EXE Deprecation
As I'm sure the rest of us did, I received the e-mail notice that
- The EXE installer is being deprecated from 11th November 2025
- 1Password will force a re-install to the MSI on all users on 11th November 2025
Deprecating the installer, fine.
But re-installing the application on all devices outside of the scope of our own software controls and only giving 30-day notice is not fine.
The reasons for forcing the EXE re-installations are inaccurate, as we have been using the EXE installer with a "Protected Install" (ie. installed in C:\Program Files\1Password\) for months.
We already disable 1Password updates by using the same registry keys the MSI installer creates for "MANAGED_INSTALL" and "MANAGED_UPDATE" (both set to "1"). Is this enough to prevent 1Password from trying to migrate to the new installation method on the 11th November 2025?
Having to change installation architecture, maybe installation location, and a new version is going to require CAB approval from two different departments, be pushed to pilot groups, re-approved following testing, and then scheduled for the wider business. Only 30-days notice for this type of major change feels like a lack of consideration for customers.
So two things to take away for the 1Password team here:
- Detail methods on how to prevent this change from being automatically pushed as part of the update e-mail and change articles as it isn't clear that just disabled updates is enough
- Give 60 days+ notice on these types of major changes
1Password is the most important software we have in our business. We trust 1Password literally with the keys to every system. It is heavily scrutinised and has to go through several rounds of approval for updates.
