When Something Goes Wrong with MFA
Setting up MFA — Help & Troubleshooting
YCAP Field Guide → Getting Started
⚠ READ THIS FIRST — the most common attack on Microsoft 365 accounts
If you receive an MFA approval notification on your phone but you didn't try to sign in to anything, someone already has your password and is trying to use it right now.
What to do:
- Tap Deny on the notification
- Change your password at https://mysignins.microsoft.com
- Email it@ycap.org
MFA is what stops this attack — but only if you say no.
Common Issues
| Issue | What to do |
|---|---|
| Got an MFA prompt you didn't trigger | See the warning at the top of this page. |
| Lost your phone | Contact IT immediately. They'll reset your MFA registration so you can set it up on a new device. |
| Got a new phone, didn't enable cloud backup | Same as lost phone — contact IT to reset your MFA registration. |
| Got a new phone, did enable cloud backup | Install Authenticator on the new phone, sign in with the recovery method you backed up to, and your accounts should restore automatically. |
| Temp password from IT isn't working on first sign-in | Double-check you're using your full YCAP email address. If it still won't work, the temp password may have expired — contact IT for a new one. |
| Can't get past the "Update your password" screen | Microsoft has password rules: minimum 8 characters, mix of upper/lower/numbers, can't reuse recent passwords, can't contain your name. A passphrase of three random words usually clears all of these and is easier to remember. |
| Forgot the new password right after creating it | Click "Can't access your account?" on the sign-in page, or contact IT to reset it. |
| QR code won't scan during setup | On your computer, click "Can't scan image?" to get a manual code and URL to type into the app. |
| Authenticator shows multiple accounts and you don't know which is YCAP | Look for the one with your YCAP email address. If you have a personal account in there too (Gmail, Instagram, etc.), that's fine — they coexist. |
| Didn't get a notification when signing in | Open Authenticator manually and use the 6-digit code shown next to your YCAP account. It refreshes every 30 seconds and works the same as approving the notification. |
| Your phone is offline (no Wi-Fi, no cell) | Use the 6-digit code in Authenticator — it works without internet. |
| Want to add a second device or a backup phone | Go to mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info and click "Add sign-in method." |
| Want to turn MFA off | You can't — MFA is required on all YCAP accounts. If you're having ongoing trouble with it, contact IT for help, not to disable it. |
Where Things Live
- MFA setup: https://aka.ms/mfasetup
- Manage sign-in methods (add backup phone, register a new device, remove an old device): https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info
- Change your password: https://mysignins.microsoft.com
Contact IT
Email: it@ycap.org
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm
Locked out during onboarding? Contact your hiring manager.
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