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Backup and Restoration Issues

When the Pairing Will Not Complete

Backup is a device-to-device operation with four scans: Master, Backup, Master again, Backup again. Most failures are the third or fourth scan breaking because the device moved. And a point worth knowing before you start: backup covers the password manager only - passkeys and OTP credentials are not copied.

What Backup Actually Covers​

The most common misunderstanding, and it is better cleared up before a problem than after one.

DataCopied by backup?
Passwords✅ Yes
Secure notes✅ Yes
Seed phrases and descriptors✅ Yes
Passkeys❌ No - register each device separately
OTP credentials❌ No - write-only, cannot be copied

If you set up a backup and then found your passkeys missing on the second device, nothing went wrong. A hardware-bound passkey cannot be copied by design - see Passkey Backup Strategy. Same for OTP - see Backup and Restore Procedures.

The Procedure, for Reference​

Four scans, in order, from the 3-dot menu → Make a Backup:

  1. Scan the Master device - the one holding your secrets
  2. Scan the Backup device - the two exchange a key to encrypt the transfer
  3. Scan the Master again - this prepares the backup
  4. Scan the Backup again, and hold it in place for the whole copy

Full walkthrough in Backup & Recovery.

The Pairing Fails at Step 1 or 2​

Usually a detection problem rather than a backup problem.

Check the basics first - placement, case, other cards nearby - in Connection and NFC Issues.

Confirm you can unlock both devices. The backup needs the PIN of each, and a device you cannot open cannot be backed up.

Check you are not scanning the same device twice. Two cards look identical. Name them in Card's Information so the app tells you which is which - see Device Settings.

The Copy Stops Partway Through Step 4​

The most frequent failure, and almost always movement.

The final scan is the longest of the four - the actual data transfer happens here. Removing the card when the phone vibrates, or shifting position slightly, breaks the field and aborts the copy.

  • Rest the phone on a table, hold the Backup device against it, and do not move either until the app confirms completion.
  • Take the case off for this operation if it is thick.
  • Retry from the beginning. A partial copy is not harmful - the backup is incremental, so re-running the whole sequence completes what is missing.

The Backup Device Looks Empty Afterwards​

Three possibilities, in order of likelihood:

You are looking at the wrong device. Genuinely common with two identical cards. Check the label in Card's Information.

The copy did not complete. Run the four scans again and watch for the confirmation at the end.

You are looking for passkeys or OTP codes. Those are not copied - see the table above.

The Master Device Is Full​

If the Master reports no space, the NFC toast shows a red exclamation mark with a memory error.

The device holds 8 KB shared across every secret, which is roughly a hundred passwords depending on how much detail you store with each. Check usage at the top of Card's Information.

To free space, delete secrets you no longer need - see Deleting a Password. Remember there is no edit function: updating an entry means copy, delete, recreate - see Editing a Password.

Restoring After a Loss​

There is no separate restore operation. You run the same backup procedure, with your surviving Backup device as the Master and the new device as the Backup.

The direction is what people get wrong. The device holding your data is always the Master, whatever role it played originally.

Keeping the Backup Current​

The backup is incremental, so re-running it after adding secrets copies only what is new - it does not start over.

Make it a habit after adding anything important. A backup from six months ago restores a device as it was six months ago.

FAQ​

Does backup copy my passkeys?

No. A hardware-bound passkey exists only on the device that created it and cannot be copied. To use a second device, register it separately with each service.

Does backup copy my OTP codes?

No. OTP secrets are write-only on the secure element and cannot be read back. Add each code to both devices at the same time, or keep the original QR code.

Why does the backup stop at the last scan?

The device moved and the field broke. The final scan carries the actual data transfer, so hold the Backup device still against the phone until the app confirms completion.

My Backup device appears empty. What happened?

Most often you are holding the other device - two cards look identical, so name them in Card's Information. Otherwise the copy did not complete, and re-running the sequence will finish it.

How do I restore onto a new device?

Run the same backup procedure with your surviving device as the Master and the new one as the Backup. Whichever device holds the data is always the Master.

Do I need to redo the whole backup after adding a password?

Run the same four scans - the backup is incremental, so only what is new gets copied. It is worth doing after anything you would not want to lose.

Still stuck?

If none of the above resolved it, open a support ticket and tell us what you tried - the steps you followed and what happened instead. We read every one, and a clear description usually gets you a straight answer rather than a round of questions.

Open a support ticket
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