Client: Can I recover a key from iOS Backup?

[florincm]

Does the iOS app, store the key somewhere where i can recover it from an iOS backup?

I did a iPhone restore, but the keybase app did not restore to its original state ultimately losing access to my account/teams etc?

What can i do now? except reseting my account and losing everything

Thanks

[cjb]

Hi! No, the iOS app doesn't back up your device key to Apple's servers, so it's not part of your restore.

It does sound like you'll need an account reset unless you have another device or paper key that you could use to reprovision your phone.

[florincm]

I was thinking for the full local backup stored on my computer may contain some useful information.
A paper key would have been a smart solution but i only have the online password unfortunately.

The main problem is that i was the only owner of a few teams, and now i feel they are lost forever :( only by 'updating' my phone 🤦‍♂️

[joecorcoran]

Hey – a colleague of mine has recently restored their iPhone and can no longer access Keybase. They also can't setup the macOS app, because it asks for verification via phone. Sounds like the same as above.

What is the procedure in this scenario? You mention "account reset" up there, but I'm not clear on what that means. Please bear in mind that my colleague is not a software developer and needs clear instructions here.

[JCBird1012]

I'm bringing this back because there doesn't seem to be a clearcut solution that @cjb has suggested.

I understand the security model behind not backing up a device's key to Apple's servers — that makes sense... What doesn't make sense to me is the lack of information surrounding backing up Keybase device keys.

A heads up should be given that device keys will be unrecoverable after a iOS device is restored, and made well known throughout the app.

For example, I updated my phone this past weekend, had to restore from an iTunes backup. After the restore, Keybase didn't have me logged in and presumably the device key was wiped.

I can't reprovision the device as it would have the same name, and renaming it differently doesn't seem like an acceptable solution to me (it's physically the same device — and my Keybase devices profile shouldn't be cluttered)...

[ratkins]

I've been hit by this too. I have a (local, password-protected) backup of the iOS device from before the wipe that theoretically should contain the keys but I don't see anything. What's the name of the file in the iOS app's sandbox that the key is written to?

[florincm]

I still have not reset my account hoping that in a not so distant future this would be possible...

[intelfx]

I can't reprovision the device as it would have the same name, and renaming it differently doesn't seem like an acceptable solution to me (it's physically the same device — and my Keybase devices profile shouldn't be cluttered)...

This.

A solution would be very much welcome.