Encryption errors growing in number

Hello, @Barleyfreak.

This is not the impression we want you to have when using the product. I can share with you some troubleshooting steps to get your QuickBooks Desktop working and resolve the errors you're having. Usually, these errors happen due to the damage in the encryption of sensitive fields such as credit card numbers, social security, and bank accounts. To start with, let's update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release and make a backup or portable company file.

Once done, check the QuickBooks Admin user for damage.

1. Sign in to your company file as the Admin.
2. Change the Admin password.
3. QuickBooks will re-encrypt the data in your file. This may take several minutes. If QuickBooks crashes while encrypting, contact us. A representative needs to send your file to Data Services to remove all sensitive information from the file.
4. Sign out from your company file. Go to File, then select Close Company or Logoff, then close QuickBooks.
5. Reopen QuickBooks and sign in as the admin to complete the re-encryption process.

To check if the encryption is successful:

1. Run the Verify Data utility.
2. Check the most recent entry in the log file.
3. If you see any of the following errors, contact us to send your file to the Data Services for repair. 
   • LVL_SEVERE_ERROR--GetMasterKey Failed: The decryption has failed.
   • LVL_SEVERE_ERROR--GetDataAccessKey Failed: The decryption has failed.

If not, proceed to Solution 2 from this article: Error: QBwin.log: LVL_SEVERE_ERROR--GetDecryptedCreditCardNumber The decryption has failed.

Our doors are always open here on the Community page. Feel free to add a comment below if you have any other questions. I'm a post away to help. Have a good day!

FYI -- I have done all these things -- repeatedly -- and they did not resolve the issue.  However, the most recent revelation from data services is that this has actually happened before to another customer and that it was the result of a corrupt Windows or Windows user.  So I created a new Windows user and have been running QB on that now for 3-4 days and have not seen the error since.  I was not able to go that long without an error before, so I believe that this might indeed be resolved.  I will post back in another week if I have no further encryption errors pop up and post the solution as a corrupt Windows user.

please update as I am also having this issue.

I'm here to help you sort this out, marigold.

If you're done following the steps shared by my colleague and got the same results, I suggest contacting our QuickBooks Support Team. They are equipped with tools that can securely look into your account and determine the main cause of the issue. Also, they can open a ticket to send your file to our Data Services Team for repair. 

Here's how:

1. From the Help menu, select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. In the Have a Question window, scroll down to click the Contact us link.
3. This will display the Contact Us screen.
4. Go to the Tell us more about your question section to enter the issue or topic in the field box.
5. Click the Search button to display the Start a Message button.

Additionally, you can check out this link for additional reference when preparing your year-end tasks: QuickBooks Desktop Year-End Prep and Resources.

I encourage reaching you to us if you have other concerns or questions. We're always here to assist you.

Update:

The corrupt Windows user was the culprit in my instance.  Since I created a new  windows user and have accessed QB from that user I have not seen a single encryption error.

Thanks for the reply but I have tried various things with various customer services reps (I have the paid plan) and I cant loose another work day right now being on help chat. After I get the verify errors the program crashes, I reopen it, change the admin password, rebuild the file which makes a complete backup and proceed with my work till it happens again a few days later. It doesn't actually seem to affect anything at all and replacing the data it says is bad doesn't help the unpredictable eventual outcome.  I can't take the risk of updating to 2021 before I finish last years books here this week, as I don't have the time to fix that if it doesn't go right either. On Service rep said updating to 2021 will likely fix my issue, but another said it is possible it won't also.

We'll see how this goes.

@marigold 

Which QBD year version and Windows OS do you have?

QuickBooks desktop Premier Manufacturing edition 2020 and Windows 10 Pro ver 20H2

This issue seems to be unsolved, at least for me.

I have tried all the above including sending my file for repair. with in 30 minutes of working on it same issue. I got with Tech support again maybe the 30th time, this time I got moved up to engineering whom logged on to my computer and I was able to duplicate the exact issue.

i was told this is a known issue and they were working on it. this all happen back in January 2021,  Actually started back in August 2020. I have even replaced my computer with a brand new one Dell Precision Windows 2004 Pro Workstation, scared of the 2H as have many problems on another computer with it.

I call tech support today to see if there is a resolution yet. and I was told they are still working on it??? I am lucky that I have it still running on my back office computer with no issue. Still I use this as my POS on the front desk. Very Scared that at any time I could lose all my accounting and QB has no resolution.at all.  looking for a replacement doesn't seem to be many options. My end resolution I guess will be to go back to Hard copy accounting Its a real shame what has happened to this company been using since 1996 and until not never had an issue that couldn't be solved in one phone call. Seem no what they call tech support are just dummies reading KB and FAQ back to you. I haven't talked to any that had any real clue as to how QB works, shocking after the excellent Tech Support we have had over the last 25 years until now.

@Clintlgm 

Consider having a 3rd party file repair service to get the second opinion.

Well the thing is I have my file running on another computer in the office, without issues

Every time I try to move it back to the Front Desk computer where it belongs as I  use it for POS these errors start happening again. It's very weird but scaring me that I may be one WU from losing my entire Accounting for the last 20+ years

I am currently running a rebuild File from QB ReBuild service which deleted most of my employees and bank accounts and this file continued with the Encryption errors and I moved it back to my office computer and it runs with no error and I had to spend a couple of days setting up my employees accounts, Items had been deleted out of my bank accounts I had to Reconcile back a full year to get them back in balance. One went back into 2019 to balance these account were all working and in balance before all these Encryption errors and I can't count how many rebuilds of my file and Hub Repairs etc etc. and all the while no issues on this office computer same file. All the same software Windows 10 Pro on Office and on the new computer Front Desk Windows 10 Pro for workstations. All the same Network, Software installed Security software all the same.If anything this office computer has much more software installed.

You mention a 3rd Party file repair? Is there some software that works with QB files and Encryption?

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@Clintlgm wrote:

You mention a 3rd Party file repair? Is there some software that works with QB files and Encryption?

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@Clintlgm 

Contact us in private for details. We may help to check your file.

Consider contacting a 3rd party service provider for a fix

I have an encryption error in 22.0 file, and have changed password with no resolve.  The last rebuild report shows 18k errors; and 287 were encryption errors.  Tax ID number in Vendor list didn't encrypt correctly.  Its letters, instead of numbers and it has erased all contact info for these Vendors in the list.  If I take out the encrypted letters in the Tax ID line it changes all address info in past transactions too.  There has to be a fix for this, it is unacceptable if I can't trust QB's support, Tool Hub repairs, rebuild process to help me fix files and only option is to send in for data repair for unknown period of time.  We have been using QB's since 1996, and it is disappointing to have such major issues.  

@MDuerst 

Install the trial version for QBD 2023 to make sure. Don't forget to secure the backup file before opening it on QBD 2023. If the same error persists, consider having a 3rd party service to check your company file.

Hi there @MDuerst,

I can see that you've posted twice about your encryption concerns in the Community forum. I’m pleased to let you know that my colleague has already answered your question. To view her response to your other post, you can check this link: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/install/re-enterprise-22-0-update/01/1151460#M3669...

Feel free to click the Reply button if you have any clarifications or other concerns. I’ll jump right back in to answer them for you. Stay safe and enjoy your day.