Configure Mobile App

By default, when you install the mobile app on Android or iOS, it will assume you want to use Bitwarden’s cloud site, vault.bitwarden.com. All you need to do is configure the app to use my site and you’ll be ready to go!

The instructions below won’t have graphics, as Bitwarden blocks screenshots on the phone while in use (tricky!)

Initial Configuration

  1. Install the Bitwarden app from the app store on your phone/tablet, if you haven’t already
  2. Open the app, but do not log in yet
  3. For “Logging in on:” select the drop-down and choose “Self-hosted”
  4. Set the “Server URL” to: https://bw.tadzplace.com
  5. Click the checkmark in the upper-right corner to save the setting
  6. Enter your email address
  7. Choose whether the want to app to remember you with the slider, although the best security is to not have it remember (worst case is you’ll need to type in your email address again when you log in; not a big deal)
  8. Click “Continue”
  9. Enter your passphrase in for the “Mast password”
  10. Click “Log in with master password”
  11. It will now prompt you for your verification code from 2Fas (or whatever authenticator app you installed). Don’t panic! Simply switch to the Authenticator app by clicking the app selector on your phone (it might be a square, it might be two-three lines stacked on one another, it depends on your phone) and switch to 2Fas. Press on the area where the verification code for Bitwarden is listed, and it should tell you it’s copied to your clipboard. Switch back to Bitwarden and paste in the verification code.
  12. You can choose “Remember Me”, but I wouldn’t recommend it, as it basically eliminates two factor authentication. That makes life easier, but also removes a layer of security too
  13. You should now be in the Bitwarden screen and your ready to roll. If you have a fingerprint reader on your phone, I’d recommend setting it up for that by using the instructions below

Biologic Authentication

If your phone offers it, I’d recommend setting up biologic authentication (Face ID with Apple, fingerprint or facial recognition for Android) for Bitwarden. If further secures things AND makes your life easier, which is rarely the case. If you own an Android technically the fingerprint is a more secure option than facial recognition (at least at the time that I created this), as facial recognition on Android is not nearly as advanced as FaceID on Apple.

  1. Make sure that you’ve configured biologic on your phone, as you’ll need your face/fingerprint set up there before you can choose to use it for Bitwarden (or any other app)
  2. Open the Bitwarden app and log into Bitwarden if you haven’t already
  3. On the right-hand bottom of your screen select “Settings” (icon is gears)
  4. Select “Account Security”
  5. On iPhone enable “Unlock with Face ID”, and select the equivalent for Android (unfortunately, I don’t know how it’s actually listed there, but it should be the option above “Unlock with PIN code”
  6. Close Bitwarden
  7. Open Bitwarden

Instead of prompting you for your username, password, and verification code, you should now be able to log into Bitwarden using your face or fingerprint and nothing else!

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