Windows 10: I read about going passwordless and using Microsoft's authenticator app instead.

What happens when your phone is stolen and the authenticator app is ON that same phone, together with the emails you have set up as 2FA? Thank you. I wish we could go into Microsoft authenticator via web, not only app.

:)

 

do i still need two factor authentication with passwordless account

Do I still need two factor authentication with a passwordless account? It seems redundant considering the Authenticator is performing both functions. As you roll out the new passwordless account feature, perhaps it would be best to also turn off 2FA. What am I missing?

It also seems like a "Product" that could be listed in the topics selection could be for "Microsoft Account" questions. This question I have is not really Windows related, yet there is no better option. Just a suggestion.

 

Microsoft.com and Microsoft Authenticator not agreeing if Microsoft Passwordless?

I have Microsoft Authenticator set up on my iphone. I have an entry in it for Microsoft. This entry says "Passwordless enabled". I did not think I set Microsoft to passwordless, so I went and checked Microsoft.com on the web. It says I do not have passwordless enabled, and offers me the option to enable it. Why does Authenticator tell me that passwordless is enabled and microsoft.com tell me that it is not enabled.

Unless the "Passwordless enabled" that is showing in Authenticator's Microsoft entry means that it is available to me if I choose, rather than what it sounds like--that it is already enabled.

Microsoft.com:





Authenticator:





By the way, there are no correct categories for this question.

 

How do I authenticate my account without access to Microsoft Authenticator?

The "passwordless" option for personal Microsoft accounts was made available several months ago. I suspect, or at least wonder if, there is an issue within the flow of the Authenticator app that affects the process of trying to login to the app with an account that is (1) configured as a passwordless account and (2) requires two-step verification.

The good news is I realized that I could access all of my account's security settings from my PC (verified with Windows Hello) and from there I turned off the "passwordless account" and "two-step verification" features. Then I was able to successfully log into the Authenticator app again. Crisis averted.