ONLY browser won't log in. Other devices fine

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** [RESOLVED] Unable to Log into Vaultwarden via Browser – Root Cause and Solution

Let’s be honest – this project is excellent. It’s so good, in fact, that even though I don’t usually post much, this issue definitely deserves some attention. I hope sharing this will help someone else who might run into the same problem!

SYMPTOM: (any) Browsers won’t log into Vaultwarden, but mobile devices (e.g., Bitwarden mobile app) work fine.

Environment:

  • Vaultwarden is locally hosted on Proxmox (LAN).
  • The issue started after two changes:
    1. I changed the email account password (which I knew would break the email functionality).
    2. I performed a rebuild of Windows 11 after a system failure.
  • I have 2FA enabled for the Admin account on new connections.

Issue:

When attempting to log in from within the LAN (Nginx Proxy Manager handles HTTPS), both the web interface and the Chrome extension for Bitwarden failed with the error ‘Incorrect login credentials’.

Troubleshooting Steps:

  1. Double-checked the credentials: I ensured the correct password and 2FA were being entered, but no luck.
  2. Disabled 2FA via a trusted mobile device, but still couldn’t log in.
  3. Realized I might be having keyboard layout issues (e.g., US layout vs. UK extended). Fixed this in Windows. Still no change.
  4. Did not attempt to change the Admin password, fearing I might lose access via mobile.

Further Attempts:

  • Suspecting this could be due to a Bitwarden update breaking compatibility, I updated the Proxmox server and Vaultwarden web interface via scripts (if you’re into Proxmox, you’ll know the drill). Still nothing.

The Breakthrough:

  • I logged into the Admin interface (~/admin), corrected the email password, and noticed that 2FA was still enabled for the Admin account.
  • Clicked the ‘delete 2FA’ option and refreshed the page.
  • Boom – I could sign in again without any issues.

Root Cause:

While it’s hard to pinpoint the exact issue, I suspect the root cause was related to the 2FA setting on the Admin account. Had I tackled that first, I probably could’ve saved myself some time.

I hope this helps someone else who runs into a similar issue! I’ve noticed that solutions to issues like this aren’t always posted, so I wanted to share my experience in case it helps. Let me know if you have any questions!