First, the honest answer, even if it is hard to hear: a forgotten master password cannot be recovered and cannot be reset. Your database is encrypted with AES-256 and is only ever decrypted locally on your device. Password Depot works according to the zero-knowledge principle: neither your master password nor your data are transmitted to AceBIT. This is why we as the manufacturer cannot decrypt your database and cannot reset a master password – this is not a question of goodwill, but technically impossible, and at the same time the foundation of your data's security.
Before you give the database up as lost, check the following points. In many cases the password has not been forgotten at all – there is an input or selection error instead.
Rule out typing errors. Take your time and re-enter your master password (labeled 'Primary password' in the login dialog). Watch out for Caps Lock and case sensitivity, for easily confused characters (e.g. the letter O and the digit 0), and for the keyboard layout (on a German layout, for example, Y and Z as well as several special characters are swapped compared to an English layout). Your database is not locked by failed attempts – after an incorrect entry, only the LOGIN button is briefly disabled. You can therefore try as many variants as you like. If you stored a decryption hint when creating the database, clicking Forgot password? (top left corner of the dialog) displays it.
Check the authentication type. A database can be protected with a master password, with a key file (extension .pdk), or with both. Check whether you have selected the correct authentication type – and, if a key file is used, whether the path actually points to the correct, unmodified .pdk file (has the file been moved, renamed, or copied from another device?).
Try your backup files. Password Depot automatically creates backups with the extension .bckd, by default in
Documents\Password Depot\Backup. Open them via Home → Local backup. Important: each backup file is encrypted with the master password that was valid at the time it was created. If you changed your password recently, an older backup may still open with the previous password.
Databases on the Enterprise Server: additional options are available here. Other persons with Server Manager permissions can access the server databases, and the administrator can set a new login password for a user. For details, see the Enterprise Server articles (below).
Note: Even without the old master password, you can continue using Password Depot without reinstalling it. Simply create a new database on the Home screen (Home → New database) – however, you will no longer have access to the entries of the old database. When creating it, store a decryption hint as a memory aid; it must not contain the master password itself.
Related topics: