Getting Prompted for Master Password for Every Single Access

flyerfocus · January 15, 2026, 2:26am

Hello, I must have changed some setting on my iPad, but now, very time I go to login to something I am prompted for the master password. It gets old! I have looked at all the settings and cannot figure out where I messed up. Anyone run into this before?

Dassom · January 16, 2026, 12:31am

Yes, I am having the same problem with a new iPad. Using the browser extension on my desktop works great but the (recommended) keyboard method for iOS is confounding for sure. Hopefully we’ll get some help here.

Nail1684 · January 16, 2026, 2:47am

@flyerfocus @Dassom Welcome to the forum!

Did you already try to log out, deinstall, reinstall and set up biometric unlock (Touch ID / Face ID) again?

Dassom · January 16, 2026, 4:27am

Yes, yes, yes and yes. Still an issue.

Dassom · January 16, 2026, 6:35pm

I received this reply from BW customer support yesterday:

“Thank you for getting back to us.

We are aware of this behavior, as it has been reported by other users, and our Engineering team is actively investigating the issue.

While we cannot provide an estimated timeline for a resolution, we anticipate that a fix will be included in an upcoming release of the Bitwarden mobile app. In the meantime, we recommend configuring your mobile device to unlock via biometric authentication. Detailed instructions can be found here: https://bitwarden.com/help/biometrics/#tab-mobile-2vCWb5iFg4OqKS0B2xXpqW

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to address this matter. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”

Regards,

Ryan

Nail1684 · January 16, 2026, 6:40pm

Does that mean, that you did not set up biometric unlock on your iPhone yet?

PS: … because, if you did not activate both unlock with biometrics and unlock with PIN, then you probably are experiencing this:

github.com/bitwarden/ios

Autofill always asks for master password, unless "session timeout" is set to "never"

opened 02:38PM - 25 Nov 24 UTC

michaelwimmer

bug app:password-manager

### Steps To Reproduce 1. Set up autofill as requested in the bitwarden app 2.… Set the "Session timeout" to 15 minutes 3. Make sure "Unlock with Face ID" and "Unlock with PIN code" are deactivated 4. Go to a website with a login 5. Try to autofill (tapping e.g. the "Passwords" button on the onscreen keyboard): the Bitwarden autofill window opens. 6. Enter the master password 7. Go to another website login 8. Tap on 'Passwords' before the 15 minutes have passed 9. Bitwarden autofill window opens again, asking again for the master password ### Expected Result Bitwarden should not ask for the master password again, if the second time it is opened falls into the window set by "Session timeout". ### Actual Result Bitwarden always asks for the master password. The only way I could avoid this is by setting in step 2 "Session timeout" to "never". Then autofill never asks for the master password. However, this is obviously not an ideal setting. ### Screenshots or Videos _No response_ ### Additional Context This behavior of the bitwarden autofill is especially annoying for logins that span two pages, such as gmail. Then you have to enter the master password twice for one login. One can find similar reports e.g. on reddit (see below) since quite a while. Typically, the advice is to use biometrics. Indeed, if I enable biometrics, bitwarden will scan my face every time in autofill. However, I would prefer to avoid using Face-ID for various reasons. Also, given that "never" actually works as expected, any other session timeout should work, too. Examples of similar issues reported online: - https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitwarden/comments/zlp9an/constantly_having_to_reenter_master_password_ios/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitwarden/comments/10g0m8k/ios_app_bitwarden_prompts_for_master_password/ ### Build Version Version 2024.11.0 (1680) ### What server are you connecting to? EU ### Self-host Server Version _No response_ ### Environment Details - Device: IPad Pro (11-inch, second generation) - IPadOS Version: 18.1 - ### Issue Tracking Info - [X] I understand that work is tracked outside of Github. A PR will be linked to this issue should one be opened to address it, but Bitwarden doesn't use fields like "assigned", "milestone", or "project" to track progress.

Dassom · January 16, 2026, 7:08pm

I did that before the customer support email since it’s listed in BW’s instructions as one of four ways to operate autofill.