Password Change

Since the device does not know the password and is unable to verify the password without the help of the server-side, you need to first call an endpoint that verifies a signature computed with the password. SDK offers two ways to do that.

Change With an Automatic Validation

The safe but typically slower way is to use the following code:

// Change password from "oldPassword" to "newPassword".
try {
    await powerAuth.changePassword("oldPassword", "newPassword");
} catch (e) {
    console.log(`Change failed: ${e.code}`);
}

This method calls /pa/v3/signature/validate under the hood with a 2FA signature with provided original password to verify the password correctness.

Change With a Manual Validation

However, using this method does not usually fit the typical UI workflow of a password change. The method may be used in cases where an old password and a new password are on a single screen, and therefore are both available at the same time. In most mobile apps, however, the user first visits a screen to enter an old password, and then (if the password is OK), the user proceeds to the two-screen flow of a new password setup (select password, confirm password). In other words, the workflow works like this:

  1. Show a screen to enter an old password.
  2. Check the old password on the server.
  3. If the old password is OK, then let the user chose and confirm a new one.
  4. Change the password by re-encrypting the activation data.

For this purpose, you can use the following code:

// Ask for an old password
const oldPassword = "1234";

// Validate password on the server
try {
    const isValid = await powerAuth.validatePassword(pass);
    // Proceed to the new password setup
} catch (e) {
    // Retry entering an old password
    return;
}

// ...

// Ask for new password
const newPassword = "2468";

// Change the password locally
try {
    await powerAuth.unsafeChangePassword(oldPassword, newPassword);
    // password is changed
} catch (e) {
    // error
}

Now, beware! Since the device does not know the actual old password, you need to make sure that the old password is validated before you use it in unsafeChangePassword. In case you provide the wrong old password, it will be used to decrypt the original data, and these data will be encrypted using a new password. As a result, the activation data will be broken and irreversibly lost.

Last updated on Oct 26, 2022 (11:06) Edit on Github Send Feedback
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PowerAuth for React Native