Hi, I’m about to install Brave on a secondary computer. I already installed Brave on another computer about 6 or so months ago. I use the two computers at different times of the year and would like to keep each of them updated with Brave whenever I get to them.
I just downloaded Brave on this computer from the home page, but was dismayed to find out that it’s a totally different version, and perhaps there’s something I simply don’t understand, but it looks like the “newest” version is brv029.exe, and the one I already installed and had in the same Brave folder for downloads from the previous computer was… brv040.exe.
Do Brave version numbers decrease as time goes along? I would normally think 040 would be a later version than 029, but perhaps this is incorrect?
The reason I’m asking is because I’m concerned that when I bring my data out to the other computer in a few months, it will be incompatible because it’s a different version. Or would it be best to install the older 040 version instead of the current 029 version? Does it work to copy the installed browser itself to the other computer if there’s an incompatibility?
My apologies if these are dumb questions. What I’d like to avoid is losing the use of one browser or another. I didn’t start sync in the other location because I didn’t know it existed, was just testing Brave out, but iirc, I only have a couple of passwords there that are backed up elsewhere. Is it advisable to create sync here, and will that help with the version number or cause a problem?
Could you check the version number at Settings → about Brave
That’s the correct one.
Actually the version numbers are like 1.52.130, 1.53.110.
So if you see, the version 1.52 ends with 130. The version 1.53 ends with 110 so you might think that it’s actually older if you just look at the last 3 digits (probably that’s what’s showing on your computer). But if you check the whole version info, then 1.53 is bigger than 1.52.
Yeah you can sync them. Should not have any issues. Just make sure to check out the sync preferences to allow or deny certain data to sync to other computer.
I can only check the version number of which you speak here after installation, until I return to the other location, which won’t be for a few months. The versions with those numbers are installer versions. This is the only way I can know which it is until I go to the other location. There’s no one there to check it. The building with that computer is empty.
So if I install the current one from the browser page, which is version brv029.exe, and it’s incompatible with brv040.exe, will I be able to simply copy this installed brv029.exe over installed brv040.exe in the “program files” directory at the other location upon returning? (This is how it’s accomplished with Firefox. I’m not yet familiar with Brave, but so far I like what it looks like.) Is Brave similar to Firefox, in that it doesn’t touch the Windows registry, so it doesn’t matter if a different version is placed in the program files folder?
This is sometimes how it has to be done with Firefox. I move my profile over first, start Firefox, and if there’s been an update it will offer a choice to “close” out of the program or create a new profile. I then close it, pull the installed Firefox directory from the “program files” folder that was copied from the other computer, remove the other, copy the newer one over, and then Firefox opens the profile and does whatever it has to with sync or other settings, and then it will automatically update itself as needed, once it’s working again.
If this doesn’t work for Brave, if it doesn’t allow an overwrite of the current program directory, then I’m not sure how to proceed, especially if it does use the Windows registry.
As for the sync, if it works at all like Firefox it will be an exact copy with everything allowed, but sync doesn’t (with Firefox, anyway) allow for a newer version and take care of the program files copy. That’s strictly done with a backup drive. I’m guessing Brave is the same, but I don’t know and, before installing this version, would like to find out. Otherwise it will be a problem in the other location.
Since you say that you currently don’t have access to the other computer, I think you won’t have the sync Code for today too.
If you have a 24 word sync Code, then add the word at the below link as the 25th word. https://alexeybarabash.github.io/25th-brave-sync-word/
If you have a 25 word code, then simply replace the 25th word with the word at the above Page.
This needs to be done cause the 25th word for sync changes every day.
Btw, as confusing as it is, the newest version of Brave is 1.56.11 (the prior had been 1.56.9, it seems like Brave reversed things or had a typo on earlier number)
As to sync, it generally needs devices to be similar in version numbers. If there is too big of a deficit, the sync won’t work. That said, I’m not sure what the magic number is on it being “too big” of a gap, but know there have been people who had sync codes that didn’t work because they let it be like 3-5+ versions out of date. One very important thing to keep in mind is that Sync is not a backup.
As to how to sync, if you’re unaware, I’d say to check out the links below:
Thank you. Please excuse my ignorance. The only sync I know of is through Firefox, which is not a code. It requires signing in with a username or email address, forget which, and a password, so I don’t need to worry about changing a word in a sync code.
