How to import passwords to iCloud Keychain on iPhone and Mac

In this digital age, I’m sure you log in on different accounts and type your passwords more often than you’d like to admit. This is where password managers come in. These handy tools remember and store all your logins and passwords, so you don’t have to. 

Things are even more accessible within the Apple ecosystem, thanks to its own password manager called iCloud Keychain. If you’ve been using a third-party password manager until now and want to migrate everything into iCloud, you’re in the right place. I’ll teach you how to import your passwords to iCloud Keychain. 

• Manually import passwords to the iCloud Keychain
• Import passwords to Safari from Google Chrome or Firefox
• Use a third-party tool

Before we proceed:

Here’s a little step, ensure that iCloud Keychain is set up and enabled on your Apple device. 

On your iPhone:

1. Open Settings → tap [your name].
2. Select iCloud → tap Keychain.
3. Toggle the switch on.

On your Mac (macOS Catalina or later): 

1. Go to System Preferences → Apple ID.
2. Click iCloud on the sidebar → tick Keychain on.

Note: If using macOS Ventura, System Preferences is replaced by System Settings.

On your Mac (macOS Mojave or earlier):

1. Go to System Preferences → click iCloud.
2. Tick Keychain on.

Manually import passwords to the iCloud Keychain

The most direct yet time-consuming way to import your passwords to your iCloud Keychain is to do them manually. Of course, it’s crucial to remember all your passwords. 

You can manually import passwords via iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Since iCloud Keychain keeps all your passwords up to date across your Mac, iPhone, and other Apple devices, anything you enter on one device will work across the board.

How to manually import passwords on iPhone

Here’s how you and find and manage your saved passwords on your iPhone or iPad:

1. Head to Settings → Passwords.
2. Use your Face ID, Touch ID, or password to open Passwords.
3. Tap the Add (+) button. 
4. Input the website, your username, and your password.
5. Tap Done.
   
   

How to manually import passwords on Mac

1. Search for Passwords on Finder.
   
   
2. Enter your password or use your Touch ID to access Passwords.
   
   
3. Click the Add (+) button → enter the website, your username, and password next to the text fields provided.
   
   
4. Click Add Password.
   
   

Import passwords to Safari from Google Chrome or Firefox

To transfer all your passwords to iCloud Keychain, you’ll need to import them to Safari on your Mac. While it sounds pretty straightforward, it isn’t that simple. Why? Unlike other password managers, Safari doesn’t let you import passwords from a CSV file.

However, Safari lets you import passwords from Chrome or Firefox to Safari. So let me discuss the step-by-step process of how you can import your passwords to iCloud Keychain using Safari.

Step 1: Download Chrome or Firefox browser

The first thing you need to do (if you don’t have them yet) is to download Google Chrome or Firefox. One is enough. 

Step 2: Get CSV files of passwords from a third-party app or service

The next step is to get the CSV file from the third-party password manager that you’re using. Though the steps might vary according to the app, I’ve covered the most common password managers below.

For Dashlane:

1. Go to the Dashlane web app.
2. Go to My Account → Export Data. You may be prompted to enter your master password.
3. Select Export to CSV. 

For Last Pass:

1. On your browser’s toolbar, click the LastPass browser extension.
   
   
2. Go to Account Options → Advanced → Export. If prompted, enter your master password.
   
   
3. Select Continue.
   
   
4. Your passwords will be downloaded in a CSV file in your downloads folder.

For 1Password:

1. Launch the 1Password app on your computer.
2. Go to File → Export → All Items. You will be prompted to enter your master password.
3. Enter the file name and where you want the item to be saved. Be sure to choose CSV for the file format.
4. Click Save. 

Step 3: Import the CSV files of passwords to Chrome or Firefox

After you’re done downloading your CSV file, the next step is to import it to your preferred browser. 

On your Chrome:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Type chrome://flags in the address bar. Hit Enter.
   
   
3. Type password import in the search bar.
   
   
4. Click the drop-down menu and choose Enabled.
   
   
5. Click Relaunch to relaunch Chrome.
   
   
6. Click the three-dot menu icon → select Settings → click Passwords under Autofill.
   
   
7. Scroll down to Saved Passwords → click the three-dot icon → select Import.
   
   
8. Choose the CSV file you downloaded from your third-party passport manager.

Currently, Firefox disabled this feature due to performance issues. However, there’s a workaround for it:

1. Launch Firefox.
2. Type about:config in the address bar → hit Enter. A caution will appear. Click Accept the Risk and Continue.
   
   
3. On the Preferences search bar, type signon.management.page.fileImport.enabled → click the button on the side to change false to true.
   
   
4. Click the three-dot menu →  select Import from a File.
   
   
5. Choose the CSV file you saved → click Import.
   
   
6. A pop-up will appear showing how many logins were added → click Done.
   
   

Step 4: How to import passwords from Chrome or Firefox to Safari

Now that you’ve already imported your passwords into either Chrome or Firefox, it’s time to import from one of these browsers to Safari. Compared to the steps above, this one is pretty straightforward: 

1. Launch Safari on your Mac.
2. Go to File → Import From →  choose from the available browsers where you initially imported your CSV file.
   
   
3. Tick the items you want to import → click Import.
   
   

While there isn’t a way for you to do this on your iPhone or iPad, you don’t have to worry. As long as iCloud Keychain is enabled on all your devices, you should be able to access all your passwords easily. 

Not only that, but iCloud Keychain also helps you detect compromised, weak, and reused passwords saved on your Keychain.

The process is similar if you want to export iCloud Keychain passwords from Safari to another browser or third-party password manager. We’ll discuss that in another article.

Use a third-party tool

If you don’t want the hassle of doing the rigorous steps outlined above, you can employ the help of third-party tools like Tenorshare’s 4uKey. These apps allow you to import all passwords and website accounts from browsers and third-party password managers.

If you’re still on the fence about which password manager to use and don’t want to do the hard job syncing your passwords, you may choose from our list of the best password managers for your iPhone.

Meanwhile, if you’re not so convinced with iCloud Keychain for your Mac, you can also check our roundup of the best password managers for your Mac.

FAQs

Wrapping up…

Password managers are essential tools that help you browse and interact with your accounts seamlessly. However, it may become a challenge when your saved items cannot be accessed on other devices or browsers.

If you’re an Apple user, placing everything on iCloud Keychain will ensure that your Mac, iPhone, or iPad will instantly autofill all your logins. You no longer need to force your brain to remember your passwords!

Have you tried importing your passwords and account information to iCloud Keychain? Which method did you do? Share them in the comment section!

Great reads from iGeeksBlog

• How to add notes to iCloud Keychain entries on iPhone and iPad
• How to Use iCloud Keychain on iPhone or iPad
• How to export passwords from iCloud Keychain