Table of Contents
This article helps you check whether the sync speed you're seeing is normal, or whether something's actually gone wrong.
Expected timings
| Where you're working | Typical sync time |
|---|---|
| Web app | Under 10 seconds |
| Browser extension | Stays in sync with the web app — no separate wait |
| Other apps/devices | Typically under 30 seconds while the mobile app is open |
Note: If what you're seeing is close to these numbers, everything is working as expected — no action needed.
Why a sync can take much longer
Password Boss processes sync requests one at a time, in sequence, rather than all at once in parallel. This is a deliberate design choice: it prevents two changes from overwriting each other and accidentally losing data.
The trade-off is that if one large operation is running, everything behind it in the queue has to wait its turn. This isn't a bug — it's the system protecting your data at the cost of speed during specific situations.
The main trigger: large imports
The most common cause of a slow sync is a large import happening on one of your devices. While the import is processing:
- Other changes you make have to wait in line behind it.
- Syncing that update out to your other devices can take 5–15 minutes in the worst cases observed.
If you (or a teammate) recently ran a large import, a slow sync afterward is expected, not a failure.
The "taking longer than expected" prompt
[VERIFY WITH ENGINEERING — confirm exact prompt wording so this section matches what the user actually sees on screen]
If you see this message, it means the app is still waiting on a response that's queued behind other activity — it has not failed or stalled. Refreshing the page or app is safe to do, but it will not push your request ahead in the queue or speed things up.
What to do
- If you know a large import is running (yours or someone else's on the account), wait it out before making further changes — adding more changes on top just extends the queue.
- Before assuming sync has failed, check the other device's own sync interval or refresh behavior — sometimes what looks like a stuck sync is really just that device not having checked in yet.