"Remember Password" in Launcher not Working

[SubZero.4319]

Whether I have the "Remember Password" checkbox checked or not, I still have to type in my password every single time I want to log in. I also have the "Remember Account Name" checkbox checked and the launcher has no problem remembering it, but not the password. It hasn't remembered my password for the entire two and a half years I've played GW2. I thought it wasn't supposed to work and they just never bothered to remove the checkbox at first, but after talking with several people in map chat, they say that it works fine for them, and many even say they've forgotten their password because they never have to enter it any more. I would LOVE that lol. It's SO old entering it every single time I log out. It's been this way for me even after I bought an entirely new laptop, installed Wiindows 10, and then installed Guild Wars 2, so I don't know if it's an account issue or just a Guild Wars 2 bug that affects only certain accounts, but whatever it is it's VERY annoying. Any advice guys? Any help whatsoever would be appreciated, even if it's only to tell me that I'm not the only one with this "quality of life" bug/issue lol. Thanks in advance! 😃

[Healix.5819]

Are you sure? Most people who have complained about this simply didn't realize that their password was being saved because it doesn't actually show it in the box - it shows ****** in gray. If the checkbox is checked when the launcher starts, it's saved, and the login button will be purple instead of blue.

If it's actually not being saved, start by deleting Local.dat (under %appdata%/Guild Wars 2), which is where it saves your login. If it's still not saving, it's a problem with your user account (in Windows) or Windows installation.

[SubZero.4319]

Hiya @Healix.5819 ! Yes, you are COMPLETELY correct. You just saved me SO many headaches you have no idea. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I feel like a kitten now lol! Such a simple solution. So I have been foolishly retyping in my password for two and a half years like a tool. I don't know how I can thank you! You rock!

 

That said, they really should do something about that launcher UI, as it is somewhat confusing. I'm a software engineer. I write and debug code and design UI's/UX's for a living, and it had me fooled, and if others are complaining to, it might be worth ArenaNet's time and effort to redesign the launcher just a *bit*. Of course, it doesn't matter to me, as you were kind enough to save me future problems, but I'm just saying. x)

 

Anyway, thanks again, Healix. You pwn. I love your name btw. And although it's unlikely, if there's ever anything I can do to repay your kindness, please don't hesitate to let me know. Hope you are doing well in all your Tyrian endeavors, and that you enjoy EoD when it comes out. I'm so excited! Well, have fun and I wish you excellent fortune, my friend!

 

-SubZero/frostbyte/Sean

[Ashantara.8731]

4 minutes ago, SubZero.4319 said:

That said, they really should do something about that launcher UI, as it is somewhat confusing. I'm a software engineer. I write and debug code and design UI's/UX's for a living, [...]

...and yet you have never seen passwords being concealed behind asterisks (or other characters), like in practically every frontend input field you find in programs as well as on websites (and often in backend, too, as passwords are a delicate privacy issue)?

[Sylvi.8372]

On 9/24/2021 at 3:50 AM, Healix.5819 said:

Are you sure? Most people who have complained about this simply didn't realize that their password was being saved because it doesn't actually show it in the box - it shows ****** in gray. If the checkbox is checked when the launcher starts, it's saved, and the login button will be purple instead of blue.

If it's actually not being saved, start by deleting Local.dat (under %appdata%/Guild Wars 2), which is where it saves your login. If it's still not saving, it's a problem with your user account (in Windows) or Windows installation.

 

Holy moly, I had the same problem as OP for 1.5 years. It's such a QoL upgrade, thank you so much!

@OP: I was also confused since a filled password usually has darker asterisks. XD Currently not in the IT industry but I also took UX/UI classes in undergrad, hahahaha.

[Grunties.6178]

On 9/23/2021 at 3:50 PM, Healix.5819 said:

Are you sure? Most people who have complained about this simply didn't realize that their password was being saved because it doesn't actually show it in the box - it shows ****** in gray. If the checkbox is checked when the launcher starts, it's saved, and the login button will be purple instead of blue.

If it's actually not being saved, start by deleting Local.dat (under %appdata%/Guild Wars 2), which is where it saves your login. If it's still not saving, it's a problem with your user account (in Windows) or Windows installation.

You place the cursor in the very beginning of the password field indicating you are expecting a person to type something there. If the username and password are prefilled, the focus should be on the login button. If not there, at the very least at the end of the prefilled text, not the beginning. Making the login button purple does not help in this regard as that isn't a universal color for "go", "ready", etc. If everything is prefilled, then the user hasn't seen what the color previously was. Blue/purple is meaningless if you aren't used to seeing the two states. Green would be a much better hint, but for me it's still overridden by the cursor placement and asterisk color.

The asterisks are the light grey that most UIs use for example text, and when you start to type in that field you then overwrite the grey text. It looks to me like an example password. That seems like a weird thing to use as an example, but not as wrong as placing the focus/cursor in the beginning of the field and having the prefilled text a light grey.

Edited October 31, 2023 by Grunties.6178

[No one.7306]

On 9/23/2021 at 10:50 PM, Healix.5819 said:

Are you sure? Most people who have complained about this simply didn't realize that their password was being saved because it doesn't actually show it in the box - it shows ****** in gray. If the checkbox is checked when the launcher starts, it's saved, and the login button will be purple instead of blue.

If it's actually not being saved, start by deleting Local.dat (under %appdata%/Guild Wars 2), which is where it saves your login. If it's still not saving, it's a problem with your user account (in Windows) or Windows installation.

Bro, you are a SAVER!

I am also a computer science student and I've never seen a saved password like that in UI, that's confused me for years. Maybe you also need to click on login so the launch button becomes available?

Anyway, thank you so much!

[Night Winde.2693]

Occasionally I run into an issue where the "Account Name" field in the launcher is empty.  This started maybe a year or two back but closing and reopening the launcher has always fixed it.  When I close and reopen the launcher my account name is populated again.  The password field always has ****** (6 asterisks) in it whether or not the account name is filled in and I know for a fact that my password is longer than 6 characters.  So the launcher is a little flakey but I've not had a problem with it saving my credentials.  Consistently displaying them as being filled in is the issue I see but with the close/reopen fixing it I never thought about reporting it.