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Two factor authentication

andkan7917
andkan7917
Community Member

Hello
I have 1password.com and I have setup 2factor authentication. Usually it works great. But a few time I have experienced that the one time code does not work. I get the message that it is the wrong code. I am sure it is the right one. I then have to enter a new code 4-5 times before it accepts it. After the 4-5 code it accepts it. I am absolutely sure that it is the right codes I enter each time, but it sais that each code I try is wrong until suddenly it works. As I said it is very rare it happens but I has happened about 3-5 times since I set it up a long time ago. Any ideas why?

Best regards


1Password Version: 7.3.684
Extension Version: 4.7.5.90
OS Version: Windows 10 64bit
Sync Type: 1password.com

Comments

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @andkan7917!

    The very first thing that is worth checking is if the time is the same on all of your devices. 2FA is very time-sensitive, so any drift in time on any of your devices could cause the authenticator codes to be rejected.

    A good resource that makes it easy to check this is the following website:

    https://time.is/
    

    After making sure the time is the same on every one of your devices, your authenticator codes should be accepted :)

  • andkan7917
    andkan7917
    Community Member

    Hello
    Thanks for quick reply. I checked and it is the same. The mysterious thing is that it happens only on a rear occasions. Usually it works perfectly.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @andkan7917:

    Is there a specific site where this is happening?

  • andkan7917
    andkan7917
    Community Member

    no it is so strange. It just suddenly happens. Maybe 1 of 20 times. And I always get to enter at the end after trying 4-5 times. So it is not a big problem for me, more just interested in why it happens in the first place. Just wondered if you had something like this happen with others:)

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @andkan7917: I haven't seen this happen other than when the time was off I am afraid. We will keep an eye out to see if we get more reports of this ;)

  • andkan7917
    andkan7917
    Community Member

    ok thanks

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @andkan7917: The service you're trying to authenticate with may simply have very strict enforcement of code expiration. Most will have a 30-60 window on either side of each code where it will still work, and many will also allow the previous and next codes to work along with the current one as well, to avoid issues with time sync on your device.

  • ryanwilke
    ryanwilke
    Community Member

    I was just having issues logging into Nexo.io as a result of time syncing issues. They were recommending that I switch to using a different authenticator app, which I have no desire in doing as that was the only service giving me problems with logging in. That said, the Support team linked me to this article, and I did have issues with the time on my iMac and iPhone not being well synced. It sounds like some authenticator applications have the ability to manually sync the time to help avoid this issue. I guess Google Authenticator is one of them. Is that something 1Password can do as well or does it just trust the time of the device is the correct one?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @ryanwilke: Good question! 1Password uses the device's time. We don't run our own time server, so we would be reliant on a 3rd party in that case again anyway; and 1Password is designed to be able to operate offline, and to not connect unless necessary.

  • ryanwilke
    ryanwilke
    Community Member

    That makes sense. I figured the app was using the time from the device it was running on. I guess it's something to keep in mind for the future. Or even possibly just a note to include somehow next to the "one-time password" fields in case they're not working or they've been copied several times in a row... It'd be good to have some documentation on how to resolve the issue from within the app. For me, I just had toggle my time settings off and on for my computer and my phone.

  • Thanks for the feedback @ryanwilke. :+1:

    Ben

This discussion has been closed.