Backup and restore

The Backup menu holds everything for copying a Seclave’s contents to a file and restoring it - onto the same device or a replacement. A backup is useless without its backup key, so the two are always kept separately.

Device display showing the Backup menu

The Backup menu.

The backup key

Every activated Seclave has a unique backup key. You need it to restore a backup, so store it safely and apart from the backup file itself.

To see the key, choose Backup -> Show key. Because it unlocks your data, the device asks you to enter your two master-password words again before showing it. The key is a string of characters that you should write down and keep somewhere secure - for example in a bank safe.

Note

The backup key changes every time the device is re-activated. If you re-activate a device, take a fresh backup and record the new key.

Warning

A backup file plus its backup key together can reconstruct all your passwords on another device. Keep the file and the key in separate, secure places, and never store the key alongside the backup.

Take a backup (Export)

  1. Connect the Seclave to the computer with the USB cable.

  2. Choose Backup -> Export. The Seclave appears on the computer as a USB drive containing a file named SECLAVE.BKP.

  3. Copy that file to the computer with your file manager (Finder, Explorer, or similar), and store it in a safe place.

  4. When the copy is done, eject the drive on the computer, then press the joystick to leave the mode.

Device display showing export mode, presenting the backup drive

The device presenting the backup drive; copy SECLAVE.BKP, eject, then press to leave.

Note

Remember that the backup is useless without the backup key.

Restore

  1. Connect the Seclave to the computer with the USB cable.

  2. Choose Backup -> Restore.

  3. If you have stored a restore key on the device (see Saved restorekey below), Seclave offers to use it - press Yes to restore with the saved key. Press No to enter a backup key by hand instead.

  4. If entering the key by hand, type the 32-character backup key, confirm, and choose Done.

  5. Copy the backup file onto the Seclave drive when prompted, then follow the on-screen steps to complete the restore.

Warning

Restoring replaces the current contents of the device with the contents of the backup. Take a fresh export first if the device holds anything you have not backed up.

Restore from a Seclave version 1

If you have a backup archive from a first-generation Seclave, restore it with Backup -> Legacy restore. The procedure is the same as a normal Restore.

Saved restorekey

Backup -> Saved restorekey lets you store a restore key on the device itself, so that a later Restore can use it automatically instead of asking you to type the 32-character key. Because storing a key touches your protected data, the device asks you to log in again first.

  • To store a key, enter it when prompted.

  • To remove a stored key, leave the entry empty and confirm.

Warning

A restore key stored on the device makes restoring more convenient but means the key is held on the device. Only use this if that trade-off is acceptable for how you keep the device.