Use Microsoft Authenticator for easy, secure sign-ins for all your online accounts using multi-factor authentication, passwordless, or password autofill. You also have additional account management options for your Microsoft personal, work or school accounts.
Getting started with multi-factor authentication
Multi factor authentication (MFA) or two factor authentication (2FA) provides a second layer of security. When logging in with multi-factor authentication, you’ll enter your password, and then you’ll be asked for an additional way to prove it’s really you. Either approve the notification sent to the Microsoft Authenticator, or enter the one-time password (OTP) generated by the app. The one-time passwords (OTP codes) have a 30 second timer counting down. This timer is so you never have to use the same time-based one-time password (TOTP) twice and you don’t have to remember the number. The one-time password (OTP) doesn’t require you to be connected to a network, and it won’t drain your battery. You can add multiple accounts to your app, including non-Microsoft accounts like Facebook, Amazon, Dropbox, Google, LinkedIn, GitHub, and more.
Getting started with passwordless
Use your phone, not your password, to log into your Microsoft account. Just enter your username, then approve the notification sent to your phone. Your fingerprint, face ID, or PIN will provide a second layer of security in this two-step verification process. After you’ve signed in with two factor authentication (2FA), you’ll have access to all your Microsoft products and services, such as Outlook, OneDrive, Office, and more.
Getting started with autofill
Microsoft Authenticator app can also autofill passwords for you. Sign-in on the Passwords tab inside the Authenticator app with your personal Microsoft account to start syncing passwords, including the passwords saved in Microsoft Edge. Make Microsoft Authenticator the default autofill provider and start autofilling passwords on apps and sites you visit on your mobile. Your passwords are protected with multi-factor authentication in the app. You will need to prove yourself with your fingerprint, face ID, or PIN to access and autofill passwords on your mobile. You can also import passwords from Google Chrome and other password managers.
Microsoft personal, work or school accounts
Sometimes your work or school might ask you to install the Microsoft Authenticator when accessing certain files, emails, or apps. You will need to register your device to your organization through the app and add your work or school account. Microsoft Authenticator also supports cert-based authentication by issuing a certificate on your device. This will let your organization know that the sign-in request is coming from a trusted device and help you seamlessly and securely access additional Microsoft apps and services without needing to log into each. Because Microsoft Authenticator supports single sign-on, once you have proven your identity once, you will not need to log in again to other Microsoft apps on your device.
Optional Access permissions:
Microsoft Authenticator includes the following optional access permissions. All these require user consent. If you choose to not grant these optional access permissions, you can still use Microsoft Authenticator for other services that do not require such permission. For more information see https://aka.ms/authappfaq
Accessibility Service: Used to optionally support Autofill on more apps and sites.
Location: Sometimes your organization wants to know your location before allowing you to access certain resources. The app will request this permission only if your organization has a policy requiring location.
Camera: Used to scan QR codes when you add a work, school, or non-Microsoft account.
Read the contents of your storage: This permission is only used when you report a technical problem through the app settings. Some information from your storage is collected to diagnose the issue.
This is the most aggravated I can remember being in a long time. I’ve been trying to get my work email on outlook for the last 3 hours, and have been in a nonstop loop of outlook giving me a code to enter into authenticator, and then opening authenticator and having no prompt for the code. I’ve tried Uninstalling, updating, restarting my phone, using my desktop… none of it works properly, and my work is going ro be halted for the entire weekend as a result.
Great app for keeping track of all your accounts, however being done by Microsoft, the fact the info doesn’t cross over to windows when on your computer is a huge oversight. Never use the password generator if you want to use the password on any system other than your android phone, as you likely will not have access to it unless you’ve memorized it or written it down.
I recently downloaded the app on a new device and all my saved accounts are gone. I have to again connect all account individually which is a pain. Also I am trying to log in to an account which says tap the number on the authenticator app but the problem is that account doesn’t show up on the list and therefore I can’t log in. This is very annoying and unpleasant to deal with. Please help
The app is worthless if restoring backups to another device does not work. Many have run into this issue. When you do it’s impossible to get it to work. I am pretty tech savvy and have gone through every possible recommendation to fix it. I have had no success and I have been trying to fix this off and on for over a year. I have finally decided to switch back to Google Authenticator because if you can’t restore a backup to another device then the app is useless and users should avoid it.
I enjoy these authentication apps. I don’t know how efficacious Microsoft’s Authenticator’s security is, especially compared to other authentication apps out there, but it helps me feel more secure, at least. My only issue is having access in case of losing my app/account, like when I reset my phone/computer, these apps become security nightmares, producing the same kind of distress as one might experience when locking oneself outside of one’s car or house.
