Microsoft accounts now let you ditch your password, sign in with a security key

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

Take another step towards killing passwords for good.

Microsoft today announced that it has turned on support (opens in new tab) for using a FIDO2 security key for signing in to Microsoft accounts. Now, you'll be able to ditch your username and password, instead authenticating with a physical security key to log in to your Microsoft account in Microsoft Edge.

From Microsoft:

As a member of the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), we've been working with others to develop open standards for the next generation of authentication. I'm happy to share that Microsoft is the first Fortune 500 company to support password-less authentication using the the WebAuthn and FIDO2 specifications, and Microsoft Edge supports the widest array of authenticators compared to other major browsers.

You can take advantage of the new feature for your Microsoft account so long as you have a FIDO2 security key from Yubico (opens in new tab) or Feitian and you're running the Windows 10 October 2018 Update. To get started, you'll want to head to the Microsoft account page (opens in new tab) and select Security > More security options. Under the "Windows Hello and security keys" section, you can follow Microsoft's instructions for adding a security key to your account.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.

7 Comments
  • How about work accounts?
  • I'm interested in the same question related around work accounts
  • Set up my Yubikey today (and learned that if I mess up my pin 8 times I have to reset all my U2F connections, good to learn that now before I have more than a couple sites registered). Also discovered the Windows hello integration option for Microsoft accounts. Has that been there the entire time (since windows 10 launch because I remember seeing it demoed/talked about), or was it released along with this as part of FIDO2 release?
  • I can't find "Windows Hello and security keys" under Security. Maybe it's US only ?
  • If you go to security there are three settings: password, update info, recent activity. However, beneath all of those there's one line of text that has the words "more security options". That will take you to the page where you can set up keys and windows hello. (I am in US so it may be US only, but I found it easy to miss when it was there)
  • I certainly don't have a "Windows Hello" or "keys" entry in the "More security options" page. This must be US Only.
  • I like this!