Microsoft Authenticator Won't Manage Your Passwords Anymore - Or Most Passkeys

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For astir of this year, Microsoft has been informing users that they will nary longer beryllium capable to usage its Authenticator mobile exertion for personification ID and password management. As reported by CNET connected July 29, 2025, "In June, nan institution stopped letting users adhd passwords to Authenticator…. And starting Aug. 1, you'll nary longer beryllium capable to usage saved passwords."  

Also: How passkeys work: The complete guideline to your inevitable passwordless future

To me, nan dire warnings of this pending doomsday-like deadline are reminiscent of nan run-up to January 1, 2000 -- nan alleged "Y2K problem" -- erstwhile it was anticipated that computers everyplace would acquisition a meltdown because their programmers ne'er considered nan anticipation that their package would still beryllium successful usage successful nan 21st century. 

The awesome passkey migration

But astir of this reporting overlooks nan bigger displacement that's underway crossed Microsoft's personality guidance portfolio and, successful galore cases, is missing cardinal specifications astir nan early roles of Microsoft Authenticator and nan Microsoft Edge browser erstwhile it comes to different colossal displacement that's presently successful progress: nan world's modulation from passwords to passkey.

A passkey is unequivocally a safer credential than a password erstwhile it comes to logging into websites and apps.  Passkeys cannot beryllium guessed, nan aforesaid passkey cannot beryllium reused crossed different websites and apps, and you cannot beryllium tricked into divulging your passkeys to malicious actors done techniques specified arsenic phishing, smishing, squishing, and malvertising.  Even if you're strengthening personification IDs and passwords pinch further factors of authentication, passkeys are a amended and much unafraid alternative.

Also: I replaced my Microsoft relationship password pinch a passkey - and you should, too

In fact, of nan awesome exertion vendors that are encouraging end-users to move to passkeys, nary vendor is pushing users to modulation arsenic difficult arsenic Microsoft is. But, astatine nan aforesaid clip that Microsoft is aggressively campaigning for that transition, we are still waiting for Microsoft to connection nan broad credential guidance capabilities that are basal to support that future. 

Managing passwords aft Authenticator

For users who managed their personification IDs and passwords pinch Authenticator and want to enactment pinch Microsoft-based solutions to negociate their personification IDs and passwords, their only action is to export their passwords from Microsoft Authenticator to Microsoft's Edge web browser. Once users do this, Edge will not only return complete nan domiciled of managing those personification IDs and passwords, it will besides grip nan auto-provisioning of those credentials (a.k.a. autofill) astatine nan clip of login and nan synchronization of those credentials to nan user's different copies of Edge. 

In summation to Windows, Edge is disposable connected MacOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. Given Edge's cross-platform scope erstwhile compared to that of Microsoft Authenticator (iOS and Android), it makes much consciousness for Edge to grip credential guidance and autofill. 

This approach, wherever Microsoft is facilitating credential guidance done nan browser alternatively of a mobile exertion intimately resembles nan measurement Google is handling credential guidance and autofill done its Chrome browser. Both browsers are based connected Chromium and connection users immoderate basal password guidance capabilities, and some trust connected a cardinal unreality to grip credential synchronization to nan aforesaid browser connected different devices. 

The problem pinch non-syncable passkeys 

But, astatine nan clip this article was published, whereas Chrome's password guidance capabilities will auto-provision and synchronize credentials of some types (passwords and passkeys) to a user's different installations of Chrome, Edge tin only synchronize passwords. According to a Microsoft spokesperson who was interviewed for this story, "passkeys created for services for illustration PayPal and eBay are stored arsenic device-bound credentials successful Windows and tin beryllium accessed via Windows Settings > Accounts > Passkeys. These are not stored aliases synced successful Edge." 

In different words, Edge for Windows is tin of handling and auto-provisioning passkeys during a login, but not nan different versions of Edge. I confirmed this by trying to usage Edge for Android to registry a passkey for eBay. A batch happens down nan scenes erstwhile you registry a passkey for nan first time, and I explicate nan process successful How Passkeys Work: Let's Start nan Registration Process. 

