Introduction to Setup MFA with Office Phone
The instructions below will demonstrate how to setup MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) on your Office Phone for Microsoft 365. This option involves receiving a phone call to your office phone to protect your account, but it is not recommended as a default, only as a backup option. The Microsoft Authenticator app is the most secure and reliable option, especially because it can be used wherever you have your mobile device, unlike this Office Phone setup (link to Mobile App instructions are below).
Please note that if you access your email, Microsoft 365 products, or use programs that require verification at home, it is NOT recommended to use the Office Phone MFA option as you will not be able to authenticate while away from the location of that phone.
Looking for general information, instructions on how to add more MFA options, or need assistance troubleshooting an error? Here are the other articles available about MFA for Microsoft 365:
- For general information and tips about MFA, check out the How to Setup MFA for Microsoft 365 article.
- Want to add more MFA options to your account, or looking to edit your existing settings? Learn how to make changes in the Add and Edit MFA Options for Microsoft 365 article. We recommend setting up multiple methods so you have more than one that can be relied on.
- Running into a problem or error message setting up MFA? Check out the Troubleshooting MFA for Microsoft 365 article for known issues and how to work around them.
- For more MFA options, check out these setup guides for the other methods available:
How to Setup MFA with your Office Phone
One more reminder: If you access your email, Microsoft 365 products, or use programs that require verification at home, it is NOT recommended to use the Office Phone MFA option as you will not be able to authenticate while away from the location of that phone.
1. Begin by logging in to your Microsoft 365 account (college email address).
2. During the initial setup of MFA, you will be directed to the following More information required prompt. Click Next to proceed.
3. You will now be directed to the Additional security verification screen to begin choosing which MFA option you would like to use.
4. To setup MFA so that you will receive a phone call to your Office phone:
- Select Office phone in the dropdown.
- Select the country in the dropdown below and enter your office phone number in the blank field to the right (example format: 321XXXXXXX). Your office phone number may already be populated and in most cases the Extension box can be left blank.
- Click Next to proceed to the next page.
5. The next page will inform you to expect a call to the Office number you provided. At this point, you will receive a phone call from a Microsoft number on your office phone. After answering, follow the prompt and dial # (you may need to bring up your phone’s keypad to select it). Once confirmed, you will automatically be taken to the next page.
Note: Pressing # soon after answering offers the best results, but if you do happen to listen to the full message, you will also hear instructions on what to do if you were not expecting the call and how to report it. If you have Call Forwarding setup, it may interfere with initially receiving this phone call.
6. You should now be on the Step 3: Keep using your existing applications page. This will include an App Password that can be used under special circumstances (apps and devices that don’t support two-factor verification), but likely won’t be needed in most cases. Click on the Done button to conclude the setup.
Note: You can click the paper icon to the right of the randomly generated password to Copy the text so that you may Paste and save the app password in a secure location.
7. With the MFA setup, you can then proceed to your account. If you are using Outlook Web, you may be given the prompt to Stay signed in. Keep in mind that while other Outlook applications may only prompt to receive a phone call verification one time, Outlook Web will ask you to do the phone call verification each time you need to log back in. Once answered and pressing #, you will be all set!
For further assistance, questions, or concerns, please either create a ticket or call the IT Support Desk at 321-433-7600, open 7am to midnight, 7 days a week. After accessing myEFSC, the Open an IT Ticket button can be found in the IT Support section, typically found near the bottom of the page.
When creating a ticket, select the Email, Teams & Calendaring category, followed by the appropriate Email Assistance service to submit a ticket. Please include an alternative contact method (if you cannot access your email). Include details, error messages, and provide screenshots if possible of the steps you have taken so we may further assist you.
