How to Setup Two-Step Verification on Microsoft Account with Mobile Code

Most online services offer two-step verification or two-factor verification to beef up the security against rising account-hacking incidents. Some of the top companies that offer this double layer of security are Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. Instead of traditional username/password authentication to log in to your account, two-step verification provides an additional verification level for a more robust account. OTP is a good example of a 2-step verification. Even if a person is able to get access to your login credentials, the transaction is not done until an OTP is filled in by the user. Since OTP is received on your personal phone, it is hard to intrude into two steps of security layers. In this article, I will guide you to setup a two-step verification on your Microsoft account.

Steps to enable two-step verification

Step-1

Open your Microsoft Account. Input your email ID and click on Next. In the next screen fill your password and press sign in.

Step-2

Now from the top menu of your account screen, you need to click on Security to explore more security options

Step-3

In the screen that follows, you can see various options under the heading Security Basics. You need to ignore them and move down the page to find a text link saying more security options. Now click on it. When you press this text link you will once again be asked to provide your login password.

Step-4

Select your Alternative email account and again input your alternative email ID. For example, a Yahoo or a Gmail account. Now click on Send Code button.

Step5

Now open your alternative email account. Copy and paste the verification code in the next screen as shown below

Step-6

After you submit the verification code you will get the following screen where you need to click on “Set up two-step verification”.

Step-7

In the next screen, Microsoft will tell you about various features of two-step verification. Click Next.

Step-8

In this step, you will be asked to provide the option of the second level of verification. You have the option of receiving a code via mobile phone, an app, or an email address. The simple way is to select the phone number.

After you select the phone number option, you need to fill in your phone number and country code to complete the two-step verification in Windows 10. You will receive a 4-digit code on the mobile number you have provided. You need to input that number on the next screen to finish the process.

Final Words

These are the steps to set up a two-step verification of a Microsoft account on a mobile phone. You can also use some apps to do the same. Microsoft has its own authentication app and the other popular app is Google authenticator. I will come up with another article on securing a Microsoft account with Google Authenticator.