Enabling Two Factor Authentication for your Microsoft 365 Account

A great way to start securing your Microsoft 365 Account is by using Two Factor Authentication (or more simply 2FA). There are two steps to follow for this. The first is setting up an Authenticator App, and the second is setting up 2FA using SMS. To start the process, the administrator of your tenancy will first enable the 2FA features, after which you will need to log into your Microsoft 365 Account. You can simply browse to https://portal.office365.com to get the process started.

Once you have opened that site, enter your email address or username that you have been assigned. You will then be asked for the password for your account. Enter your password and then click on Sign in.

Next, you will get a prompt saying more information is required before you can sign in.

Click on Next to continue.

At this point you should have your mobile phone or tablet ready. If you already use the Sophos Authenticator App as part of your login process, you can use that app to generate the 2FA keys. Otherwise, you can use the Microsoft Authenticator app to do the same thing.

Below is the process if you are using the Microsoft Authenticator app.

Click on Next to start to process.

On your mobile device within the Microsoft Authenticator app, please click on the + symbol at the top right, and then choose Work or School account and choose the option to Scan QR Code. Click on Next on the screen above once you have got the mobile device ready.

Make sure to scan the above screen using the Microsoft Authenticator app. The above screen should then automatically progress forward to something similar to the following.

When you see the above screen, your Microsoft Authenticator app should also now prompt you to Approve the login. Click on the Approve option to confirm the Microsoft Authenticator app setup process.

Below is the process if you want to use the Sophos Authenticator app, or another app.

When you are at the above prompt, click on the option “I want to use a different authenticator app”. It will then take you to the following page.

Click on Next to continue.

At this point, you can scan the QR code using your Sophos Authenticator app or other app. If the other app is asking you for a Account Name and Secret Key, click on the Can’t scan image? test above to reveal those details.

Click on Next to continue.

Once you have scanned the code, or entered the Secret Key into you application, you will be prompted to confirm by entering the 6 digit code which it created for you. Read the code from the app and enter it into the above field. Once you have done that, click on Next to confirm.

Now that you have completed the first Authentication Method you will need to proceed to the next step.

You will now be prompted to start the second step of the Authentication process, and that is using text messages as the secondary 2FA device.

The above screen will appear after clicking on next.

Select Australia from the list of country codes, and then enter your mobile number in the adjacent field. Click on Next to Continue

Microsoft will send you a 6 digit code to your mobile number. You will need to enter the code into the above field, and then click on Next to Continue.

Once you have entered the code and clicked on Next, you should get a SMS Verified option as shown in the above image. Click on Next to continue.

Once you have completed the above steps, you have now successfully setup your 2FA authentication methods for your Microsoft 365 Accounts.

Should you have any issues, please let us know and we will be more than happy to assist.