Microsoft Office 365 MFA User Guide
- June 9, 2024
- Microsoft
Table of Contents
Microsoft Office 365 MFA User Guide
Setup
If Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) has not been setup on your Wilson Community College Office 365 account yet, you will see the following when attempting to login:
MFA will need to be setup before you are able to login to your account. Click Next to setup MFA.
You will see the page below.
There are three ways to perform MFA:
- Text message
- Voice call
- Mobile App
To receive a text or voice call, choose “Authentication Phone”. You can then select “Send me a code by text message” or “Call me” based on your preference for receiving the code.
NOTE: If your phone cannot receive calls or text messages, you can still
complete MFA over Wi-Fi using the Mobile App option.
To authenticate using a mobile app on your smartphone, choose “Mobile
App”. The next part of this document will go through setting up an
authentication phone. Scroll down to the Setting Up Mobile App for MFA section
for instructions on using the Mobile App.
Select your country code in the second drop-down box and enter your 10-digit phone number in the text box to the right of the country code. Use the format xxx-xxx-xxxx when entering your phone number. Choose your preferred method for receiving your verification code, and click the blue “Next” button.
Next, you will receive either a phone call or a text, depending on the method
you selected in the previous step. You will be presented with a text box to
enter the code you receive. The code will be a 6-digit number. Enter the code
and click the blue Verify button. NOTE: make sure you enter the code inside
the message and not the number that sent you the message. 
After you successfully enter the verification code, you will see the page
below. The app password can be used instead of your actual password for
applications that require your Office 365 login but are not compatible with
MFA.
NOTE: You most likely will never need this app password and can just
click on the blue Done button.
MFA is now set up on your Office 365 account.
Setting Up Mobile App for MFA
If you do not want to or cannot receive calls or text messages to your phone, you can choose to use an authenticator app instead. This option only requires a Wi-Fi connection to work. To choose this option, click on the down arrow to the right of the first drop-down box and select Mobile App on the first page of the MFA setup. NOTE: this method requires you to download the Microsoft Authenticator App from your phone’s app store.
Setting up the Authenticator App for use with Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
- Download and install the Microsoft Authenticator App from your phone’s app store
After the app is installed on your phone, log in to your Wilson CC email on
your laptop.
If MFA is not already set up, you will see a message telling you that your
organization requires more information. Click Next and you will see the
following page. In the first dropdown box, select Mobile App.
After changing to Mobile App, click Receive notifications for verification
and then click Set up
You should now see a QR code displayed on your laptop.
Open the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone and choose to add an account. Select Work or School account. Then select “Scan a QR code”. You may need to give the app permission to use your phone’s camera.
Use your phone to scan the QR code on your laptop. MFA should then be set
up on your Office 365 account.
The app works by sending you a notification when it detects you are trying to
log in to your Office 365 account. Just open the notification and indicate
that you are trying to log in. You will then be logged into your account on
your laptop.
If you run into any issues while using MFA, contact the Wilson CC help desk by
emailing [email protected] or calling
252-246-1224
Download PDF: Microsoft Office 365 MFA User Guide