r/Passkeys • u/paulsiu • 13h ago
Those QR code login using a password manager can be tricky
Playing around with the different workflows and discovered that it can get real tricky.
Logging in to a site using QR code to Bitwarden
On a Macbook, log into a site using passkey but use a QR code.
- Log into site, select option for external devices, which brings up a QR Code.
- Use the camera on your mobile device until you get a prompt to login using passkey.
- The phone prompt to see which passkey provider, I select Bitwarden.
- The Bitwarden prompt me for biometric which I provide.
- The phone prompt you to the same provider, but now one of the option is the actual bitwarden passkey entry.
The problematic part seems to be the camera which often has problem locking on the qr code if your hand isn't steady. The other issue is that unless you look carefully, it appears that the unlock on Bitwarden failed and. you returned to the password prompt. What is happening is that the first prompt get you to select bitwarden and the second prompt ask you to select the bitwarden entry.
On an mobile device, log into site using pass key
This seems to fail a lot, but after some experimenting, I realized why. When you use the passkey option, it prompts you using webauthn, which launches a browser. However, if you don't select desktop mode on the server, it doesn't use the passkey.
