Web vault that cannot be opened / fixed for months (maybe a year)

Ask the Community Password Manager
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1

I started using Bitwarden more than 2 years ago, I remember in the early days I could log in to the web vault, but now I can’t log in to the web vault for so long that I’m used to using the program…

I recently lost access to my vault’s email address, there is no option in the app to change my email address, I went to the web vault, it wouldn’t open.

So I thought about exporting my passwords, deleting my old account, creating a new account and importing my passwords. I wanted to try importing before deleting my account and it took me to the web vault, and of course it wouldn’t open, good thing I didn’t delete my account :Ｄ

A white screen, blue Bitwarden in the top left, a bunch of gray balls spinning in the middle and that’s it, I waited for minutes, changed browser, deleted history/cookies etc, changed network and tried many other methods I can think of but to no avail… I’ve had this problem for at least 6 months now and it’s still not solved, I don’t know what to do…

I know my Bitwarden email and password but I lost access to it, in case of a problem I will lose all my passwords, I can export the passwords but not import them… what can I do? When will this problem be fixed? Or will it be fixed?

Is there a reliable unofficial website where I can login to the Bitwarden web vault? Because bitwarden’s official vault site is completely inaccessible.

(Helper: DeepL)

2

Can you clarify a bit… when you say “I can export the passwords” does that mean that you have a browser extension that you can unlock and view all of your vault items, and export them, as of today?

If so, immediately disconnect that device from the internet and export your passwords so that you have a safe backup. If it’s a device (only) you control (not a shared PC) I would export unencrypted and save them to the device (which I hope is encrypted storage) or save them to an encrypted USB stick.

Do that first, if what you are saying is you can still get to your vault by unlocking the browser extension or on your phone.

3

@Showoff Hi!

In addition to @bwuser10000 advice:

Just an info for you: who own’s the email address can theoretically (and practically) delete your Bitwarden account (and therefore your entire vault) - without knowing the masterpassword and without your 2FA. (see here I Forgot my Master Password | Bitwarden Help Center the text after step 7)

So indeed, you should change the email address of your Bitwarden account.

6 months (or longer) is a long time… Maybe it would help to know a bit about the system(s) you tried to access the web vault. And the software versions (OS, browser, …). Or put the other way round: is everything up-to-date (especially your OS and your browsers)?

And to do some sanity check: by web vault, we are talking about vault.bitwarden.com and/or vault.bitwarden.eu (depending on the server region where your account is stored - US or EU), right?

I would also contact support about why you can’t access the web vault - maybe there is something with your account or a technical problem. :thinking:

Lastly, some additional info to exports: beware that

  • CSV exports don’t include cards, identities and passkeys (JSON does include those)
  • all exports don’t include attachments, sends, and items in the trash

(source: Export Vault Data | Bitwarden Help Center)

So you may have to export some things (like attachments) manually.

4

@Showoff Welcome to the forum!

Your problem is difficult to diagnose. It is not a problem with Bitwarden’s Web Vault app, since other users can access their Web Vaults without problems. Perhaps there is a problem with your account.

Which of the Bitwarden programs (apps) are you using currently? The Desktop app, the mobile app, or a browser extension? Also, what browser are you using, and what operating system are you using? Answers to these questions will allow us to provide more specific advice.

For now, my suggestion would be to do the following:

  1. Use your Bitwarden app (program) to create an export of your vault contents. You should specify “.JSON” or “.JSON (encrypted)” for the file format. If you choose to make an encrypted export, you must select the option “Password Protected” (not “account restricted”) as the export type, and you should make sure that you securely store a copy of the file password.

  2. If you have a Premium subscription and have attached any files to your vault items, then you should download a copy of each file. If you are able to use the Desktop app or a browser extension, then you can use the search expression >attachments:* to find all items that have file attachments.

  3. Go to https://vault.bitwarden.com/#/register, and register a new Bitwarden account, using a new email address (one that you currently have access to). Make sure that you accurately write down your new master password on a piece of paper. If everything is OK with your computer and your internet connection, you should now be logged in to the Web Vault for the new account.

  4. To be certain that everything is working, you should log out of the Web Vault, restart your browser, and log back in to the Web Vault using the new account email and password. If this works, then you know that there has been a corruption of the original account, and that this was the reason why you couldn’t log in. If you cannot log in to the Web Vault for the new account, then there is a problem with something on your computer or in your internet connection.

  5. If the new account is working, then import your exported .JSON file into the new account.

Unfortunately, without access to the old email account, and without the ability to log in to the Web Vault for the old account, there is no way to delete that old account. Thus, it would be a good idea to start changing passwords for the accounts that are stored in your Bitwarden vault, in case the old Bitwarden account is ever compromised in the future.

5

I think I misrepresented the problem a bit, I can’t directly access Bitwarden’s web vault, I can’t even log in to my account because the website doesn’t open properly in the first place. There’s no official URL where I can enter my password or anything like that. Unfortunately, as I said before, there is only the blue logo of Bitwarden on the top left and a few gray balls spinning in the middle.

(the only device I have :'D)
Device: MN0W2TU/A (A1688)
Version: 15.8.3 (19H386)

I don’t know how to see my Safari version, I’ve looked in the settings or in the AppStore but I can’t see what version it is (maybe I’m blind. :P)

I’m using Mullvad’s DoH DNS profile (unfortunately turning it on, off, deleting or reinstalling it doesn’t solve my problem).

None of the servers in the free version of Proton VPN work either.

