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Cannot Use NFC Security Key to Sign into Microsoft Account on Mobile

Anonymous
2024-09-09T04:41:39+00:00

I am trying to log in to my Microsoft Account on the Edge mobile app, and as my verification method I am trying to use my YubiKey 5 NFC. It is an USB-A so I cannot plug it into my phone and have to use the NFC capabilities (of which I have used for other apps before), but for some reason it won't display as an option when trying to sign in to my Microsoft account (as shown in the provided screenshot).

It is also completely not even reachable on the Bing app (it won't even display the option to use any Security Key). I recently just made my account passwordless, so the other option is to use the Microsoft Authenticator app, but when I do everything it fails at the end and says "The account or password is incorrect. Please try again," even though I don't have a password? Therefore, I am completely stuck on trying to sign in on mobile.

Phone:

Galaxy S21 5G

Android Version: 14

Microsoft Edge | Profile, sync, and sign in | MacOS

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-09-10T07:46:12+00:00

    Dear Chris Plonski!

    Welcome to the Microsoft Community!

    After enabling two-factor authentication or setting up the Authenticator app, you may encounter problems if you use unsupported two-factor authentication devices.

    For these devices, you can use an app password to log in instead. An app password is a long, randomly generated password that you only need to provide once instead of your regular password when logging in to apps and devices that don't support two-factor authentication.

    If you have two-factor authentication enabled and are using a device that doesn't support it, you only need to create an app password.

    You try to log in to your Microsoft account on Edge on mobile, and you can't verify your identity normally. You can try the above solution to create a temporary app password to try to log in.

    For information on how to obtain the app password, please refer to the following support article link:

    How to get and use app passwords - Microsoft Support

    Regarding YubiKey, you said this is the style of the USB-A model with NFC function. If the NFC function does not support authentication, it may be a compatibility issue with the S21 for using NFC authentication.

    I have another whimsical solution. You can try a USB-C to USB-A converter and then try to insert YubiKey for verification (there may be driver incompatibility, or the idea cannot be realized in principle). If conditions permit, you can try it. Because of these security verification issues and the community itself does not have so many support personnel who understand the principles of security verification, the above information is based on possible solutions I have come up with when I used it personally.

    And Microsoft Authenticator - Microsoft Q&A, this section has many Windows authentication experts and users who may have problems with enterprise account verification like you, you can find a more accurate solution or ask your own question here.

    If I have misunderstood or the solution is wrong, please point it out! Thank you for your understanding and support!

    Best regards,

    Yang.Z - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-09-10T14:29:10+00:00

    I tried pressing the USB option, but it still did not let me use NFC. I also tried restarting my mobile device, reinstalling edge/bing, clearing their cache, but nothing worked. However, I have been able to use another way to access my account so everything is fine now, but I still might report it to Microsoft/my manufacture as an issue.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-09-10T14:24:22+00:00

    Thank you for your detailed response. Regarding the YubiKey's NFC capability with my S21, I have used the NFC capability to verify my login with my Google account (as it showed the option to use NFC), unlike with the Microsoft sign in which gave no option to use NFC.

    I also do not have a USB-A to USB-C converter at this time, however I was able to solve my issue with the Microsoft Authentication app not working. It seems when Edge prompted me to verify my account login through the Microsoft Authentication app and I temporarily exited Edge, that would break it, even if I verified it would give the "The account or password is incorrect. Please try again." error. I was able to bypass this issue by putting the Authenticator app in a small popup window so I was able to access it without temporarily closing the Edge app. Doing this successfully allowed me to sign in.

    Thank you for your help once again. I still might report this issue to Microsoft as the "NFC Security Key" option exists for other apps, but not theirs, and figuring out this obscure solution was a pain in the butt.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-09-10T05:52:39+00:00

    Hello,

    Chris.

    I am glad to assist you, please let me know if i am misunderstanding the question.

    If you have not tried pressing USB security key, you could see if it brings up an NFC menu. If it does not you could use a USB-C to USB-A adapter to connect it to the phone. You should also try restarting the phone and see if the output changes. If this issue persists, you should contact the support lines of the manufacture for support.

    Hope this helps!

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