Windows 10: Why is my YubiKey only useful on one device?

After being asked to reset my password for the literally third time in a week, I enabled 2FA and tried to secure my account with a YubiKey, only for MS to tell me that the key can only be used on the device where the key was registered. This more or less defeats the purpose of a portable key. I might as well just change my password to some gibberish on a post-it on my monitor. Seriously, what's the point of tying my YubiKey to just this machine?Microsoft's authentication has gotten so insane that I'm leaving completely. Does windows live mail have an easy way to export all my messages?

:)

 

When I register my yubo yubikey on my windows laptop don't I have to use the yubikey on my computer.

Hi, Howard_35_78

Welcome to the MicroSoft Community.



Yes, you must first register your YubiKey with your Outlook.com account, irrespective of whether you are using a local or an administrator account on your computer. Here’s how you can set it up:

1. Enable Two-Step Verification:
   
   • Log into your Outlook.com account.
     
   • Go to ‘Security Settings’ and enable ‘Two-step Verification’.
     
2. Add YubiKey as a Security Key:
   
   • In the ‘Security Basics’ page, click on ‘More Security Options’.
     
   • Under the ‘Windows Hello and Security Keys’ section, click on ‘Set up a Security key’.
     
   • Follow the prompts to add your YubiKey as a security key.
     

After these steps, you can use your YubiKey to authenticate yourself when logging into your Outlook.com account from any computer. When you insert your YubiKey into a USB port and touch the button on the YubiKey, it generates a one-time password to authenticate your login. This means that you don’t have to remember a password, making your account more secure against phishing and other attacks.

The YubiKey 5C NFC works with both local and administrator accounts and can be used to secure a wide range of online services that support FIDO U2F or FIDO2 protocols, including Microsoft accounts. Remember, it’s always recommended to have a backup login method (like a secondary email, phone number, or another security key) in case you lose your YubiKey.



If there is anything not clear or I can't understand your problem, please do not hesitate to let me know.



Best Regards

Martin | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

 

Yubikey login support

Hi,

Log in issues can be caused by invalid password or username. For us to assist you further, kindly answer the questions below:

• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?
• Have you made any recent changes before this issue occur?
• Have you tried using Yubikey before?

We're looking forward for your response.

 

Yubikey 5 and certreq

Hi Tim. I'm Greg, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, here to help you.

See here how to manage Yubikey 5 with Bitlocker enabled:

https://www.reddit.com/r/yubikey/comments/ryvj9...

https://support.yubico.com/hc/en-us/articles/36...

https://cloudbrothers.info/en/til-unlock-bitloc...

https://www.reddit.com/r/yubikey/comments/qcemc...

https://www.reddit.com/r/yubikey/comments/haf04...

For further help with this contact Yubikey Support here:

Contact Us

https://support.yubico.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Feel free to ask back any questions. Based on the results you post back I may have other suggestions if necessary.

______________________________________________

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