Browsers or search engines other than Safari don’t work either.
(Search engines don’t make much sense once you know the URL, so maybe it makes more sense to tell you the browsers I use).
(I have never installed or used Bitwarden as an extension in any browser).

(I haven’t tried Yandex, Opera GX, Ecosia, Arc Search, Chrome or Google, and I don’t want to try products directly connected to Google).
(I had tried some of them before, and now I realized that I can’t try some of them again because my operating system version is inadequate. T^T)

(I just looked and I think there are 8 tor browsers in the AppStore, and I haven’t tried any of them, and I’m too lazy to try :Ｄ and since I already have an old device, the semi-official tor browser didn’t connect to tor either, it gave a warning of insufficient RAM).

I can access my Bitwarden vault because I know my email and password, but I’ve lost access to my email, which means I won’t be able to receive messages to my email. That’s where my problem starts.

I don’t need to go into the web vault at all, but I get redirected to the web vault to change emails, re-import exported passwords, etc., and because there is a problem with the web vault, I am stuck.

I’m afraid that one day I will lose access to Bitwarden official app too. (Because of (I think) server problems, not password/email problems)

Maybe I can solve this problem by resetting my device, but I don’t have backup storage, so I would lose some personal files completely, so the device is unresettable.
m scared. :‘Ｄ

(Helper: DeepL)

6

OK, so it seems that you are using the Bitwarden iOS app (version 2024.10.0). Your concern about losing access to the app is valid — this is a high risk (which can result in you permanently losing access to all of your passwords).

Therefore, you must follow the instructions that I gave you in my comment above.

In your iOS app, perform the following steps to export your vault (in an unencrypted JSON format):

  1. Tap the :gear: Settings tab.
  2. Tap Vault and tap the Export Vault option.
  3. On the export vault view, choose the File format “.json” — not “.csv” or “.json (Encrypted)”.
  4. Enter your master password and select the Export vault button.
  5. Copy the file to a secure location (e.g., a USB drive).

If you have a Premium subscription, you should also download copies of any file attachments that are stored in your vault. Unfortunately, in the iOS app, it is not possible to search for vault items that have file attachments, so you will have to check for attached files manually.

After you have exported all of your vault contents, please complete Steps 3–5 from my previous instructions:

7

I would add this - after you do everything @grb notes above, then it’s time to figure out why you are having this issue (you state that the website never properly displays, to the degree that you can’t even enter your email address and master password):

I can’t even log in to my account because the website doesn’t open properly in the first place.

There’s no official URL where I can enter my password or anything like that. Unfortunately, as I said before, there is only the blue logo of Bitwarden on the top left and a few gray balls spinning in the middle.

Something is wrong with either your router, browsers, or something else. If websites won’t load properly there’s likely some filtering that’s in place but has been set up incorrectly or too strictly, so that it’s blocking multiple portions of the website(s) from loading completely.

I think that’s your next step. Not to start a networking discussion because that’s outside the scope here, but if I were you I’d take that device someplace that has a public WiFi, and try loading (not logging into) but just loading, multiple websites including Bitwarden and see if the pages load correctly. You may want to install ungoogled-chromium (which is chrome with all the google crap stripped out of it) which is usually a good litmus test in my experience to verify that you don’t have in-browser blockers causing your issues.

1 Like
9

I’ve given up, but a little more explanation wouldn’t hurt
That’s what I was trying to say, the website loads in the browser but doesn’t open, no matter how long I wait it’s always stuck on the same screen (but the 9 gray balls in the middle keep spinning)

Stuck screen:
Stuck screen:1334×750 29 KB

I also discovered a site called VaultWarden, but unfortunately it doesn’t open either… but I have no idea how safe it is to use it, so maybe it’s better for my passwords that it doesn’t open because if it did I would try it right away. :Ｄ

Screenshot of Stuck VaultWarden with weird URL:
Screenshot of Stuck VaultWarden with weird URL:1334×750 36.8 KB

As I wrote before, I didn’t just change the browser;
I changed DNS
Tried browsers
I changed my network connection (Wi-Fi, unfamiliar (public) Wi-Fi, cellular data & hotspot)

I have already changed browsers a lot but still for safari;
I cleared history and cookies
My installed blockers: turned on, turned off & deleted, restored
I changed the default settings (or rather tinkered with them)

There are also things I didn’t do;
Trying normal or web proxies (because most of them are paid and/or I could not trust the free ones because I am ignorant)
I haven’t tried some browsers (and some I never will)

reason:

ss1
ss1738×1334 121 KB
ss2
ss2749×1334 154 KB
ss3
ss3750×1334 133 KB
ss4
ss4750×1334 134 KB
ss5
ss5750×1334 131 KB
ss6 :Ｄ
ss6 :Ｄ750×1334 115 KB

ㅤ

I haven’t messed with Safari’s WebKit features because I don’t think it will work and because it seems a bit complicated:

I'm talking about safari WebKit:

I'm talking about safari WebKit:
I'm talking about safari WebKit:750×1334 141 KB

ㅤ

ㅤ

Helper: DeepL

I’m starting to wonder about DeepL’s translation skills. :Ｄ

ㅤ
I also know that the problem is with my device, but when I couldn’t solve it with anything, I decided to write on Bitwarden’s forum in case they can solve the problem or give me a suitable solution.
It didn’t work out as I expected, but still; thank you to everyone who tried to help.

10

Do you have an old phone that you could factory reset and then set up just on wifi to see if you can at least login to the webvault and update the email address?

Plus, it always helps troubleshooting to have a working example.