How the hell is device sync works?

[neimovirne]

I wanted to switch from chrome after they banned manifest v2 extensions.

I installed brave on my linux/windows/ios systems. Then I created sync chain on linux as it is my main system, then added other systems to the sync chain using key words, because the QR code that is generated by brave is useless and cannot be recognized by ios camera app. I set to sync all data on all devices. Zero passwords, bookmarks were synced. But opened tabs were syncing for some time and then they also stopped syncing. Now if I try to check opened tabs from other devices on any system, it shows ‘last week’ as a time range and tabs that were opened last week.

Then I wanted to use the “send to device” feature to send some links from desktop to my iPad - nothing happens. Even though all the devices showed as active in the sync chain.

How the hell is this designed to work? If it is a bug how to report it properly or fix it?
I tried to readd all the devices and completely recreate sync chain - it did not help.

[Mattches]

@neimovirne
Can you please open Brave on your devices and share a screenshot of your brave://sync-internals page so we can take a closer look at what’s happening behind the scenes?

[User.1.000.000.000]

I’ll let Mattches do most of the support here but I thought I’d drop in and leave some good reading material you can maybe read in the mean time, if you’re up for it…

Check out the Topic(s) below, click on the header links to read further. Another very helpful Community Ninja put some support together on Brave Sync here (though not just for Brave Sync) and they were helpful for me.

Also, a note from my own experience:
Sometimes upgrades, including the iOS upgrade (and I am mostly referring to iPhone & larger OS upgrades) like the one I(/we?) just had from 18.7 .1 or .2 to 26.0 .1 not too long ago, messed up my Brave Sync on my phone so I had to reset it up, then things were back to normal (the trusted troubleshoot, off and on again sorta thing haha)

Anyway hope these help you too and if it’s too much or confusing leave it and again, just wait for Mattches to guide you through it

(& Not all of the Topics are exactly for your issue but it’s still good stuff to know)

Daily Expiring Sync Codes: Not Meant for Backup

Helpful Info & FAQ for Brave Users

Daily Expiring Sync Codes: Not Meant for Backup It’s important to understand that Brave Sync is designed for syncing data between devices, not for backing up your data. As one of Brave’s developers has stated: Warning: Brave does not officially support using the Sync code as a backup, and you should not rely on this continuing to work in the future. Use the export functionality in bookmarks and the password manager instead. Why is Sync not reliable for backup? The Sync Code changes daily. Th…

Note the 1-24+25th word tip!
Today’s 25th Word found here: https://alexeybarabash.github.io/25th-brave-sync-word/

How to start a new sync chain:

Helpful Info & FAQ for Brave Users

How to start a new sync chain Step 1: Go to Settings → Sync Here you’ll see something like the image below: [Settings - Brave 1_19_2023 18_55_54] NOTE If you don’t see these options, it likely means you have already started a chain. If that’s the case, you don’t need to progress further. Your page when you navigated to Sync should show your device and then also buttons that say View Sync Code and Add New Device. Both of those do the same thing but take you different ways to access the sy…

Adding new devices to existing sync chain:

Helpful Info & FAQ for Brave Users

Adding a device to an existing Sync chain Step 1 On the device that is currently on a sync chain, make sure you go to settings → sync and write down the code or be ready to scan the QR code. Step 2 On the device you want to add to the existing chain, go to Settings → Sync where you should see something like you do in one of the two screenshots below (if the first screenshot, then click on it to go to second screenshot): [Photos 1_19_2023 19_19_23] [Settings - Brave 1_19_2023 18_55_54] N…

Can’t Scan QR Code or Enter Sync Phrase:

Helpful Info & FAQ for Brave Users

Can’t Scan QR Code or Enter Sync Phrase This issue happens because you’ve accidentally created two different sync chains. Sync chains can’t be combined, so you’ll need to leave the sync chain on one of your devices. Step 1: Check if you’re in a sync chain Go to your sync menu. If you’re in a chain, it will look like this: [image] Scroll to the bottom. If more than one device is on the list, they’ll be displayed here: [image] Step 2: If you’re not in a sync chain If you’re not in a sync cha…

(They are all mostly together in that Topic, except the last one has some space from the first three)