Why did Personal Vault authentication change?

Anonymous
2022-10-10T17:31:28+00:00

It used to be that when I accessed my Personal Vault, it would ask me to authenticate with Microsoft Authenticator. That suddenly disappeared, and now it gives me the options of authenticating with a fingerprint or my PIN. I don't want my PIN to work to get to my Personal Vault. Other people use my PIN to access my machine. I don't want to use the same authentication to get to my personal vault. I want that to go to Microsoft Authenticator so that it is different.

Why did it change, and how can I change it back?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-01-25T19:33:46+00:00

    Same problem here, this messing up with the security features is really unacceptable

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-02-06T18:46:05+00:00

    I have the same issue. Have used MS 365/OneDrive (Family version) for over a year. Access from 4 different personal PCs.

    Personal Vault always required MS Authenticator code to open. In last week or so, two of my PCs began allowing the Personal Vault to be opened with only a PIN. I did not make this change and really need my Personal Vault to require two-factor authentication.

    It must be something specific to the individual PCs as I can sit side-by-side with one requiring Authenticator and the one allowing PIN access.

    This is really irritating as I specifically want the additional security...

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-02-10T18:14:28+00:00

    This is exactly what happened to me just today - I can select to use another method (so can access Authenticator), but I want it to be the default. Can you share how you solved it please? I never really find the Microsoft answers really answer the question asked. They're always some step away from the real issue. Many thanks.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-02-10T18:41:49+00:00

    I don't really have a resolution...on one of my PCs that had changed to PIN, I restored my entire C: drive back to mid-January and this got me back to using the Microsoft Authenticator code. This is a pretty drastic solution and I'm concerned additional updates may break the multi-factor authentication.

    I spent about 90 minutes on the phone with Windows support and they couldn't explain why it happened or how to fix it. They referred me to the OneDrive support team - I've gotten one suggestion to unlink and relink the PC which I have done - this didn't fix the multi-factor authentication problem. I did reply this morning to OneDrive support that their suggestion didn't work.

    I think you can open a case directly with OneDrive support - they only work via email - and I would suggest that. Microsoft doesn't seem to really be aware that some number of users are experiencing a broken multi-factor authentication with One Drive Personal Vault. I've seen it mentioned on Reddit too.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-02-10T18:57:27+00:00

    Many thanks for such a prompt reply. It’s very frustrating and I now feel vulnerable without two-factor authentication. I may well try the email route, but it’s such a waste of time and energy!

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