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1P_Blake
Community Manager
Community ManagerIntroducing a simpler, faster way to unlock 1Password
Hey 1Password Community! We’ve been working on a simpler faster way to unlock 1Password without compromising the security you trust.
Unlock with your device
With the new Unlock with Device setting, 1Password opens alongside your Mac or Windows PC. It uses the same secure authentication your device already trusts, like Face ID, Touch ID, a PIN, or a password.
It’s completely optional and backed by the same end-to-end encryption that keeps your data protected today. When your device verifies you, 1Password now recognizes that verification too, so you can get fast-tracked into 1Password right away.
Initial app unlock presets policy prompts on both desktop and laptop
Security your way
Along with the new unlock with device functionality, we’ve introduced updated security presets to let you choose how 1Password locks and unlocks:
- Convenient: Locks and unlocks automatically with your device
- Balanced: Unlock once every 8 hours, then unlocks with your device
- Strict: Locks whenever 1Password isn’t in use
You can view or adjust these settings anytime in the Security section of the app.
Updated 1Password security settings to correspond with the new preset updates
Keep your recovery options close
If you select a more flexible unlock option, 1Password will prompt you to create a recovery code, an easy safeguard in case you lose access to your device or forget your password.
Tell us what you think
We’d love your feedback as we roll out these updates. How does the new device unlock experience feel? Which preset fits your workflow best? Share your thoughts below!
Please note that this does not apply to 1Password Business plans. We're rolling out these new settings to our Individual and Family plans first. If you’re a 1Password Enterprise Password Manager administrator, be on the lookout in the next coming weeks for an exciting announcement on improvements to the EPM experience. In the meantime, nothing will be turned on for Business accounts without admin consent or approval.
Thanks everyone for jumping in here and sharing what you’re seeing!
If you’re already running the latest version of 1Password (currently 8.11.18) you’re on the right version for these new unlock presets. Nothing extra needs to be installed. This rollout is happening through a feature flag, which is why some people are seeing the new options immediately and others aren’t.
When the new unlock presets don’t show up right away, it’s usually one of two things. The app hasn’t picked up the feature flag has changed yet, or there’s a 1Password Business account added in the app alongside your personal account. Business accounts don’t support these new presets right now, so the app hides them when one is present.
Locking and unlocking 1Password will usually trigger the new unlock presets showing up for you. A quick quit and restart of the app can help too, and the new presets should appear in Settings > Security once everything updates.
If you’ve tried the steps above and the presets still aren’t appearing, or something just isn’t working the way it should, feel free to reach out to us at support@1password.com and we can take a closer look.
32 Replies
Using a Family account with version 8.11.22 on Linux (Fedora) and I also don't see these new features. Will it become available on Linux, too?
Hi,
I am on 1P 8.11.22 and according to Advanced release channel Beta.
In security section I see:
Does this mean I am using the new biometric unlock mechanism?
I know this sounds silly, but this is different to having passkey unlock? I really want to unlock the account using a passkey stored in iCloud Keychain, and delegate the unlock security to macOS/iOS.
- 1P_Dave
Moderator
Thanks for the question. The feature being discussed in this thread is called Unlock with device which is different than passkey unlock. Device unlock allows 1Password to unlock when you unlock your device: Unlock 1Password when you unlock your device
From your screenshot, it doesn't look like the feature is available in 1Password on your Mac. Are you using a 1Password Business account? If you are then make sure that your administrator has enabled the feature. If you're not using a 1Password Business account and still don't see the option then let me know.
-Dave
Hi Dave,
Yeah I use my laptop for both personal and work, and while I normally use a 1P family account I also have a 1P business account from work, so that explains why I'm not seeing it.
I'll just wait until the roll out for 1P business accounts.
It doesn't work. New features finally appeared, but 1PW does NOT unlock when device (MacOS) unlocks.
The implementation is a little "iffy." Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. My guess is that 1PW is communicating with their servers in some way to activate this feature. I'd still testing.
