How To: Update a Login's Password

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Updating a password has two main components: updating it online and updating 1Password’s local copy. You will need to ensure that both the website and 1Password are aware of the change, or you may have trouble logging in to the site. Think of it like changing the locks on your door but not giving your roommate the new key.

To keep things simple, you can update a password completely within your browser without ever opening the main 1Password application. Nice!

Update the password online

First things first, you will need to log in to the website of the account you want to update and navigate to the site’s "change password" page. Every site is different, but it will often be accessible via a link such as “my account,” “account settings,” or “account preferences.” Once you are viewing the “change password” page of the website:

1. Click the 1Password button in your browser’s toolbar
2. Select the Password Generator (the fourth section from the top represented by an icon of a safe dial).

3. Click the Fill button to automatically fill the generated password into the website’s "new password" form field(s). Feel free to adjust the length, digits, symbols, and other options as needed before filling the password.

   If you need to enter your current password in order to update it:

   • Click the 1Password button in your browser’s toolbar.
   • Click the circled > to the right of the Login’s title to view its details.
   • Click on the concealed password field to copy the password to your clipboard. The "copy" label will briefly change to "copied" to indicate that the password was copied.
   • Paste your current password into the password update form.

4. Submit your new password to the site to confirm the change.

Update 1Password’s local copy

So we’ve “changed the lock.” Now we just need to give a copy of the new key to the cleanest roommate you’ve ever had: 1Password. (Has 1Password ever left dishes in the sink or dirty clothes on the floor? I didn't think so.)

1. Click the 1Password button in your browser’s toolbar.
2. Select the Password Generator.
3. Click the “View password history” button. Your most recently generated password will be listed at the top.
4. Click the circled > to the right of the generated password's title to view its details.
5. Click on the concealed password field to copy the password to your clipboard. The "copy" label will briefly change to "copied" to indicate that the password was copied.
6. Select the Logins section (represented in the extension by a keyhole icon) and click the circled > to the right of the Login title you are updating.
7. Click the Edit button and paste the newly generated password into the password field then click Save.
   

That's it! You now have a strong password for that website. Feel free to rinse and repeat for all the Logins you need to update, especially those ones from Ye Olden Days. You know the ones.

Safety Net: Generated Password Items

If you accidentally forget to update 1Password's local copy of a Login, Generated Password items are a safety net.

A Generated Password item is created each time you click the "Save" button in the generator (within the main application) or the "Fill" button within the generator in the browser extension. You can either search for a specific Generated Password item you are looking for or browse the complete list by enabling the appropriate section in the sidebar (Preferences > General > Display in Sidebar > Generated Passwords). These Generated Password items are completely separate from your Logins (which are used for logging in via the browser extension).

If anyone knows about an abundance of Generated Passwords cluttering up a data file, you can be sure that we at AgileBits do (with all the testing we constantly perform)! There are too many to worry about. We recommend treating it like my your email archive. You never need to look at it, but you can search it if you ever need to.

While we don't recommend changing passwords after a late night out on the town, sometimes the urge strikes at unexpected moments. The Generated Passwords will be there for you in the morning.