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Passkeys promises to replace passwords as a more secure and convenient login method. But they still have a long way to go before they can fulfill that promise. This is because it is often very difficult to set up a passkey on one device, let alone all the devices you use.
The industry itself does not provide any standard or consistent method for saving and storing passkeys, so each company has created its own process, which may or may not work.
Also: What exactly are passkeys? Simple explanation – for anyone tired of passwords
By far, the biggest hurdle to using passkeys is trying to synchronize them across all the browsers and devices you use (see ZDNET’s detailed comparison of syncable to non-syncable passkeys). For example, just because you save a passkey on your Android phone doesn’t mean it will be available on your Windows PC, or vice versa.
That’s why I turn to a password manager as a central way to save and sync passkeys across all the browsers and devices I use. What if you don’t have a password manager? Well, there is another way, at least if you use Chrome on your computers and mobile devices.
How to sync passkeys in your Chrome browser
To help you store and synchronize your passwords and passkeys, Google offers its own password manager. Google Password Manager is not only built into Android, but can also be accessed through Chrome on any platform. This means you can sync your passkeys on Android, in Chrome, on Windows, on Mac, and on iPhone or iPad.
How does this all work? Here’s how I tried it on all my PCs and mobile devices.
Your first step should be to review the Google Password Manager options on your Android device.
For this, go to Settings on your device. The specific settings will vary depending on the type of device, but you’ll want to look for something that says: “Passwords and accounts” or “Passwords, passkeys, and accounts.”
On Samsung phones, you may need to search under the Security & Privacy category to find the “Passwords, passkeys, and accounts” setting.
Also: How to set up and use Passkey on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Once you’ve tracked down the correct screen, make sure Google is listed and enabled as the default service for password management. Also, turn on the switch to automatically sync app data when closed. From here, tap the entry for Google and set it as an Autofill option if it’s not already set that way.
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To get things started, you can start by setting up a passkey on your Android device. Let’s use Amazon for this example. On your device, launch Amazon in Chrome and sign in with your Amazon account. Go to the “Login & Security” settings and tap the Set up a passkey button.
The next screen prompts you to use your default authentication method, such as facial recognition, fingerprint scan, or PIN. Use the appropriate method, and then the passkey should be generated and saved.
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You may have an iPhone instead of an Android device. You can use Google’s password manager as long as you use Chrome instead of Safari. To set this up on an iPhone (or iPad), go to Settings, select General, tap “Autofill & Passwords.” In the AutoFill section, turn on the switch for Chrome.
Also: 10 Passkey Survival Tips: Prepare Now for Your Passwordless Future
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In Chrome on your iPhone, go to Settings and tap your account name at the top. Here, you can choose which items you want to sync. Make sure the switch for “Password and passkey” is on.
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Do you want this to work in Windows too? Open Chrome in Windows and make sure you’re signed in with your Google account. Click your profile icon in the top right and select “Passwords & Autofill.” Select Google Password Manager and then click Settings.
Confirm that all necessary switches are turned on to allow the password manager to save passwords and passkeys, sign in automatically, use Windows Hello when needed, and use and save passwords from your Google Account.
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Next, you need to sync your password and passkey.
Also: How Passkey Works: Going Passwordless with Public Key Cryptography
Select the “You & Google” option in Settings and click the “Turn on sync” button. On the next screen, click Settings and then select options to manage what you sync. Next, click on the “Customize Sync” option. You can then choose which items you want to sync, but make sure you turn on the switch for “Password & Passkey.”
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Launch Chrome in Windows and go to the site you want to create a passkey for. Let’s use LinkedIn here. Sign in to the LinkedIn website, click the Me icon at the top and select “Settings & Privacy.”
Go to the Sign in and security section and select Passkey. Click on the button to create a passkey. Confirm that the passkey will be saved in Google Password Manager. Authenticate your account, and the passkey will be generated and saved.
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Next, you’ll want to sync your password and passkey. Select the “You & Google” option in Settings and click the “Turn on sync” button. On the next screen, click Settings and then select options to manage what you sync. Click on the option “Customize Sync”. Choose which items you want to sync, but make sure you turn on the switch for “Passwords and Passkeys.”
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Launch Chrome on your Mac and browse to the site you want to create a passkey for. We will use GitHub. Sign in to the GitHub website, click your profile icon in the top right, and select Settings. Go to the “Password and Authentication” section and click the button to add a passkey.
Also: Why the path from password to passkey is long, bumpy, and worthwhile – probably
The next screen explains how it works. Click the button to Add Passkey. Confirm that the passkey will be saved in Google Password Manager and then click Next. Authenticate the process, and the passkey is generated and saved.
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At this point, we have passkeys created and stored through Google Password Manager in Chrome from four different devices – Android phone, iPhone, Windows PC, and Mac. To sign in with a passkey, browse to one of the stored websites in Chrome on any of the four devices. You should be prompted to sign in with your saved passkey.
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warnings
Yes, this all sounds like a lot of work. But keep in mind that you have to manually set a particular passkey only on one device, not on all. Once you generate a passkey on one device through Chrome, it will automatically sync to Chrome on all your other devices.
I encountered sync issues with a device. Ironically, it was my Android phone. Any passkey I created on this phone synced with three other devices. Any passkey I created on the three other devices synced between them, but not with my Android phone. I had to manually sync them to my Android device to get it to work.
Also: Best Password Managers of 2025: Expert Tested
Another hurdle I faced was trying to set up and sync a passkey for my Google account.
As my fellow ZDNET reporter Jack Wallen discovered, Google doesn’t make it easy to create passeskeys for its user accounts. This is strange because you would think Google would have completed this process by now. But this problem points to some inherent flaws in the current implementation of Passkeys. In the end, I was never able to sync my Google Account passkey across all four devices.
Overall, the password manager is still a better option for saving and syncing passkeys not only across different devices but also different browsers. But if you don’t use a password manager and use Chrome, the steps here provide at least one alternative method that will work.