I'm using the latest production versions of 1Password on my Mac, iPad and iPhone (8.11.18). All devices are using the latest official OS. I can see Convenient preset only on Mac, on iPad and iPhone I can see only two options in Settings: Balanced and Strict. Do you know why Convenient is not available on iPhone/iPad?
I have Balanced preset set on all devices and am confused how it works. On iPhone and iPad I have "Unlock with device" option turned on and "Ask to unlock again" set to "After 10 minutes".
When I unlock iPhone, 1Password is unlocked. But then I lock the phone and when I pick it up again after over 10min, unlocking iPhone does not unlock 1Password. I need to unlock 1Password with FaceID to open it. I think it should not work like that, because in this case, "Unlock with device" works only once. I would expect that unlocking iPhone with FaceID always unlocks 1Password for 10min. And then, when I actively use phone (e.g. watching YouTube), 1Password locks after 10min even though iPhone is unlocked all that time. In a nutshell, unlocking iPhone with FaceID shall always reset 10min timer for locking 1Password.
- 1P_Dave
By default, 1Password on mobile will only unlock using your device if you've accessed 1Password within 10 minutes of your last unlock. You can adjust this by following these steps:
- Open and unlock 1Password.
- Tap the icon for your account or collection at the top left and choose Settings. (If you’re using an iPad, tap your account or collection at the top of the sidebar.)
- Choose Security.
- Change "Ask to unlock again" to your desired duration.
Security presets vary across platforms based on the nature of those platforms and the unique threats that they face. Since mobile devices are shared and handled publicly more frequently, 1Password on those devices avoids being unlocked for extended periods of time.-Dave
Hello Dave, that's what I did already, but it doesn't work.
Maybe it's intensional that it doesn't work as I understand it with certain settings, but then the documentation and explanation should be improved.
Same here. It even doesn’t work as expected when you configure that it should never lock. It’s annoying and in the current state the feature is useless.
Will "unlock with Mac password" and/or "unlock with device" be the default? I.e., will the default setting be Balanced or Strict? For some family members who allow other people to use their devices sometimes, I'd want to make them aware to change their settings if otherwise people could get to their 1Password by being on their computer.
- 1P_Dave
Thanks for the question! The default is unlocking 1Password using your account password. You can share the following guide with your family members to encourage them to check their unlock settings: Manage your unlock and auto-lock settings in 1Password
I hope that helps!
-Dave
- 1P_Blake
Thanks everyone for jumping in here and sharing what you’re seeing!
If you’re already running the latest version of 1Password (currently 8.11.18) you’re on the right version for these new unlock presets. Nothing extra needs to be installed. This rollout is happening through a feature flag, which is why some people are seeing the new options immediately and others aren’t.
When the new unlock presets don’t show up right away, it’s usually one of two things. The app hasn’t picked up the feature flag has changed yet, or there’s a 1Password Business account added in the app alongside your personal account. Business accounts don’t support these new presets right now, so the app hides them when one is present.
Locking and unlocking 1Password will usually trigger the new unlock presets showing up for you. A quick quit and restart of the app can help too, and the new presets should appear in Settings > Security once everything updates.
If you’ve tried the steps above and the presets still aren’t appearing, or something just isn’t working the way it should, feel free to reach out to us at support@1password.com and we can take a closer look.
So will this feature be available in the future for all of us that are on a business plan?
- 1P_Dave
Thanks for the question! The feature is now available for 1Password Business users, if you still don't see it then reach out to your admin so that they can check whether they've enabled the feature on their end: Enforce unlock and auto-lock settings in 1Password Business
Note: There's currently a bug preventing the new unlock experiencing from showing up for 1Password Teams users. Our development team is working on a fix.
-Dave
It doesn't work that well from what I find so far.
Have it on balanced on my MacBook (Tahoe) and ive had to unlock 1p twice so far this morning, when I should only need to do it once every 8 hours.
Also my iPhone and iPad is missing the convenient option, not that I would use this on them.
Not working for me. 2 reboots and the setting keeps reverting back to balanced instead of convenient every time I check. Also 1Password is not unlocking when I unlock my device.
migrated this comment to a more appropriate post.
You need to restart your device. It works then.
Just rebooted. No difference.
