This guide helps you enable multi-factor authentication for the Microsoft 365 cloud service. You can follow these instructions regardless of whether you have an iOS or Android phone. The guide also applies if you are changing your phone. The Authenticator app must be set up on your new phone so that you can continue signing in to Microsoft 365 services.

Step 1: Enable text message authentication

You will need both your phone and your computer to follow these instructions. A text message will be sent to your phone, and you should have a web browser open on your computer.

1. Go to the website myaccount.microsoft.com using your web browser.

2. Sign in with your Metropolia credentials in the format yourusername@metropolia.fi.

3. On the Summary page, select Security info.

4. Choose Add a sign-in method.

5. Select Phone.

6. Select Finland (+358) from the country code dropdown menu and enter your phone number. Select Next.

7. Enter the code you received via text message into the Enter the code below field.

8. Registering your phone is successful when you see a notification like this.

Step 2: Enable the Microsoft Authenticator app

You will need both your phone and your computer to follow these instructions. A QR code will appear in your computer’s web browser, and you will scan it using the authenticator app on your phone.

This step 2 continues from step 1, where you have already signed in to the page myaccount.microsoft.com on your computer’s web browser. Sign in again if necessary.

1. From the Security info tab, once again select Add a sign-in method.

2. Choose Microsoft Authenticator.

3. Take out your phone. Install the Microsoft Authenticator app (the app may already be installed if you are using a Metropolia work phone). You can find it by searching for Microsoft Authenticator. There are many apps in the store with similar names, so make sure you choose the one that is exactly named Microsoft Authenticator.
On your computer screen, you will see a notification similar to the one in the image below. Do not select Next yet. That will be done later.

NOTE! There may be apps in the app store that look similar to the real Microsoft Authenticator. One common example is an app called “Authenticator App”, which often appears as the first search result and has an icon that looks almost the same. Authenticator App or other similar apps are not Microsoft Authenticator. Make sure the app you install is exactly named Microsoft Authenticator. The incorrect apps are not necessarily harmful, but they may contain ads, and they are not the apps used in this guide.

On your phone, the app should appear like this:

4. Once you have installed the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone, select Next on your computer screen.

5. Launch the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone.

6. Please note this! Select Skip at the top of the screen. It is not possible to sign in to the Authenticator app with your Metropolia username, and the sign-in must be skipped.

7. In the Microsoft Authenticator app, select the button that looks like a grid or a QR code in the lower-right corner. This depends on the version of the app. The image below may be outdated. In some versions of the app, there may be a button labeled Verified IDs or Scan a QR code, as shown in the image. The goal is to find the button in Authenticator that opens the phone’s camera view for scanning a QR code.

7. Scan the QR code on your computer screen using your phone (the example below shows the QR code that appears on your computer screen).

8. Next, a notification may appear on your computer screen, allowing you to try out Microsoft Authenticator. The notification will ask you to enter into the Authenticator app on your phone the number shown on the screen. This step may also be skipped, as there may have been changes in Microsoft’s services.

9. The setup of Microsoft Authenticator is now complete.  The information about enabling the Authenticator app has been updated in your account security settings.

Step 3: Enable alternative authenticator apps (recommended additional step)

In addition to Microsoft Authenticator, you can optionally enable, for example, Google Authenticator or another trusted authenticator app of your choice on another phone or tablet. If your primary phone gets damaged, lost, or left at home, you can still sign in using your secondary device.

Setting up Google Authenticator or another trusted authenticator app starts deceptively by selecting “Microsoft Authenticator,” but in the following window, you will choose “I want to use another authenticator app.”

This Step 3 continues from Step 1, where you have already signed in to myaccount.microsoft.com. Sign in again if necessary.

1. Select Security info.

2. Select Add sign-in method.

3. Choose Microsoft Authenticator, even though you intend to set up Google Authenticator or another trusted authenticator app of your choice.

4. Choose Set up a different authenticator app.

5. Now open the authenticator app you want to use on your phone or tablet. Once you’ve launched it, select Next.

6. Authenticator apps differ slightly. In the authenticator app you opened on your phone or tablet, select the option to add a new account or add a new sign-in, and then scan a QR code.
The app will open your device’s camera view to scan the QR code.

7. Scan the QR code displayed on your computer screen.

8. Your Metropolia Microsoft account will now also appear in your alternative authenticator app, and you can use it for signing in just like with your previously configured Microsoft Authenticator.

Questions and Answers

My phone’s Authenticator app is already used for another organization. Can I use it for Metropolia as well?

Yes, you can. Authenticator is your personal authentication tool, and you can store identifiers for several different organizations and services in it. Just follow the instructions carefully and you will succeed.

I don’t have a smartphone. How can I use multi-factor authentication?

We recommend getting a smartphone, as it significantly reduces the risk of login issues. If that is not possible, you can use text-message authentication only. However, be prepared for potential problems: if the text message does not arrive, you will not be able to log in.

Why am I seeing ads in my Authenticator app?

You have most likely installed the wrong authenticator app by mistake. In the Play Store, the first search result for the keyword authenticator is often an app called “Authenticator App”, whose icon looks confusingly similar to the Microsoft Authenticator icon. Remove the incorrect app and install Microsoft Authenticator instead. Make sure the app name is exactly “Microsoft Authenticator”, nothing else.

The authenticator app I installed on my phone asks me to sign in. When I try to sign in, it requires an authenticator—even though I have not set it up yet.

This is mentioned in step 6 of the Microsoft Authenticator setup guide. You do not need to sign in to the Authenticator app, even if it appears to require it. Look at the top of the screen and you will see a small Skip option. Select that to access the Authenticator and continue following the instructions.

My phone is so old that I can’t install Microsoft Authenticator on it. What should I do?

Instead of Microsoft Authenticator, install for example Google Authenticator following the instructions in step 3.

Did you encounter a problem?

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