Sync login/reset

[Pudding]

Howdy,

New here, so hello to all and thanks for the excellent browser - where I could make FF run out of memory and crash with the same few steps for years on end, Pale Moon just does what it's supposed to do and keeps on running

However, I have a problem with sync. The other day I shot the OS on (currently) my one and only "device" running Pale Moon (laptop) and pulled everything usefull off - or so I thought. Now trying to set things up freshly and wanted to use Sync to pull my bookmarks back in.

Whoops. No other device with the same Sync installed and no sign of a recovery key anywhere in my email...

So I tried the link that says "I have lost my other device" in the Sync setup dialog. Next, the dialog complains about invallid username and/or password. Not sure if this is actually true/correct or that it is just an artifact of the missing recovery key (pretty sure the password was correct), but I tried it a few times and it keeps comming up the same.

So I press the link "Reset password" (assuming my password will be reset and sent to my email). Now I get a blank browser screen with just the error message: "Function not found"

Okay, so I messed up when I didn't verify having a recovery key before deleting everything, but somehow it would be nice if I could reset my pwd and then follow the procedure for "I have lost my other device" - or get reconnected to my Sync data some way or the other.

Just installed the lates palemoon 25.7.2 today on a temporary 32bit OpenSUSE dated 201509 (4.xx kernel)

Anyone?

Cheers, Pudsy

[Pudding]

Ahw duh,

Let me rephrase all that

The dialog for Sync seems to be just the FireFox dialog. I didn't watch that carefully and made the mistake here to send my requests to the FireFox sync server, but of course I had configured the Pale Moon Sync server when I started using PM. Obviously the service at FF has gone, so hence the "Function not found" (or "Service no longer exists" messages in older PM-versions).

So, when trying the FF-dialog box to access my sync data using the PM Sync server I no longer get the user/password error. So that's good I suppose

But, when pressing "I have lost my other device" link, the progress indicator spins for a while and after that "nothing" happens - no further dialog and no email to the indicated email account anyway.

- - -

Rephrased question: The "I have lost my other device" link in the Sync setup dialog seems to not do anything useful (possibly due to the fact that this dialog may still access the FF-Sync server or maybe the PM Sync server does not implement a rescue/fallback for this?) - is there any way to reconnect to the PM Sync server without a recovery key or second device? Or, failing that, to request erasure of my data/account there?

Cheers

[Moonchild]

Hmm.. it looks like along with the sync 1.1 server they also removed the J-PAKE server. I recently did set up one of my own but it's obviously not linked to the browser(s) yet considering I assumed it would still be used otherwise.

There is also no e-mail functionality (yet) from our Sync server, so account deletion and reset currently doesn't work. This is on our to-do list but could use a little assistance to get working from a php/mysql programmer with time on their hands.

The only way to currently link devices is to input your user name, password and key on the new device.

I'm not entirely sure what your current status is, but if you previously talked to the FF sync servers, then your server-stored data will be gone since those servers were shut down by Mozilla last week. If you don't get any errors on your username and password then your current sync setup with the Pale Moon Sync server should be in order and you can use it.

[Pudding]

Howdy,

Thanks for your response. Current status is that - if memory serves - I'm pretty sure that a while back (less than a year) I had to jump through some hoops te recover my data from FF Sync in a similar case (it seems I tend to shoot my systems regularly ), by installing an older version of FF, doing a sync, saving the bookmarks to disk and importing those into a newer FF (where they had migrated to a new sytem). Not to long after I must have migrated to PM and I distinctly remember setting up Sync differently (different email, no passwords stored, just bookmarks) for PM and I'm pretty sure I used the PM Sync server for that (thanks for the service btw ). Me not getting a username/password error when trying to setup sync with the PM server configured seems to corroborate that.

Hence, the only problem for successful setup of PM-Sync seems to be the missing recovery key, which I'm afraid I must have not stored at the time, or it got lost in swapping hard drives around etc.

Technically, would it at all be possible to recover an account without the recovery key (such as getting a new key sent by the system to the configured email/username)? Or how would the "I have lost my other device" function have functioned previously (on FF)?

I would certainly be willing to offer time in helping out with PM, but my php and mysql skills are rusty at best (and surely based on outdated versions), not at sure it would be a great "help" but maybe I can do some legwork in scraping together old code from FF to see how such functionality could theoretically be provided ...

Cheers

[Moonchild]

Technically, would it at all be possible to recover an account without the recovery key (such as getting a new key sent by the system to the configured email/username)? Or how would the "I have lost my other device" function have functioned previously (on FF)?

Your account, yes, but not your data.
You'll have to perform a reset of your account from your linked device.

It's a little counter-intuitive because it doesn't give you any visual feedback, but you have to fill in your login details, but NOT click the next button, but click the "i have lost my other device" link instead. It won't function unless you have entered your login details first. From there you can go on and re-initialize your account with a new key.

