UFG Corp · IT & Systems
Set up your passkey
Signing in with a texted code is going away. Here are the two routes to replacing it — about five minutes each.
If you sign in to your Microsoft 365 account by typing in a code from a text message or a phone call, Microsoft is retiring that method. In its place you’ll use a passkey — your fingerprint, your face, or the PIN you already use to unlock your phone.
It’s quicker than waiting on a text. And unlike a text code, nobody can talk you into handing it over.
Before you start
- Your Microsoft 365 email address and password
- Your phone, unlocked and nearby
- One last text code — you’ll verify the old way to turn on the new way
Don’t know your password? Contact your tech support team first — you’ll need it to get started.
Set up both routes. Route 1 is the one that matters — it goes with you everywhere. Route 2 saves you reaching for your phone every morning, and it means a lost or replaced phone doesn’t lock you out of your account.
Your phone
Works anywhere — the shop, home, the road.
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Open your security info page
On your computer, go to mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info and sign in the way you do today. Click Add sign-in method.
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Choose Passkey
Pick Passkey — the option outlined in red below. Then click Next on the screen that follows.
Choose the outlined option 
Then click Next -
Send it to your phone
Windows asks where to save the passkey. Choose iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
Choose where to save your passkey -
Scan the code with your phone
A QR code appears. Open the camera on your phone and point it at the code — the same way you’d scan a menu at a restaurant.
Scan this with your phone -
Confirm it’s you
Your phone asks for your face, fingerprint, or phone PIN. Confirm, and the passkey is saved to your phone.
This computer
Sign in without picking up your phone.
Only on a computer that’s yours. Do this on a machine where you have your own Windows sign-in. Skip this route on a shared front-desk PC that several people log into with the same account — a passkey saved there is a passkey everyone has.
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Repeat steps 1.1 and 1.2
Back on mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info, click Add sign-in method, choose Passkey again, then Next. Same start as before.
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This time, keep it on the computer
At the Choose where to save your passkey screen, pick This Windows device instead of your phone. That’s the only difference between the two routes.
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Confirm it’s you
Windows asks for your fingerprint, your face, or your Windows PIN — whichever you already use to unlock this computer. Confirm, and you’re done.
How you know it worked
You’ll see this confirmation after each route. Back on your security info page, both passkeys will now be listed as sign-in methods.
Next time you sign in, choose the passkey option instead of waiting for a text.
Questions
I already use the Microsoft Authenticator app. Do I need to do this?
If you approve sign-ins by tapping a notification or entering a number in the Authenticator app, this change doesn’t affect you and your account will keep working. Adding a passkey is still worth the five minutes — it’s faster — but it isn’t urgent for you.
I don't have a smartphone.
You have two options. If you use a Windows computer that’s yours alone, Route 2 on its own will keep you signed in.
Otherwise you’ll need a security key — a small device that plugs into a USB port and works like a car key for your account. Contact your tech support team and they’ll sort one out for you. Don’t wait until the deadline on this one.
Will I have to do this every time I sign in?
No. Setup is one time. After that, signing in is a fingerprint or a glance — faster than waiting for a text to arrive.
What if I get a new phone?
The passkey stays on the old phone; it doesn’t move across on its own. Set up a new one on the new phone using Route 1.
This is exactly why Route 2 is worth doing. If your computer passkey is already registered, you can use it to sign in and register the new phone yourself. Without it, you’ll need to contact your tech support team.
Is my fingerprint being sent to Microsoft?
No. Your fingerprint and face never leave your device. They only unlock the passkey that’s already stored there — the same way they unlock your phone.
What happens if I do nothing?
After February 1, 2027, you’ll be required to register a passkey before you can sign in — Microsoft will prompt you automatically, and there’s no way to opt out or skip it. Setting one up now, on your own schedule, beats being blocked at sign-in later. And if you’ve lost access to your phone by then with no passkey set up, getting back in means contacting your tech support team and waiting.
Stuck? We'll walk you through it.
Need help? Reach out to your tech support team for assistance.
UFG Corp · IT & Systems · Last updated August 2026