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I almost died & 1Password saved the day - now it’s a living hell - I need a new password manager

ruthjanette
ruthjanette
Community Member
edited June 2019 in Memberships

I had a massive stroke 1/7/2016. On my ICU bed after regaining consciousness, I told my daughter “meh” m-e-h is my crypt password. She was then able to keep my life going while I was recovering. Then it happened. I bought a new Mac. I got 1Password from the App store and it didn’t work with my crypt! Holy crap!! NOW what can I do? I’m no longer as smart as I once was and I simply can’t figure out what to do..... There’s this “master p/w” thing and a secret key that is so long I have to keep it in my sock drawer. Worse yet, it says it’s gonna “upgrade” my crypt!!! So what do I do? Cry. Then PANIC!!!!! I have a BSCS 1980 UW Madison and 35 years as a Software Developer b4 I retired in 2015 so I’ve seen some [removed by 1Password staff per forum guidelines] and I feared a busted crypt was about to replicate across all my devices. Disconnect all syncing, run from device to device to disconnect syncing all the while realizing that 1Password is dead to me after it promised I could install it on as many Macs as I want, that was a lie. It was nice while it lasted. My MacBook Air is on its last legs but I can’t get a new one or I’d have no crypt on it. What good is a Mac w/ no crypt? Can I please just buy 1Password 6 for Mac? I’ve had it and its predecessors since 2014 and always kept versions up to date but now I’m stuck with no way out. I think the IOS version still works so I’ve considered just switching to iPads only. But I’m stuck now with a MacBook Pro that can’t have a crypt so I don’t use it even though my poor old eyes really need the Retina screen. I’ve also got 2 iMacs that can’t have crypts so I need to remember to keep my iPhone close by if I need a password. Thank god 1Password worked when I got the new iPhone X. . It’s only out of respect for the good your company has been to me that I’m posting here in a last ditch hope a solution can be found rather than retype everything into what? Keepass? Oh, and I’m now paralyzed on one side and can no longer touch type. Yes, I learned typing in high school, my dad said I had to “in case computers didn’t catch on”, this was the late ‘70’s after all. I tried going to the support page but to log in I need that secret key from my sock drawer so I gave up. 1Password used to make my life so much easier but now it’s impossible to use. Oh and now I’m crying again out of frustration and despair. Catch 22, find your emergency trouble kit or else you can’t get help. Oh and if you try to get help on your old Air it does a 301 moved permanently BTW, I’m a Certified Usability Analyst, and 1Password is now officially “user hostile” in my book. So that’s my use case. Is there any way out? Or should I give up and start retyping everything? Shoot, I don’t want to. I even have old PCs with crypts on them come to think of it. Maybe I can do something useful on those..... Right now my task is to figure out how to either print the crypt or export it to something useful, like a csv for transfer to something new. Hopefully I can do that without needing help or it’s back to the sock drawer for me. IMHO the biggest mistake you made was trying to allow web access to crypts instead of just the physical devices I authorize which let me get away with a weak af password all that time since there are no hackers or thieves with physical access to my devices or my apple id/icloud or my dropbox. What’s my best way out of this crisis? Sorry if this is too honest and blunt but the part of my brain that softened up my descriptions died in the stroke. The only thing worse than a stroke is coming out of it with your crypt as crippled as your body without the intellectual capacity to fix it when you need it most. Oh, and I’m hoping someone here can take pity on me and help me figure out what to do since I’m lost without my crypt and honestly see no way out, there’s no “export all” option, just “create backup”. Maybe I gotta try hacking a binary dump of it... Don’t laugh, I used to read octal dumps for a living back in the 80’s. If developers still had to write their own overlays there would be tighter code......
Tldr; Old lady needs help with 1Password V7 for Mac in the worst way. Pretty Please?


1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: 6,8,9
OS Version: OSX 10.14.5
Sync Type: I’ve used both

Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @ruthjanette: Thanks for reaching out. I’m sorry to hear you've been through all of that, but glad you made it out alive. Compared to that, though it sounds like you've gone off on a bit of a tangent, the rest will be much simpler. To break it down:

    • You can absolutely use the specific version of 1Password for Mac on as many of your Macs as you want. So, if you have a 1Password for Mac version 6 license, you just need to install it from wherever you purchased it (our website or Mac App Store) and set it up with your "license". In the case of the App Store, that just means installing it using the correct Apple ID, from your purchase history. In the case of our website, you just need to download it and apply your license. :)

    • We don't have your data or your password though. You'll need to have both, otherwise you will have to start over from scratch. You don't have to pay for the same version again, but we can't give you something we don't have. If you'll let me know the OS and 1Password versions you're using on the device where you have your data, I can give you further instructions. But you will need to remember your password. I know that's a tall order under the circumstances, but there is no backdoor, so I don't want to waste your time by telling you otherwise. :(

    • You will only have one if you've signed up for a 1Password.com membership subscription. That’s the only way you’ll have a Emergency Kit for an account, with Secret Key and Sign In URL, or be able to access your data through 1Password.com. Instead, with a license, you would be using 1Password without an account and syncing your data.

    • Exporting data from 1Password is easy, but trying to import it into another app will almost certainly be more challenging than simply using the version of 1Password you already have, and we can't help you with other companies' software. So I think it might be nest to stick with it. But if you need help exporting from 1Password, let me know what step you're getting stuck on and I can suggest something.

    • I'd recommend a 1Password membership if you do stick with 1Password, since that gives you automatic offsite backup for your encrypted data, and the Emergency Kit will get you back into your account even if all your devices are lost, stolen, or destroyed. You may also want to consider 1Password Families, since that makes it easy to share securely with your loved ones, and also Organizers in the family can help others recover their accounts if they get locked out.

    I hope this helps with some guidance, and be sure to let me know if you have any questions! :)

  • ruthjanette
    ruthjanette
    Community Member
    edited July 2019

    THANKYOU!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I was always just getting 1Password from the App Store which has no legacy versions (or I didn't know where to find it). I should have thought to look on your site... Hmmm. Sometimes it's hard to focus both brain cells (that joke was funnier before I lost half of the right side of my brain to a MCA stroke). I'm not a real Mac person like y'all, thank you for teaching me where to look

    Sorry it took so long to get back to you, we were out of town.

    I just downloaded the 6.8.9 version to my iMac and it looks good so far. I'll do my due diligence and migrate as I can. My daughter has been dying to get back into my crypt, so maybe I'll give the family version a shot. I was, for awhile, syncing thru Dropbox so that I could put a copy on hubby's iPhone without needing both on the same Apple ID.

    Thank you so very much for taking the time to write such a detailed and cogent response! I feel much better now!

    I'm sticking with 1Password for the foreseeable future, largely because you single-handedly restored my confidence! Seriously, major Kudos to you!! Oh, and the App totally rocks too!

    Enjoy your 4th of July!

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @ruthjanette: No worries! Thanks for following up. I hope you had a nice trip -- or at least are comfortably back home now. :) I'm happy to have been able to help in some way, and we're here if you -- or your loved ones -- have any questions. We're here for you. :chuffed:

    Have yourself a great Independence Week! I'm not Canadian, but I don't mind celebrating the milestone of their independence right along with that of the US. ;)

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