Understanding the “Bad digest” Error When Opening a Safe

If pwSafe shows a “Bad digest” error when you try to open a safe, this usually means the safe file is corrupted. In technical terms, the file’s internal integrity check no longer matches the data stored in the file.

This is different from entering the wrong password. A wrong password does not damage your safe, but a corrupted file may no longer be readable even with the correct password.

How to recover

The usual solution is to restore an earlier version of the safe from wherever it was stored or backed up:

• Dropbox: sign in to Dropbox in a web browser, locate the .psafe3 file, and restore an older version of that file.
• pwSafe Cloud: if you use Cloud Backups, restore a previous backup from the Cloud section in pwSafe.
• Other backups: if you keep your own backups, restore a known good copy from there.

After restoring the earlier version, open that restored safe in pwSafe. If you use Dropbox on iPhone or iPad and the app is still pointing to the wrong copy, relink the safe by tapping + and choosing Link to Existing Dropbox Safe.

Can pwSafe repair the corrupted file?

In most cases, no. If the file itself is damaged, the practical recovery path is to go back to a previous working version.

How to reduce the risk in the future

• Keep regular backups of your safe.
• If you use cloud sync such as Dropbox or iCloud, remember that sync is not the same as backup.
• Consider enabling pwSafe Cloud if you want automatic versioned backups.