Solving Shopify Passkey Login Issues on Firefox with Bitwarden: A Community Deep Dive

Hey there, fellow store owners! Navigating the world of e-commerce means keeping your store secure, and passkeys are a fantastic step forward in that direction. They offer a more secure and convenient way to log in, ditching traditional passwords for good. But what happens when this cutting-edge tech throws a curveball? Recently, we saw a really helpful discussion pop up in the Shopify Community about a specific head-scratcher: passkeys failing to work on Firefox when paired with Bitwarden for Shopify logins, even when they work perfectly fine on Chrome.

Our friend @ferares kicked off the thread, detailing a frustrating scenario. Every day, Shopify would ask for verification, but their passkey attempts on Firefox would hit a snag, presenting an "We’ve encountered an error accessing your passkey. Try again or use a different method." message. The crucial detail? The Bitwarden popup, which should handle the passkey, simply never appeared. The error message they shared, user_submission_canceled_passkey, was a big clue, indicating the browser itself was canceling the passkey ceremony.

This is a classic example of how community insights can unravel complex tech issues. It wasn't a problem with the passkey itself (since it worked on Chrome) or even Shopify's system, but rather a hiccup in how Firefox, the Bitwarden extension, and Shopify's WebAuthn flow were communicating. If you're running into this, don't fret! The community rallied with some excellent troubleshooting steps. Let's dive into them.

Unpacking the "user_submission_canceled_passkey" Error

As @lumine astutely pointed out, that user_submission_canceled_passkey response is incredibly telling. It means Shopify never even got to verify the passkey signature. The cancellation happened much earlier, right there in the browser, before the credential could be processed. This immediately shifts our focus away from your Shopify account or the passkey itself and squarely onto Firefox or the Bitwarden extension.

So, if you're seeing this error and your Bitwarden popup isn't appearing, you're not alone, and there are concrete steps you can take, thanks to the collective wisdom of the Shopify community.

The Fixes: Community-Backed Solutions for Firefox Passkey Woes

1. Taming Firefox's Internal WebAuthn Settings (The about:config Deep Dive)

This was a brilliant insight from Vikash Jha - Apploy. Firefox has its own built-in WebAuthn handlers that can silently override external providers like Bitwarden. If these are enabled, Firefox might try to use its own system instead of routing the request to Bitwarden, which would perfectly explain why the Bitwarden popup never shows up. It essentially intercepts the request before Bitwarden gets a chance to handle it.

Here’s how to check and adjust these settings:

1. Open a new tab in Firefox and type about:config into the address bar. Hit Enter.
2. You'll likely see a warning about proceeding with caution. Click "Accept the Risk and Continue."
3. In the search bar at the top, type security.webauthn.enable_softtoken.
4. Check its value. If it's set to true, click the toggle icon (the double-arrow) to change it to false. This setting tells Firefox whether to use its own internal software authenticator.
5. Next, search for security.webauthn.enable_usbtoken.
6. Similarly, if this is set to true, toggle it to false. This prevents Firefox from defaulting to expecting a physical security key if one was ever used on that profile.

Once you've made these changes, it's a good idea to restart Firefox completely and then try logging into Shopify with your passkey again.

2. Checking Bitwarden's Blocked Domains

@lumine brought up another common culprit: Bitwarden's "blocked domains" list. Sometimes, if you've previously hit "Use your device or hardware key" on a passkey prompt for a specific site, the Bitwarden extension might add that domain to its blocked list. From then on, it won't offer to save or use a passkey there, causing Firefox to fall back to its own authenticator, which then goes nowhere.

Here’s how to check and clear it:

1. Open your Bitwarden extension in Firefox.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Look for the Notifications section and then "Ask to save and use passkeys."
4. Check the blocked or excluded domains list. You're specifically looking for accounts.shopify.com.
5. If you find it, make sure to remove it from the list.

Save your changes within Bitwarden and try logging in to Shopify again.

3. Verifying Your Passkey's Credential ID

This one is a bit more technical, but important. As @lumine noted, the allowCredentials array in the error response you shared will only accept a very specific credential ID. If the passkey stored in your Bitwarden vault doesn't match what Shopify is expecting (perhaps you overwrote it at some point or created it somewhere else), it simply won't work, resulting in the same cancellation error.

You can check this by:

1. Exporting your Bitwarden vault (a JSON export typically includes passkeys).
2. Comparing the id of your Shopify passkey in the export to the id in the allowCredentials array from the JSON error response you received (like the one @ferares shared in the original post).

If they don't match, the quickest fix is often to remove the passkey from your Shopify account and then enroll a fresh one.

{
  "result": "error",
  "reason": "user_submission_canceled_passkey",
  "credential_options": {
    "challenge": "YYYYYYYYYYY",
    "timeout": 120000,
    "extensions": {},
    "allowCredentials": [
      {
        "type": "public-key",
        "id": "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"
      }
    ],
    "rpId": "accounts.shopify.com",
    "userVerification": "preferred"
  },
  "selected_method": "passkey",
  "other_info": {},
  "severity": null
}

4. General Browser & Extension Troubleshooting

@Steve_TopNewYork offered some solid general troubleshooting steps that are always worth trying when dealing with browser extension issues:

• Disable other extensions: Temporarily disable all Firefox extensions except Bitwarden. Sometimes, another extension might be causing a conflict by interfering with page scripts or browser behavior.
• Try a private browsing window: Open a private window in Firefox and try logging in. This can rule out issues with cached data, specific cookies, or other temporary browser state that might be causing problems.
• Use a fresh Firefox profile: If the private window works, your existing Firefox profile might be corrupted or have conflicting settings. Creating a new Firefox profile can help isolate if it's a profile-specific issue.
• Verify Bitwarden settings: Double-check that passkeys are fully enabled within both Firefox's settings and the Bitwarden extension itself. Ensure Bitwarden is set as the default passkey provider where applicable.

5. Isolate the Issue with a Test Site

To truly pinpoint whether the problem is specific to Shopify or a broader Firefox/Bitwarden integration issue, @lumine suggested a great diagnostic step:

• Visit webauthn.io in the same Firefox browser.
• Try to register and authenticate a passkey there.

If Bitwarden prompts correctly and works fine on webauthn.io, then the issue is likely domain-specific to Shopify (e.g., the blocked domains list you checked earlier). If it fails there too, then you're looking at a more general Firefox/Bitwarden integration problem, which might warrant reporting to Bitwarden directly, as it could be a recent regression with Firefox or the latest extension version.

It's always a bummer when a security feature meant to simplify things ends up being a puzzle. But as this community thread beautifully illustrates, with a little collective brainpower and some systematic troubleshooting, these puzzles can absolutely be solved. The key takeaway here is that Firefox, unlike Chrome, has its own unique ways of handling WebAuthn that can sometimes clash with extension-based passkey providers. By checking those about:config settings and Bitwarden's specific configurations, you're well on your way to a smoother, passkey-powered login experience for your Shopify store. Keep your stores secure, and keep those discussions going!