Stuck with a locked 1Password account while the app is still open? Start here

What is going on, and why it is not your fault

If you can't remember your 1Password account password, you did nothing wrong. It happens to careful people. Many of us wrote it down once, long ago, and the note is gone.

Here is the hard part, said once and plainly. 1Password does not know your account password, so no one at the company can reset it for you1. That is also why your vault is safe from strangers.

The good news is the app on your computer. If it is still open, your items are still on that screen. That is a chance worth protecting.

We once watched someone lose the password to a single-user password manager account with no recovery code set up. One device was still unlocked. Signing out would have ended it. Instead they set up a new account with recovery built in, added it to the same app, and moved everything across before touching anything else.

The order of the steps mattered more than speed. We will go in that order, and we will go slowly.

Before you start

This guide is for your own account, or one you are allowed to manage. We do not cover anyone else's.

First, check the easy ways back in, because every one of them beats starting a new account. There are four, and each takes a minute or two.

• Look in your Personal vault for a Login item named "1Password Account". It may contain your password1.
• Look for your Emergency Kit, a PDF with a place to write your account password5.
• Ask whether you have a recovery code. Individual and family accounts can have one2.
• If you are in a family or team, ask your family organizer or team administrator to recover your account1.

If any of these works, use it and stop here. The official page for each is in Sources.

If none of them works, you need a second email address, because a new account needs a different one than the old account1. Then read the first step before you touch anything.

Back up anything you can't replace before you start. Here that mostly means keeping the app open.

The steps

These steps use 1Password 8 on Mac and Windows, as of November 2026. Linux is much the same. Phone apps use different menus, so use a computer if you can.

1. psst, this step matters

   1

   Leave the app open.

   Do not sign out, quit, uninstall or reset. The quick ways to open the app, like Touch ID or Apple Watch, will eventually expire, so work in one sitting1.

2. 2

   Create a new account.

   In a browser, go to start.1password.com/sign-up1. Use a different email address1. Pick a plan with a recovery path: individual and family accounts can use recovery codes, and team and business administrators can help recover an account2.

3. 3

   Save the new Emergency Kit.

   Download it and write your new account password on it1. Print a copy, keep one somewhere safe, and give one to someone you trust5. Type the new password only into 1Password, never into a chat.

4. 4

   Add the new account to the same app.

   Select your account at the top of the sidebar, then Manage Accounts, then Add an Account, and follow the onscreen instructions4.

5. 5

   Show every vault.

   Select your account at the top of the sidebar, then All Accounts. You will see the vaults from both accounts3.

6. 6

   Copy your items, do not move them.

   Right-click an item, select Duplicate, then choose a vault in the new account3. A move copies the item and then deletes the original, so we copy and leave the old vault whole3. The confirmation screen tells you who can see the item3.

7. 7

   Check every item.

   Open each one in the new account. Compare the count with the old vault. Check passwords, notes and any attached files. This is the slow part, and it is the safe part.

8. 8

   Set up recovery on the new account.

   Select your account at the top of the sidebar, then Manage Accounts, choose the new account, then Sign-in & Recovery, then Set up recovery code2. Store the code somewhere safe2. Wait at least one hour before you ever use it2. If your plan has a family organizer or a second admin, add one too1.

9. this one too

   9

   Only now, think about the old account.

   The official page ends with "Remove the old account from the app"1. We would wait until you have used the new account for a while.

How to check it worked

• Quit nothing. Open three or four items you use every week in the new account, and test one sign-in.
• Look at the Sign-in & Recovery screen. A recovery code should now be listed2.
• You can open the app with the new account's password4.

That was the hard part, and you did it. Nice work.

If it did not work

If an item will not copy, leave it in the old vault and keep going with the others. Do not delete anything to make room.

If you ever see the old account asking for a password you do not have, the official page says you will need to start over and contact 1Password Support1. A new account is still a fresh start, and you are not alone.

If the app locks before you finish

Stop. Do not guess at the password, and do not follow any steps from a forum or a stranger. Use the vendor's official page on forgotten account passwords, the first one in Sources. It lists every official way back. 1Password Support is the only real authority on your account1.

An export is another official way to save items, but it asks for your account password, and the file is not encrypted6. For most readers who are locked out, it is not an option.

Why this happens

Your account password and your Secret Key protect your data, and 1Password never sees the password1. A recovery code is the backup that has to be made before the bad day2. Most people make one the day after.

Backups are boring until the day they are not.

Stay safe while you do this

• Never type a password, recovery code or Secret Key into a chat with an AI. Type them only into 1Password or 1Password.com.
• Keep the old account in the app until you are sure.
• Do not turn any security feature off. Two-factor authentication stays on.
• Keep the recovery code and the Emergency Kit in different places5.