It was great, but I cant log back in after getting a new phone. Now as your trying to sign in it wants an authenticator code, and you cant apply anywhere because you haven’t completely signed into the app yet, it’s very frustrating, so I haven’t been able to login to my college account on my phone in weeks, and Microsoft customer service is not helpful. So yes if you plan on never getting a new phone then I would highly recommend this app, it does work great, just don’t ever get a new phone.
The ‘stuck in an authentication loop’ others have described is very real, and has been an issue for over a year. At this point, it’s the developers’ fault. Also, most accounts don’t sync if you transfer the app to a different phone, or even just uninstall and reinstall on the same phone.
The app does great for most of the stuff it’s supposed to do. It saves passwords and overall has a good quality of life. The main issue stems for whenever I want to sign into my college email and it asks for a verification code. This does not show up at all on my phone and is a real pain to try and sign in. I’m left on my laptop waiting for the code to show up but it never does.
Hundreds of saved credentials lost in the blink of an eye! All of my saved credentials in this app suddenly disappeared and I’m getting prompted to import passwords from other sources. Which other sources. This is on top of on-going random malfunctioning of the same app involving some apps and web pages with no indication whatsoever as to why the app will not prompt to fill in credentials or generate new ones for affected sites and apps. Such a spectacular failure! 😡
I don’t have a lot of love for Microsoft products, but I can’t complain when an app does exactly what it advertises without pushing anything on it’s user base. I’ve never had an add in MS authenticator, not even for other Microsoft apps. I’ve never been pushed to create an account, sign up for premium access, or do anything other than what this app does. I love that I can add any number of personal accounts, and that I can use multiple business, education, and personal accounts.
The layout of the buttons on this app cause problems. The app works fine. However the layout causes me to hit the wrong button because it jumps around a lot as the keyboard opens and closes for data entry. The buttons)choices need to be further from the text boxes. I often have to redo the process more than once a few times a week.
I find I find “Microsoft Authenticator App useless and agitating, to say the least. I’ve been locked out of my account now for a week. No instructions given to me has worked. Now, one week later, I’ve lost all of my previous emails, not to mention new ones. Living through this aggravation is the principle reason I dislike Microsoft.
How ridiculous to have folks stuck in an authenticator loop just to access their damn work emails? This app is a blockade to progress! I would never use this app again if it wasn’t required by the company I work for. The app is providing a number for me to enter, but there’s nowhere to enter it!! I would love to get back to work, but I guess it will have to wait.
What a joke. I’m unable to access my outlook account because the authenticator doesn’t recognize my device to send a notification. Upon trying to access the authenticator app, I get stuck in an endless loop of the app asking for a verification code only accessible within the app, only to be redirected to a weblink within the app prompting for a verification code only accessible within the app. I know that makes absolutely no sense, but neither does this app.
Works great, but now I need to get a new phone and the Geeks at Microsoft decided we can only back less than 100 devices. (5mb not GB) Error message: My current “backup is to large to backup” (I have plenty of space on my OneDrive cloud) and no other options are given. So I won’t be able to restore data to my new phone, so I guess I’ll be forever locked out of all those accounts! Good job Microsoft! You’re becoming like those jerks at Apple! From Five stars to One star you go!
I’m using 3 devices trying to get into my college apps with the correct log in info and all the of authenticator apps are giving me numbers but won’t let me put the number in anywhere. I have deadlines and I don’t understand why I can’t get in with correct credentials. IT updated my password to be sure and even with the new password I still can’t get in without it giving me numbers, but no where to put them. Apparently this is a common issue. My app is up to date across all devices.
Had it on a previous phone, it worked fine, but I needed to upgrade and it won’t stay logged in, even though it’s logged out of my old phone and uninstalled. I made sure to transfer everything over before hand and now I can’t log in to anything because I cannot access the app to enter my authentication numbers when signing in to emails and sites that require authentication. Awful experience.
Makes email and online storage very secure. It’s required to access my employers system remotely, and it’s the easiest part of that experience 😆 Also have 3 personal outlook accounts and it is a great knowing those seldom used accounts are secure. Gave it one star for adds b/c I hate adds. I’ve paid for the software, when a company adds a feature that’s included, don’t use my info to pay for your upgrade. With th # of users the PPU model, and MS annuall profits, shut off the adds!!
Garbage. It sends a notification to the phone. If the app is not open or the phone is closed and you then open the app, it gives you a dumb stare like “why are you here?” or it says there are no notifications. 3 seconds after sending the notification. You then need to go hunting for the notification. Only works if the app is open when the notification is sent. Lazy testers.
It’s a great app but… I find most authenticators are a tad too complex. This one is the most straightforward I have found. However, I do still get times where I’m not sure why it doesn’t work 100% Yes. It is likely to me. But very tech savvy but why don’t authenticator apps just work the same way for EVERY situation? It probably is 5* but there is just a bit too much complexity.