Password Manager/autofill suddenly empty, but Login Data still contains rows — possible v20/App-Bound decrypt issue
I’m on Windows 11, Brave 1.91.175 Official Build 64-bit, Chromium 149.0.7827.155. Windows Security last successfully installed an update on 10/06/2026. Today when I turned my PC on, Brave opened with my bookmarks, history, cookies, and tabs still intact, but almost all saved passwords/autofill disappeared from the UI. I backed up my full User Data folder before changing anything. My profile is only Default. I checked the SQLite Login Data database and it is not empty: it has 107 total login rows, 96 rows with password blobs, and 94 usable-looking saved passwords. A prefix check shows 93 usable passwords are v20, while the only password Brave currently shows is a new one saved today, which is v10. Web Data also still has hundreds of autofill rows. I compared Local State across current files, Brave snapshots, and my backup; encrypted_key and app_bound_encrypted_key hashes match, so the database and Local State keys appear present. Brave snapshots also contain password rows. BraveElevationService exists and points to C:\Program Files\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\149.1.91.172\elevation_service.exe, but attempts to start it using PowerShell give: “Cannot open BraveElevationService service on computer ‘.’.” How can I repair Brave v20 / App-Bound password decryption path or Brave Elevation Service without deleting my User Data, cookies, history, or profile? Is an over-the-top Brave reinstall/repair safe, and is there any official way to recover/export the existing v20 entries since the database still contains them?
