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Cannot view passwords in Keychain?

OldCorpse

OldCorpse

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 7, 2005
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I’m on an iPad Air 3 and iPadOS 14.3.

I’m trying to see all my passwords on my keychain. I googled, but can’t find the answer. The recommendation is to go to Settings —> Passwords and Accounts etc. First of all, there is no “Passwords and Accounts”, there is only “Passwords” on my iPad. Second, when I click on “Passwords”, I’m greeted with “Enter iPad Passcode to view saved passwords” - so I enter my iPad passcode, and then all I see is “AutoFill Passwords” which upon clicking show “AutoFill Passwords” which can be turned on or off with a sliding button and below that text- “Autofill From:” and two options below “Keychain” and “Chrome” each of which has a green checkmark you can turn on or off by clicking on “Keychain” or “Chrome”. And that’s it. Clicking on “Keychain” only allows to control the green checkmark and that’s it. Nowhere do I see any saved passwords.

Meanwhile, all my password requiring apps work without my input and if I go to a website that has a password, the dialogue allows me to click on the “key” symbol for saved passwords and it works.

How come it works, but I can’t see any of my saved passwords in Keychain??

Thanks in advance!
 
In Settings >Passwords > you should see an alphabetized list under AutoFill Passwords, if you have saved any usernames / passwords to keychain.

On my iPad, I don't tap on AutoFill Passwords, the various websites that I have saved are on that same user page. The various logins automatically show up. There is no UI tap or swipe needed to get them to show.
 
It sounds like you’re experiencing a glitch in the software. As Robert said, you should see an alphabetized list of of the websites that keychain has stored a password for on the screen after you passcode/Touch ID in. I would try a hard reset of the iPad, toggling Keychain in settings>Apple ID>Keychain and if those don’t do it try signing out of iCloud on the iPad and sign back in.
Out of curiosity, is this iPad new to you and you set it up recently from an iCloud backup?
 
Thanks, guys! 7thson, actually, I signed out of iCloud on this iPad (I’ve had this iPad since shortly after the Air 3 came out). I was tired of iCloud and what felt like my info all over the place in ways I didn’t completely understand, and I decided to take it off this iPad. I’m not even signed into the iPad with my Apple ID - sometimes it urges me to “Sign In”, but I just ignore it. I took the iPad out of the “devices” on iCloud. I still use iCloud on my iPhone, but that’s it, it’s nowhere else.

I wonder if that has anything to do with it? But isn’t it so that there are two Keychains - one iCloud Keychain, and one Local (on the iPad). I still have to have the local Keychain, otherwise how could I sign into various websites from the “key” icon that appears on the software keyboard. So my local keychain has got to be working - I’m not on iCloud on my iPad. So where is it?
 
When you signed out of iCloud on the iPad, you must have chosen to save all the data on the iPad as opposed to having it deleted. I’m not sure why you can’t see your passwords in settings, but it almost certainly has to do with you being signed out of iCloud. Probably a security default. I’m always signed in to iCloud, so that when I create a new account or update a password it propagates to all of my devices.
 
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Thanks! Wow, that’s crazy... can’t see your local keychain passwords without signing into iCloud - this seems unjustified. I mean, what if you don’t use or want to use iCloud? Are you then plum out of luck? Seems very arbitrary and forcing into services you don’t want or need. I don’t know, but I find it a bit odd.
 
In particular, I wanted to remove certain passwords. I’m leaving this iPad for an acquaintance to use for a few months, and I wanted to remove a bunch of passwords to various apps and sites. That’s an example of a scenario where it would be useful to have access to the local keychanin to edit it.

And what happens if you just want to edit your local keychain in general for *whatever* reason? You can’t do it without signing into iCloud?? Seems backward. What if you don’t have iCloud? Not super user friendly, seems to me :(
 
iOS isn’t going to give you that kind of granular control over keychain. It’s a mobile operating system so it kind of makes sense that it would be cloud forward. A better system for you would be to use a 3rd party password manager. There are plenty that are free with enough functionality to cover your needs of storing and editing passwords.
 
Aah, got it. Thank you guys! 7thson, I guess I’ll have to go for the 3rd party password manager. I’m going to read some reviews and see what seems best for my use scenario. I know I want something that stores locally, not an online password manager. I’d prefer either something free, or a one time payment option - don’t want to be tied to a subscription (not saying anything against the subscription model, just not practical for me, as someone else will be using the iPad for a few months before I get it back).

If anyone already has some recommendations, I’m of course all ears. It doesn’t have to be pretty, just practical: store locally, be secure and easy to use on apps and websites.

I learn something new on these boards every day. Thank you everyone!
 
OldCorpse said:
Aah, got it. Thank you guys! 7thson, I guess I’ll have to go for the 3rd party password manager. I’m going to read some reviews and see what seems best for my use scenario. I know I want something that stores locally, not an online password manager. I’d prefer either something free, or a one time payment option - don’t want to be tied to a subscription (not saying anything against the subscription model, just not practical for me, as someone else will be using the iPad for a few months before I get it back).

If anyone already has some recommendations, I’m of course all ears. It doesn’t have to be pretty, just practical: store locally, be secure and easy to use on apps and websites.

I learn something new on these boards every day. Thank you everyone!
Click to expand...
Strongbox without a doubt. Open source, Keepass compatible, a responsive and friendly dev, option to store locally or sync from most clouds, a useable free tier or one time payment for premium. It’s highly recommended.
 
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