Microsoft has recently introduced Passkeys for personal Microsoft accounts in a bid to make the signing-in process easier, faster, and safer. If you’d like to enable this feature for your Microsoft account, check out this post that walks you through all the steps.
Good to know: take a look at the best free alternatives for Microsoft Office you should know about.
Content
- Create a Passkey for Your Microsoft Account
- Use Your Microsoft Passkey to Login
- Remove a Microsoft Passkey
- Where You Can Use a Microsoft Passkey
Create a Passkey for Your Microsoft Account
While passwords involve typing long sequences of characters, passkeys offer a simpler alternative, requiring only your device’s PIN or biometrics to access your account.
Unlike passwords, passkeys leverage pairs of cryptographic keys – a private and a public one – to ensure security. When you log in, the two keys perform a cryptographic handshake to confirm your identity, keeping sensitive data safe and reducing the risk of phishing attacks. Basically, your passkey is generated based on both your account and specific device.
You can now set a passkey for your Microsoft account. This tutorial assumes you already have one set up. To get started, navigate to this page. For this tutorial, I’ve accessed it on my Windows laptop via Firefox, but you can do so from anywhere including your smartphone. The steps are similar.
Sign in with your email and password. You might need to input a security code to access your account.
On the next page, you’ll be asked whether you want to add a new way to sign in or verify. Select the first one which is Face, fingerprint, PIN or security key.
You’ll now have to decide where you wish to save your passkey. In my case, I opted for one of my mobile devices. Press Next.
Take your mobile phone out and scan the QR code that is now displayed on the screen on your main device.
Once I pointed the device to the QR code, it showed a Save a Passkey button above the shutter button. Note that you might need to give some permissions to save the passkey in the Apple iCloud Keychain.
Since I use Face Unlock on my iPhone, I activated this passkey for logging into my Microsoft account. Basically, with passkeys, you’ll be using the same PIN or biometrics you use to access that device to also get into your Microsoft account.
On my PC, the Passkey saved message finally pop-ed up. Passkeys for both devices have been created.
Tip: you can use Windows 11 even without a Microsoft account. Here’s how.
Use Your Microsoft Passkey to Login
After setting your passkey for your Microsoft account, you can use it to sign in into your account without inputting your password. Here’s how.
Go to the signing in page again. Click on Sign-in options below the email field.
Click on Face, fingerprint, PIN or security key.
Pick your account from the available list.
The device will open a window where you can use your associated face, fingerprint or PIN or security key to log into your account. On my laptop I had to input a PIN, while on my iPhone I used Face unlock to authenticate.
Once you’re in, Microsoft will ask you whether you want to stay logged in on this particular device.
FYI: learn what’s the difference between a Windows 11 local account and Microsoft account.
Remove a Microsoft Passkey
In case you want to remove a certain Microsoft passkey, first log in into your account. You should land directly in the Security section if you’re doing this from a computer.
At the top you should see all the Ways to prove who you are including your passkey. Click on Use a passkey to reveal more details about it. Hit the Remove button to remove it.
Tap Remove again in the pop up.
Now, if you’re logging into your Microsoft account from your mobile device, you’ll need to swipe downwards. Tap on Security when you see it.
Then press on Additional security options.
Find and click Use a passkey to reveal the details about your passkey. Then click Remove.
Tip: here’s how to limit screen time on a Windows PC with a Microsoft account.
Where You Can Use a Microsoft Passkey
Right now, you can log into your Microsoft account with a passkey on Windows 10 and up, macOS Ventura and up, as well as ChromeOS 19 and up. As for your mobile device, you’ll need iOS 16 and newer or Android 9 and newer.
The device will need to operate a supported browser such as Microsoft Edge 109 and up, Safari 16 and up or Chrome 109 and up. While Firefox isn’t mentioned, I managed to log in using a passkey in the browser on my Windows PC.
Even as passkeys gain traction, password still remain the standard for account protection. To bolster your online safety, you might consider activating two-factor authentication on your social media accounts. Or if you’re a Windows user, check how to reset your Windows password.
All images & screenshots by Alexadra Arici
Alexandra Arici –
Staff Writer
Alexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.
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