Also: 10 passkey endurance tips: Prepare for your passwordless early now

Whereas an eBay passkey registration action exists erstwhile utilizing Edge for Windows, nary specified action was disposable to maine connected Edge for Android. In summation to that limitation, nan eBay passkey that I was capable to found connected Edge for Windows could not beryllium synchronized to my transcript of Edge for Android. This confirmed nan spokesperson's connection astir passkeys being "stored arsenic device-bound credentials successful Windows." Device-bound passkeys are besides referred to arsenic "non-syncable passkeys." They are tied to nan instrumentality that was utilized to create them and cannot beryllium synchronized to different device. As it turns out, nan passkey that I established done Edge moving connected my transcript of Windows 11 was bound via Windows Hello to nan Trusted Platform Module (TPM) successful my HP Notebook.

This raises nan mobility of where, crossed Microsoft's portfolio, users mightiness beryllium capable to find support for syncable passkeys since they are by acold nan astir convenient shape of passkey to usage for nan websites and apps that support them. After all, nan institution is already supporting syncable personification IDs and passwords done Edge. The past point astir users want to do is negociate aggregate device-bound passkeys for each website and app they use. Better to conscionable person one, conscionable for illustration a password. 

Your passkey guidance options now

This is wherever nan disorder sets in. Across astir of nan articles that reported connected nan elimination of personification ID and password support successful Microsoft Authenticator, nan authors besides noted that Authenticator would proceed to support passkeys and that nan personification could proceed to trust connected Authenticator to authenticate (login) pinch those passkeys (see my mentation of what really happens during your 'passwordless' passkey login). It's not astonishing that astir of nan articles said this. After all, Microsoft's ain station astir nan changes to Authenticator very intelligibly states, "Authenticator will proceed to support passkeys. If you person group up Passkeys for your Microsoft Account, guarantee that Authenticator remains enabled arsenic your Passkey Provider. Disabling Authenticator will disable your passkeys."

This surely piqued my interest. On nan surface, it was strangely starting to look for illustration Microsoft was moving each personification ID and password guidance to Edge while astatine nan aforesaid clip fracturing passkey guidance crossed Microsoft Authenticator and Edge for Windows alternatively of moving afloat support for some syncable passwords and syncable passkeys to Edge (which is precisely really Chrome does it). So I went backmost to Microsoft to make judge that I understood things correctly. I apparently didn't. 

Also: Passkeys won't beryllium fresh for primetime until Google and different companies hole this

"Authenticator will ever proceed to support device-bound passkeys for Entra accounts," a Microsoft spokesperson told me. "You'll ever beryllium capable to create 1 of those coming and successful nan future." There's a batch to unpack there. Not only are Authenticator-managed passkeys besides device-bound passkeys (in different words, they cannot beryllium synchronized), nan passkey support recovered successful Authenticator is for users of Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft's cloud-based personality guidance solution (formerly known arsenic Azure Active Directory) for businesses. In different words, nan passkey support recovered successful Microsoft Authenticator is not for those of america successful nan wide personification organization who conscionable want to negociate their credentials. And it still lacks immoderate synchronization capabilities.

In a nutshell, for those of america successful nan wide personification organization who want to negociate and usage passkeys successful summation to personification IDs and passwords, Microsoft offers 1 option: Edge connected Windows. Additionally, neither Edge for Windows nor Microsoft Authenticator (for Entra ID users) offers passkey synchronization. The only type of passkeys that Microsoft presently supports are device-bound (non-syncable) passkeys. This is evidently not ideal, and knowing immoderate of nan folks astatine Microsoft, I'm judge they would work together (especially fixed really difficult nan institution is trading nan thought of passkeys correct now). 

My conclusion arsenic I effort to return a 30,000-foot position of this business is that erstwhile it comes to each of nan different Microsoft technologies that play a domiciled successful credential guidance -- Windows, Windows Hello, Authenticator, Edge, Microsoft Wallet, Entra ID, passkeys, etc. -- nan institution has a batch of different pieces connected nan chessboard. Moving them each into nan perfect position to support nan unafraid credential guidance early it is trading is easier said than done. 

Also: What really happens during your 'passwordless' passkey login?

In nan aforesaid measurement that a chess subordinate (and opponent) ever deliberation and expect a fewer moves ahead, it's difficult not to spot that astatine immoderate point, sooner aliases later (probably sooner), Microsoft will support syncable passkeys crossed each its versions of Edge conscionable for illustration it does now pinch personification IDs and passwords (and conscionable for illustration Chrome does). That is nan only logical result fixed its powerfully worded messages to migrate passwords from Authenticator to Edge. 

But until that last chess move happens, users person options successful nan different credential guidance companies, including Google and each nan third-party password managers (1Password, BitWarden, Dashlane, LastPass, NordPass, etc.) that support syncable passkeys and passwords successful a azygous solution. 

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