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  3. Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Setting up passkey multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Passkey is a multi-factor authentication (MFA) method that strengthens your ID.me account security by using a smartphone, tablet, or computer to confirm your identity when you sign in to your ID.me account. This article explains how to set up MFA using passkey and how to sign in after you set it up.

Before you start

  • You can add as many devices as you’d like, but each device can only be registered one time.
  • We recommend using the most updated version of Google Chrome when setting up and signing in to ID.me using passkey MFA.
  • While not all ID.me partners require you to set up MFA for your ID.me account, we recommend using MFA to help protect your account from scams and phishing attempts.
Note: The information provided to complete MFA using passkey, like your fingerprint or face ID, is not shared with ID.me. For more information on ID.me’s Privacy Policy, refer to ID.me’s Privacy Bill of Rights.

Set up passkey MFA

You will set up or add the passkey MFA from the device you’re using at the time you set it up, then choose the device you’ll use to complete sign in to your ID.me account. For example:

  • Computer only - When using your computer to set up passkey MFA, choose to set up with your computer as the method to sign in.
  • Smartphone only - When using your smartphone to set up passkey MFA, choose to set up with your smartphone as the method to sign in.
  • Computer and smartphone - When using your computer to set up passkey MFA, choose to set up with your smartphone as the method to sign in.
Tip: To ensure continued access to this MFA method across devices, we recommend setting this up with as many devices as you usually use (i.e. smartphone and computer).

1. Begin passkey setup

Setting up passkey MFA will differ if you’re setting up MFA for the first time, or simply adding passkey as an MFA method.

To set up passkey for the first time, during MFA setup, select Passkey. Next, continue to Choose your method.

2. Choose your passkey method

How you complete the passkey setup depends on the device you’re using and the device you want to use to sign in to your ID.me account.

Computer

To continue setting up your device on your computer, with your computer as the passkey device:

  1. In the pop-up window, select This Device.
  2. Unlock your computer.
  3. In your ID.me account, select Rename to rename your device to something you will recognize. In this case, you may name your computer, “My laptop.”

Smartphone

To continue setting up your device on your smartphone, with your smartphone as the passkey device:

  1. In the pop-up window, select This Device.
  2. Complete your smartphone’s unlock method. This could be using your fingerprint, Face ID, pattern, code, or another method.
  3. In your ID.me account, select Rename to rename your device to something you will recognize. In this case, you may name your smartphone “My iPhone” or “My Android”.

Computer + smartphone

To continue setting up your device on your computer, with your smartphone as the passkey device:

  1. In the pop-up window, select Use phone with a QR code.
  2. Open your phone’s camera or QR reader app.
  3. Scan the QR code that displays on your computer.
  4. Complete your smartphone’s unlock method. This could be using your fingerprint, Face ID, pattern, code, or another method.
  5. In your ID.me account, select Rename to rename your device to something you will recognize. In this case, you may name your smartphone “My iPhone” or “My Android.”

Add passkey as a secondary method

If you already have an MFA method set up and you’d like to add passkey as a secondary MFA method:

  1. Sign in to your ID.me account.
  2. Complete MFA with a method you already have set up.
  3. Select Sign in and security.
  4. Next to “Passkey,” select Add.
  5. Follow the prompts to set up this MFA method.

Sign in with passkey

After you set up your passkey, you’ll be prompted to complete sign in to your ID.me account using this method. During the sign in process, you will begin signing in from the device you set up the passkey with and complete your sign in using the device you chose to sign in with.

To sign in:

  1. Sign in to your ID.me account.
  2. Select Passkey.
  3. Complete passkey with the prompted device. If it doesn’t work at first, select Try again.

Troubleshooting

Review the information below for troubleshooting specific to passkey MFA.

Sign in using the correct device

If you set up passkey using your computer and set your computer as the unlock method, you must complete signing in from your computer.

Browser troubleshooting

Use the same browser across your devices. Switching the browser you use can cause issues when completing sign in using passkey. We recommend using the most up-to-date version of Chrome.

I’m not receiving notifications

If you aren’t receiving a notification on your Android phone when using passkey on your computer, make sure you have:

  • Bluetooth enabled on your devices
  • Allowed notifications from Chrome in your settings

I cannot sign in using my passkey

If you have issues using passkey, use a different MFA method to sign in. Otherwise, select MFA recovery process to re-add passkey or reset your MFA method.