entered does not match our records".
    Booking.com reads "Looks like there isn't an account associated with this email address. You can create account to access our services".
    Baron Weather reads "Sorry, unrecognized username or password."
    And so on and so on.

    Not EVERY login is wrong, but something like ⅓ to ½ are broken. BlueShield, BofA, Bloomberg and others work fine.

  • keoki
    keoki
    Community Member

    By focusing on these individual sites, I think we're getting away from the bigger picture. Perhaps you've more or less confirmed that others don't have problems like these, so the issue continues "How does everybody else do it so that logins REMAIN easy?"

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni

    Hello @keoki,

    As many as ⅓ to ½ broken can only be described as undoubtedly frustrating.

    I'm not sure there is an easy solution. This is what I would do if in a similar position.

    1. If you can sign in after copy and paste but not from filling create an entirely new Login item using the steps detailed on How to save a Login manually in your browser.
    2. If you cannot sign in even after copy and paste you will need to locate their lost account credentials page, assuming it exists.
      2.1 If a site reports that it cannot find details for the username/email address recorded in your Login item I could only assume you will need to go through the steps of registration once more. They must have purged the account.
      2.2 Once you complete the forgotten credentials path you would want to update the existing Login item during the password reset.

    I can't think of anything that wouldn't be manual and time consuming I'm afraid.

  • keoki
    keoki
    Community Member

    Well, I sure appreciate your giving it a try. This is my New Year's resolution to fix all this, and as the post title says, it's "proving very difficult" with 457 logins. As I mentioned, working alphabetically, I got up to Best Buy before giving up and posting here.

    I think I'll sort by date and just wholesale pitch the oldest ones. Maybe that'll help.

    George

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni

    Hello @keoki,

    It's puzzling that you're having trouble with so many and I would imagine it would be a massive slog to make your way through all of them. I imagine most people would surrender before reaching the end and I include myself in that.

    One way may be to create a second vault and move a bunch of them over. If you find you need to access a particular site and you don't have an existing entry in your main vault you could check the secondary and then decide how you wish to proceed. Make it more a deal with them on a case by case approach as you wish to use a site.

    I'm not sure there is a right or wrong way to approach it. If you're having to either use the forgotten password option or create a new account retaining the old Login item may not hold any use anyway. My suggestion is a tad more conservative in that it means items are readily accessible should the need arise but its whether there is any real need for that or not. It's probably what the individual feels is best I think.

This discussion has been closed.