By the way: Mozilla has confirmed that their keyserver has also been shut down, so currently the 12-character linking of devices will not work.

[Pudding]

Hmmmm,

Either I'm really thick or things just don't work as advertised...

• I fill in accountname(email) and password
• I fill in the server as https://pmsync.palemoon.net/
• I do not have a recovery key, thus the "next" button is greyed out
• hence I click "I have lost my other device"
• a progress indicator spins for a short while
• nothing happens - "Next" still greyed out and no error on account/password
• I try going into the options and press "Done"
• Meantime, in the browser I can access now access the preferences for Sync and it gives me a recovery key (but I'm assuming this is a new one, but never mind)
• I enter this key in the Sync setup dialog and now the "Next" button is accessible
• Pressing Next now gives me an account/password error
• Okay whatever, so I try "Reset password"
• Now I get the same "Function not found" page previously seen from the FF server, but now served up from https://pmsync.palemoon.net/weave-password-reset

Just for fun and testing:
If I use my old recovery key for the FF server I get the same result (key is accepted, Next green, but pwd-errror)
If I reconfigure to the default FF server the Next button is also accessible, but I do NOT get the password error (but nothing else happens)

I'm presuming my bookmarks to be lost, so it doesn't really matter other than that it would probably be good to get my account erased or reusable in terms of serverspace, but from where I stand I might aswell setup a new account. Just trying to work with you to see where the account recovery is failing (for me), but don't spend too much time on it on my behalf if you have better things to do now and would like to push it back on the to do list

Cheers

[Moonchild]

Use the default PM server selection. The underlying URL is NOT just https://pmsync.palemoon.net

1. Enter your login details with default server selection and press the link

   

2. It will verify your details

   

3. It will open the recovery key reset/generate dialog after verifying your login and allow you to reset it.

   

If your details are incorrect, it will tell you after step 2:

I've personally verified that all this works as-intended, just now.

[Pudding]

Howdy,

First of all, a big THANKS for all you patience and time

Use the default PM server selection. The underlying URL is NOT just https://pmsync.palemoon.net

I'm a bit confused here. Did you change that just now? I don't remember having that option (just default FF Sync server and custom defined), then again I downgraded PM to an older version at some point, hoping that the dialogs of the version I had installed on my old system might still work (but it didn't help).
Meantime on a fresh Qubes/Fedora21 and running PM 25.7.2 again.

Anyway, today - using the "Default: Pale Moon Sync server" selected from the drop down menu in the server box - I get the "Incorrect account name or password" with the "Reset Password" link (yesterday with the server link listed previously that did not occur).
I'm really quite sure that the password and account name are correct, as I had stored these in an encrypted file somewhere and there would have been no reason for me to change them.

Is it at all possible that the password got "Reset" when trying in one of my previous attempts (pwd reset successful), and that the process fails after that when trying to send me the temporary new password (email fails)?

Anyway. This all indeed functions as in your example/screenshots now, but I still get the "Function not found" page, this time served up from https://pmsync.palemoon.net/sync/index. ... word-reset

This is not surprising, seeing what you had mentioned above about the email-system.

So, it would seem that I'm stuck with a wrong account name / password combo for now, bases on a known issue that the email system for handling Sync accounts is not yet functional - correct?

If you think that this is not a correct summary, please let me know if I could try anything else

Thanks again & cheers!

[Moonchild]

Password reset via e-mail is NOT implemented in the Pale Moon Sync server at this time.

If you went through those steps and got a password reset page, then you were not using our server previously, and likely were still using the Firefox/Mozilla one. Those are no longer available. I can check for you if you actually have an account on our server or not, and remove the account for you to recreate if so (I cannot reset your password easily, myself). PM me your e-mail address in that case.

[Pudding]

Howdy,

Yes, I had gathered that from your previous messages. Pretty sure I did set things up using the Pale Moon server at the time, so you have a PM

Many thanks for all your help - much appreciated

Cheers!

[Pudding]

Okay - all is cleared up.

Just a summary for those who may find this thread for future reference:

Turns out that I must have somehow managed to use the FF Sync server for setting up a new Sync account for PM, even though I had conscientiously made up my mind to honour/use the service offered by PM, maybe due to the default dialog at time(?)

Anyway, the FF Sync server has gone and the PM Sync server is now the default choice in the setup dialog. Unless you have setup a Sync server of your own, or using someone else's you will be using the PM Sync server.

This should work fine, but keep in mind that the email system for account management is not functional (yet) so:
- Hang on to your password (it cannot be reset by email)
- Please do take note and store your recovery key somewhere safe.

Except for the disfunctional email, the page Pale Moon Sync service explains things in more detail - read it before using.

And of course note this:

... <e-mail functionality> ... This is on our to-do list but could use a little assistance to get working from a php/mysql programmer with time on their hands.

Cheers!