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cannot log in on new windows 10 computer with 7 character password

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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I have a master password I have been using for many years. It is 7 characters long. On a new windows 10 computer, I downloaded firerfox and when I tried to log in, got error that my password needs to be 8 characters.

How can I get it to accept my current 7 character password?

I have a master password I have been using for many years. It is 7 characters long. On a new windows 10 computer, I downloaded firerfox and when I tried to log in, got error that my password needs to be 8 characters. How can I get it to accept my current 7 character password?

Chosen solution

The master password is for the builtin Lockwise Password Manager that uses the logins.json and key4.db files in the profile folder. It sounds that you try to login to a Firefox Account used for Sync and that is different than Lockwise.

Are you using a Firefox Account Sync account on the old device and are you syncing logins ?


You can copy files like these with Firefox closed to a removable device and transfer them to a profile folder on another device.

  • bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
  • bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
  • cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
  • formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
  • logins.json (passwords) and key4.db (58+) (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
  • cert9.db (58+) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
    if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db
  • persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling checker dictionary
  • permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
  • sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)

See also:

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Chosen Solution

The master password is for the builtin Lockwise Password Manager that uses the logins.json and key4.db files in the profile folder. It sounds that you try to login to a Firefox Account used for Sync and that is different than Lockwise.

Are you using a Firefox Account Sync account on the old device and are you syncing logins ?


You can copy files like these with Firefox closed to a removable device and transfer them to a profile folder on another device.

  • bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
  • bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
  • cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
  • formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
  • logins.json (passwords) and key4.db (58+) (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
  • cert9.db (58+) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
    if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db
  • persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling checker dictionary
  • permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
  • sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)

See also: