How to migrate master password & logins to FF 94.0?
Help! After many, many, happy, trouble-free years with FF (thanks folks) I just updated to FF 94.0. FF 94 is failing to use my saved logins, is silently failing to save new logins, seems to have forgotten my master password and won't let me set a new master password (which is probably a good thing!).
I see from searches here and elsewhere that the failure to migrate master password and login has been a serious issue, for a lot of people, for a long time, when upgrading FF. What I am still not clear on, despite reading many posts, is how to recover from this situation and seek your guidance on this.
In my profile I see:
- key3.db (last updated by old version of FF)
- key4.db (updated/created by new FF 94)
- logins.json (Seems still full of all my login entries and salted passwords, not touched by FF 94)
Thanks
(O/S Linux Mint 20.2 Cinnamon. Daily backups of ~ available if needed)
All Replies (7)
P.S. My current understanding is that I will have to go back in time (FF versions), and then forward again to perform the migration all the way to FF94. But, if correct, which FF versions do I actually need to step through?
logins.json and key3.db [v58+]key4.db : These are the password files.
Are you using a password manager other than what came with the browser?
Start Firefox using Troubleshoot(Safe) Mode {web link}
A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Troubleshoot(Safe) Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?
What did you migrate from?
If my first post does not help;
In the event that the passwords information is lost, you should record all information in a separate text file somewhere else on your hard drive, or written down. You can easily copy and paste if you need to do so. If you are concerned about someone else looking at that file, you can compress it using a password.
Password:Recovery:Restore:Export https://www.ghacks.net/2018/07/18/how-to-export-firefox-passwords-in-firefox-57/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/passwordfox.html (Win) PasswordFox v1.58 - Extract the usernames/passwords stored in Firefox Copyright (c) 2008 - 2017 Nir Sofer
Note: Some anti-virus show false positive. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Easily export your passwords from Firefox. https://github.com/kspearrin/ff-password-exporter
Export your passwords from Firefox in a portable CSV or JSON format. It works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3 Tools to Decrypt and Recover Passwords Saved in Firefox • Raymond CC https://www.raymond.cc/blog/how-to-find-hidden-passwords-in-firefox/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ https://www.ghacks.net/2018/07/18/how-to-export-firefox-passwords-in-firefox-57/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ https://github.com/kspearrin/ff-password-exporter +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If you don't find a third party script or program you can trust, you can run a script in Firefox's Browser Console to spit out the list in CSV or JSON format. For example:
JSON file: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1258644
CSV: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1253828 (copy/paste from console)
chrome://passwordmgr/content/passwordManager.xul
chrome://passwordmgr/content/passwordManager.xhtml
Are you currently using a version from the repositories of your Linux distribution? Try the Firefox version from the official Mozilla server: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/
Hi FredMcD,
Q: Are you using a password manager other than what came with the browser? A: No
Q: Start In Troubleshoot(Safe) Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there? A: Things are different: It saves new logins in Safe Mode. These are now being appended to the logins.json, but it still does not use or show the other logins that are still present in the same .json file. E.g under settings>logins and passwords>Saved Logins I see the new logins listed but not the old ones.
"Q: What did you migrate from?" A: Good question. I don't know. Could be antique. This machine is 12 years old and I only update LTS linux distros when absolutely essential. I think this is only second update in 12 years. (I backup /home partition, but not / so can't look back)
"Q:Are you currently using a version from the repositories of your Linux distribution? " A: Yes. Linux Mint 20.2 Cinnamon.
Re: "Try the Firefox version from the official Mozilla server: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/" Do you have any reason to think that will fix this particular problem? I am wary to try random things - in case they confuse the situation/me even more - restoring stuff is possible - but very tedious!
Modified by john677
john677 said
Re: "Try the Firefox version from the official Mozilla server:" Do you have any reason to think that will fix this particular problem?
Some with issues had the problems fixed by using the Mozilla version.
Have you checked out the link I posted under; Password:Recovery:Restore:Export
What was the previous Firefox version you used ? Didn't that version already had a ky4.db file ? Did Firefox create a new profile or is the old profile used what might have caused some file corruption?
Firefox 58 and newer use key4.db (SQLite) for the key file and no longer use key3.db (DBM), but can use key3.db as a fallback when key4.db is missing. Support for key3.db ended with Firefox 73 and newer (i.e. Firefox 72.0.2 is the last version that supported key3.db) and thus 73+ versions can't be used to migrate logins.json and key3.db to key4.db. You need to run a Firefox 68 or 72.0.2 version to migrate key3.db to key4.db.
Make sure to remove the existing key4.db version created by the current release. You need to copy the upgraded logins.json and key4.db to the current profile folder once the conversion is done.
Modified by cor-el