I appreciate the PIN functionality of bitwarden, but I think the UX can be improved.
I want every device to have a PIN, but it is not practical to memorize a unique and complex PIN for every device. So I try to keep all my devices synchronized with the same PIN. But I always fail at this, especially when I attempt to change my PIN. I simply cannot put every device in the same room and configure them all at once.
It would be a lot easier to manage these PINs if bitwarden ensured that every device always used the same PIN. If I change the PIN on one device, it changes everywhere.
Bitwarden could store the PIN in the vault, granting all clients secure access to it. First, of course, you need to unlock a new bitwarden client using the master password. If you have PIN access enabled, then this unlocked client has access to the global PIN, and is able to re-lock the vault using the PIN. Then you can unlock it with the PIN.
Some people may still prefer to have unique PINs for every device. So I would make an additional option below “Unlock with PIN” called something like “Use the same PIN on all devices”.
After reading all of the posts in the secret key file request thread, I believe that the improvement I describe here would actually satisfy many of the people who are asking for that feature.