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I have copied my email and encryption files to a new Ubuntu installation as follows:

  • Exported GnuPG keys from old desktop and imported on new one. (And other passwords and keys.)

  • Opened Evolution on the old desktop, selected File > Back up Evolution Data.... Copied the file across. Opened Evolution on the new desktop, selected File > Restore Evolution Data...

  • Confirmed on the new desktop that:

    • The OpenPGP Key ID appears under the Security tab in the Evolution Account Editor (matches old desktop)

    • The GPG keys appears in GNOME Passwords and Keys (aka Seahorse)

However, when I attempt to read encrypted emails on the new desktop, Evolution cannot open them. It says "Could not parse PGP/MIME message: Failed to decrypt MIME part: Secret key not found". This applies to new encrypted emails and old ones, including those sent by me.

I also cannot send signed or encrypted emails. When I try, it says "Could not create message. Because: 'gpg: skipped '12345678': No secret key. gpg: signing failed: No secret key', you may need to select different mail options."

lofidevops
  • 21,912

1 Answers1

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You have imported your GnuPG key data, but not the associated trust data. You have two options:

  1. If you don't have any new keys/trust data on the new machine, delete your ~/.gnupg folder. Then, instead of import/export, just copy the ~/.gnupg folder from your old machine. This will copy both your key data and trust data.

  2. If you do have new key/trust data on your new keyring and you can't afford to delete it, open up GNOME Passwords and Keys and go through the keys one by one, updating the trust properties for each key. (You may need to compare each entry to the corresponding entry on the old machine.)

References:

lofidevops
  • 21,912