Since the sync with Brave needs to be changed every day and I may not get to it in a timely fashion, can I simply copy my profile from one computer to the other every time I change locations, rather than using sync? Will that suffice?
In addition to the Firefox sync, this is all I have to do with Firefox. If I didn’t have sync, simply moving the profile folder onto the computer would likely save everything, but I don’t know that for sure, so I do both, sign in to sync and also copy my newest profile to the computer I return to each time.
I’m looking for the easiest way to do this. Brave isn’t going to be the default browser, so it’s less critical for many things. And I do have passwords that I was hoping to import into Brave, which are currently stored in Firefox.
Thank you. I’m beginning to think perhaps sync isn’t what I need? I mistakenly thought sync was like Firefox sync - it requires a sign in with a password. There’s no code to remember or to expire or conform to a certain time or version.
So perhaps the question should be…if, upon leaving for the other location, the Brave profile folder is copied to the backup drive, will it be enough to restore everything current at the other location, as with Firefox?
And, if Brave (as with Firefox) complains that the already installed version of Brave is incompatible with that new profile, is it possible to simply copy the newer Brave program itself from the “Program Files” folder on the backup drive into the “Program Files” folder of the other computer? Or is it tied in with the Windows registry and likely to fail?
It’s kind of there, but as you see, it changes daily. They expect you to have something like your phone or another device which will be able to generate the new code for you. It used to be a static code, but dumb people messed that up by putting in the code in the Help article or by sharing their codes openly on forums when seeking help. As you can imagine, this resulted in a lot of people’s passwords and other private information being shared.
And I guess they don’t want to do username/password because that’s a bit of a higher security risk and also requires more from them. By not having something like that which can be hacked given enough time or effort, it pretty much eliminates our info ever being compromised. Even if someone does hack into it, they’d just see a bunch of encrypted data.
Kind of. Doing a copy/paste of something like the \User Data will give you extensions, settings, history, etc. What it won’t give you is your saved passwords, Brave Wallet, or possibly Brave Rewards info. To be more precise, passwords will be there but it will be encrypted. Encryption is done using your OS login information. So for the overwhelming majority of people, this means the new device has a different encryption key and wouldn’t be able to access.
If you want passwords, you’ll need to export them and then import to other device.
If you’re actively using Brave Wallet, you’ll want to Restore and then put in the seed phrase from the original device. Then they will essentially be synced. Otherwise your Wallet will be completely different on each installation.
Rewards might work, but not sure. The way it used to work is you could just copy/paste \User Data and all your vBAT would move over and if you had been connected to Uphold or Gemini, it would remain this way. But they stopped giving vBAT earlier this year and I’m not sure if everything else works the same or if they stopped it for security purposes. Regardless, for the most part your Rewards will be tied in with your custodial account (Uphold or Gemini) and not necessarily through anything you’d copy/paste from the computer.
NOTE
Obviously to reduce possibility of errors, you should make sure the versions of both devices are the same. like if you’re using 1.50.xx on one and using 1.56.xx on another, there’s a lot of changes that might have occurred in the browser. Trying to replace the \User Data may not work as intended. Obviously way to address this is just to update the browser before you copy or paste it over from your backup.
It looks like I won’t be able to keep up with the code, especially if I’m away from the other computer for four months (as is the case this time), then return there and try to work with it. Which either means a password manager (so far I don’t have one), exporting the passwords as you mention above, or saving passwords elsewhere (such as Firefox) and entering them manually.
If I manually copied any needed passwords from Firefox into Brave, would it then be not so much of a problem of moving only the data? And if, as with Firefox, the version of Brave is too old on the other computer, can I simply copy over the already-installed current version of Brave from this computer’s “Program Files” directory into the “Program Files” directory for the other computer, same as I do for Firefox?
It’s a pain, though it’s what I’ve been doing with another browser, but I want to get away from that one. In my limited use of Brave, I actually like it, and much more than that “secondary” browser.
If the installed folder in “Program Files” from this computer can be copied onto the other if the other is too old, then that along with data might be the key, without needing to touch sync or worry about codes getting too old.
