Symptoms

• Your passwords have stopped syncing across your devices.
• On one or more devices, logging in shows a password mismatch error.
• Your subscription lapsed (for example, an app-store subscription expired), and your account was downgraded to a free account.

Why this happens

Free Password Boss accounts do not sync data between devices. When your subscription lapsed, sync stopped working, and each device kept using whatever data it already had — so your devices' data quietly drifted apart from each other over time.

On mobile devices, there's an extra wrinkle: your phone's biometric login (Face ID / fingerprint) may still be holding on to an old master password behind the scenes. That's why you can get a password mismatch even when you're sure you're typing the right password — the device is checking it against an outdated one stored in the keychain.

Important: you do not have two accounts. This is one account that fell out of sync — nothing has been split or duplicated. This matters because it means your data isn't lost, it's just scattered across devices, and it can be brought back together safely.

⚠️ Do not reset the master password or reset the account

Resetting the master password or resetting the account destroys your data. Your backups only exist for as long as the account is not reset. If you reset, there is no way to recover the data that gets wiped.

If you're ever prompted with a "reset" option during this process, do not use it. You want to change the master password, not reset it. The steps below tell you exactly where to do this safely.

Recovery steps

1. Re-subscribe to restore sync. Go back to a paid Password Boss subscription. This turns sync back on for your account, but it won't automatically fix the mismatch between devices — you still need to complete the steps below.
2. Identify the originating device — the one that has your full, current data. This is usually the device you've been using most recently and trust the most. Before moving on, confirm:
   • It's running the latest version of the Password Boss app.
   • It shows your current, up-to-date list of passwords (not an old snapshot).
   • Its local database and backup files look current (not from months ago).
3. On that originating device only, change the master password. Go to Settings → Security → Change Master Password.
   • Use Change Master Password, not any "reset" or "forgot password" option.
   • Changing the master password does not touch your stored data — it only updates the password used to unlock it.
4. Log into your other devices using the new master password. Once you're logged in, confirm that your passwords now match what's on the originating device and that syncing is working normally again.
   • Remember: changing the master password does not affect what's stored — so once synced, you should see your full, correct data everywhere.
   • If a mobile device still shows a mismatch after entering the new master password, it's likely the biometric login cache. Turn off Face ID/fingerprint login for the app, log in manually with the new master password, then re-enable biometrics.
5. Where possible, sign in on a computer and take an export as a safety copy. A desktop or web export gives you an offline backup of your current data, just in case anything looks off during sync. This is a safety net, not a required step, but it's good practice whenever you're untangling a sync issue.

When to escalate

If you cannot log into any synced device — meaning you have no device you can currently access with working, current data — stop and contact support to arrange a call before making any changes. Don't guess at which device is the "right" one if you're not sure; getting this wrong is how data gets accidentally overwritten or lost. A support agent can help confirm which device holds your real data before you touch anything.