KEY POINTS
- Microsoft Edge users have reported that their saved passwords have been altered to GUID-like strings, making viewing or copying the original passwords impossible.
- It is unclear whether this is a bug or an intentional feature, but the problem seems to be affecting multiple devices, including Windows 11, iOS, and others.
- Users can fix this issue by resigning saved passwords under the sync settings in Microsoft Edge on both PCs and mobile devices. If you’re on iOS, reinstalling the Edge app might be necessary.
It’s not just you. Microsoft’s bug or update quietly changed saved passwords in Edge on Windows 11, iOS and other devices to GUID-like serial key strings, confusing the community. This change has allegedly made saved passwords useless for copying and pasting into other apps or websites.
For example, if your saved password for Facebook is “Hello@123”, it would appear as “6B29FC40-CA47-1067-B31D-00DD010662DA” when you try to view the saved password in Microsoft Edge.
As you probably know, Microsoft Edge’s saved passwords are stored and encrypted on the Microsoft servers and synced across your device in real-time. These passwords are also cached onto the local folder for Edge, and only Microsoft can read the data in the folder or on the server.
You can view all the passwords saved to that profile from the passwords page in the profile settings. From there, you view your saved passwords by clicking the eye icon in the list and clearing a security challenge (enter password or PIN and use facial recognition).
After clicking the eye icon, you can see the password. The process is as simple as that, but that’s no longer true after recent server-side updates.
Windows Latest has received reports from our readers claiming that “Microsoft Edge changed my saved passwords to serial keys (GUIDs), and I can no longer view or copy the original password”.
“Edge has changed all my saved passwords to something like a serial key. Is there a way to fix it?” one user posted in a Reddit thread.
“Rdge simply messed all my passwords, and now they look like a serial key, and they don’t work,” another user added. “This is what it’s doing on my phone. It isn’t a problem on my computer, and it just happened with this latest update,” and there are similar complaints across Microsoft communities.
How to fix Microsoft Edge saved passwords showing serial keys or string numbers.
Fortunately, there is a way to revert the broken Edge password update. If your saved passwords appear as strings or numbers and want to view them again, use these steps:
- On PC, open Microsoft Edge > Settings > Profiles > Sync. Toggle on and ‘Passwords‘, and resync.
- On iOS or Android, reinstall Microsoft Edge and open it, then click three dots, go to Settings, click your profile and open the sync page. Toggle on and ‘Passwords‘, and resync.
The issue appears widespread, but few have noticed the changes to their saved passwords, as people do not visit that page often.
We don’t know if the tech giant is aware of the reports, but it’s pushing several new features to the browser over the weekend, including a new full-fledged screenshot tool, AI-powered web writing, and more.
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