Chapter 7 · 7.2
Forgot your master password? What you can still do
Proton and 1Password don't know your master password and can't look it up for you. WebOké can't either. Still, there are a few things you can try first. The better you prepared in advance, the better your chances.
With Proton Pass
With Proton, there are two steps: setting a new password and opening your data again. Not every method does both.
| What do you have? | New password | Vault open again |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery phrase (twelve words) | Yes | Yes |
| Recovery email address or Recovery phone number | Yes | No, you also need something from the rows below |
| Recovery file | No | Yes |
| Device recovery in a browser where you're still signed in | No | Yes |
| You remember your old password later | No | Yes |
- On the sign-in page, choose Trouble signing in? and then Forgot password?. Or go to account.proton.me/reset-password.
- Choose your recovery phrase, or have a code sent to your recovery email address or recovery phone number. Choose a new password.
- If you used the recovery phrase, you're done. Then create a new recovery phrase, because you've now used the old one.
- If you used email or text message, go to Recovery in your account settings. You'll see a message that some of your data is locked. Choose Unlock data, choose your recovery file or enter your old password, and choose Recover data.
- Are you still signed in somewhere? For example in a browser where you ticked Keep me signed in. Then you can often still save your data. Reset your password from that session and export your vault straight away (see Making a backup or export of your vault).
- Emergency access. If you've set up an emergency contact, they can get into your account after the waiting period and change your password (see Arrange emergency access in case you are no longer around).
- Forgot your extra password for Proton Pass? Then you can no longer get into Proton Pass, even if you still know your Proton password. It can only be turned off with the extra password. Contact Proton's customer support, but don't count on it working.
- Forgot your PIN? After three wrong attempts, you have to sign in again with your password. Then you set a new PIN.
With 1Password
- Check your Emergency Kit. You may have written your account password there (see Creating a 1Password account on 1password.eu).
- Can you still unlock with your finger or face? With Touch ID, Face ID, Windows Hello or your fingerprint on Android, you can sometimes still get in. This won't work for long: after a while, 1Password asks for your password anyway. So export your vault straight away (see Making a backup or export of your vault) or search your vault for your account password.
- Try another device where 1Password is still open.
- Use your recovery code. On the sign-in page, choose Can't sign in? and then Use recovery code. Enter the code, then the code 1Password sends to your email. You choose a new account password and get a new Secret Key. Your items are kept.
- Ask your family organiser or administrator. In Families, Teams and Business, they can recover your account. You'll then get an email to choose a new account password.
- Last resort: start over. If nothing works, create a new account. Your old items will be gone. If you have a backup (see Making a backup or export of your vault), import it into your new account.
Lost your Secret Key? It's stored on every device where you're already signed in. In the app, click your account at the top of the sidebar, choose Manage Accounts and click Show next to the Secret Key. It's also in your Emergency Kit: search your Downloads folder for the PDF 1Password Emergency Kit. 1Password itself doesn't have a copy.
Please note: 1Password will never ask for your account password, your Secret Key or your Emergency Kit. Proton will never ask for your password or recovery phrase. If you get such a request by email or phone, it's a scam.
Afterwards: start again
If your vault is truly lost, restore your accounts one by one using each website's forgotten password option. Start with your email, because that's where the recovery emails arrive. For WebOké: see Setting, changing or forgetting your password for My WebOké and Changing or forgetting your password for Nextcloud.
Please note: Prevent this. Write your master password down on paper, keep your recovery phrase or Emergency Kit and recovery code safe, set up emergency access and make a backup. It takes fifteen minutes (see Your master password: create it, store it and never lose it).