Thanks for this powerful and flexible password manager guys!
I use Bitwarden extension for Chrome on win 11, set vault timeout to “Never”, yet I need to type the master password after Windows reboot, over and over again. why? Can this be solved once and forever?
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Anyone? Please??
@Ziv Welcome to the forum!
I’ve tested this using the same set-up as yours (Bitwarden extension for Chrome on Windows 11), and was not able to reproduce the issue that you’ve described. The browser extension remains unlocked after a Windows restart, as expected.
Perhaps try logging out of the extension (click avatar/profile icon in the upper right corner, then click Log out), then removing the extension (Manage Extensions→Remove) and reinstalling the extension (from the Chrome Web Store).
Still having this issue with Firefox + Bitwarden extension after months and months of reporting the issue. I even wiped out and created a new Firefox profile. Cannot figure it out.
If you look at the documentation here, it states:
If you close your browser window, you will be logged out of your web app and your browser extension will timeout.
By default, if you close your browser window, your browser extension will require you to login or unlock with your master password regardless of your selected vault timeout action.
So what you are observing is intentional.
Workarounds after you restart the browsers include:
- Log out and then Log In With Device.
- Use biometrics to unlock, unchecking “Requiring password on restart” (this feature is being rolled out). This requires enabling Windows hello, running the desktop in the background, etc.
- Use PIN unlock, unchecking “Requiring password on restart” (not recommended, unless using a strong PIN).
You’re not wrong (in the sense that the behavior observed by @community.bw is consistent with what is described in the documentation), but the fact remains that in Chromium browsers, setting the Vault Timeout to “Never” does allow the extension to remain unlocked across browser restarts (even persisting across Windows reboots); I believe the same has been true in Firefox (it was certainly true in version 2024.11.2, which is the version I currently have installed for my Firefox browser) — perhaps someone other than @community.bw can test this with the most recent Firefox extension.
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I just did a basic test. At least one closing and (a few seconds later) reopening of the browser works (i.e. Firefox extension 2025.10.0 was still unlocked).
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Sorry I didn’t describe the issue as well as I needed to.
- Log in, and select Settings > Account Security > Vault Timeout “NEVER” (I am on a home PC and I lock my OS when I’m not using, and do not want to have to type my super long, super complex master password in when trying to use my password manager 20 times a day)
- Do nothing except wait. Leave firefox running. At some point, I’ll go to use my PW manager (Bitwarden extension for Firefox), and I’ll notice it’s greyed out. It’s not logged in. I have to type in my email and password.
- I’ve also tried setting a PIN but… it just simply logs me out at some point. It doesn’t lock and let me unlock with PIN.
I do not believe this is documented, expected behavior. There’s something wrong that it is forgetting who I am and that I’m logged in, and that I said NEVER timeout.
Is your Timeout Action set to “Lock” (not “Log out”)?
There definitely seems to be something wrong with your system.
To get another data point, please enter about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox in your Firefox address bar, then note the value of the “Internal UUID” for the Bitwarden Password Manager extension. Next, in Windows File Explorer, go to %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ and find your profile folder, then open the storage subfolder within your profile folder, and then the default subfolder from there (i.e.,
%AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[your_profile]\storage\default\ — where [your_profile] is your profile folder). While your browser extension is logged in, look for one (or more) folders named moz-extension+++[UUID]^userContextId=[integer] (where [UUID] is the Bitwarden extension’s internal UUID, and [integer] is an integer). Inside those, look for a .sqlite file inside the idb subfolder. Make a note of the “Date modified” and the file size.
After you find that your Firefox browser extension has been spontaneously logged out (gray Bitwarden icon), repeat the above procedure, and make note of any differences (e.g., are any of the moz-extension+++[UUID]^userContextId=[integer] folders or .sqlite files missing? how does the .sqlite file timestamp compare to your most recent activity in the browser extension?).
Personally, I have no issues entering my master password each time I want to unlock my browser extension. The trick is to use an appropriate master password — the best practice is to use a randomly generated passphrase consisting of four randomly selected words (e.g., float-tug-turban-doodle). This is not difficult to remember or to type, yet is sufficiently strong to resist any plausible brute-force attack.
Hm, I’m not really sure about this, but there might be a similarity or connection to this issue here: Bitwarden Firefox extension keeps logging out - #133 by hmoffatt – and I guess this PR could be connected to that as well: [BEEEP] Refresh access token on 401 API response by trmartin4 · Pull Request #17407 · bitwarden/clients · GitHub
(if I’m completely off here, I probably will delete this post 
)
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Also, two possible relevant bugs:
- Session out again · Issue #10718 · bitwarden/clients · GitHub
- Bitwarden Extension for Firefox not respecting Timeout Never to stay logged in. · Issue #15971 · bitwarden/clients · GitHub
Still being reported for v2025.10.0.
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Does sound like there’s “something” wrong with my install of this extension that it has this bug.
It’s set to LOCK, not LOG OUT. I have even tried to have the PIN set, but then every day or two I am completely logged out again and cannot use my PIN, but have to type in my email and password.
Yeah #133 does sound like basically the same thing as what I see.
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In addition to doing the troubleshooting I had suggested above, I would keep an eye on (or subscribe to) Github PR #17407, and see if your issue resolves once that PR has been merged and ultimately included in a browser extension update.
In the meantime, this may be a good opportunity for you to generate and memorize a 4-word passphrase to use as your new master password… 
Can you explain why I should change and memorize a new password?
I have a sufficiently complex master password already memorized.
But you do not like typing it, and actively take steps to avoid having to type it (thereby reducing vault security). Besides, if it was not randomly generated (e.g., %7r4J#0xR$pJr7), then it is not as secure as you think it is. On the other hand, if your “super long, super complex” master password was in fact randomly generated (i.e., using a cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator, or a true entropy source such as dice rolls), then you can probably shorten it considerably (e.g., just use the first 8 characters, which should greatly simplify typing).
A post was split to a new topic: Master password advice
So I have an easy record of it, the .sqlite file is currently 88KB and date/time is current as of this minute.
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OK just happened. Firefox was still running, was not closed or re-opened.
It’s 9:32 PM but .sqlite timestamp is an hour old now.
104KB
the -shm is 32KB, current timestamp
the -wal is 0KB, same timestamp as .sqlite
the “files” subfolder is about 5 minutes older than the .sqlite (66 minutes old currently)
Yesterday, it asked for my pin. Today, randomly completely logged out again. Browser was not closed between either event.