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Microsoft 365 - Set up text messaging as your verification method

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Set up text messaging as your verification method

Follow these steps to add your two-factor verification and password reset methods. After you've set this up the first time, you can return to the Security info page to add, update, or delete your security information.

  1. Sign in to your work or school account and then go to your My Account page.

    My Profile page, showing highlighted Security info links

  2. Select Security info from the left navigation pane or from the link in the Security info block, and then select Add method from the Security info page.

    Security info page with highlighted Add method option

  3. On the Add a method page, select Phone from the list, and then select Add.

  4. On the Phone page, type the phone number for your mobile device, choose Text me a code, and then select Next.

  5. Type the code sent to you through text message to your mobile device, and then select Next. The page changes to show your success.

    Add phone number and choose text messages

Your security info is updated and you can use text messaging to verify your identity when using two-step verification or password reset. If you want to make text messaging your default method, see the Change your default security info method section of this article.

Delete text messaging from your security info methods

If you no longer want to use text messages as a security info method, you can remove it from the Security info page.

Important: If you delete text messaging by mistake, there's no way to undo it. You'll have to add the method again, following the steps in the Set up text messages section of this article.

To delete text messaging

  1. On the Security info page, select Delete next to the Phone option.

    Link to delete the phone and text messaging method from security info

  2. Select Yes from the confirmation box to delete the Phone number. After your phone number is deleted, it's removed from your security info and it disappears from the Security info page. If Phone is your default method, the default will change to another available method.

Change your default security info method

If you want text messaging to be the default method used when you sign in to your work or school account using two-factor verification or for password reset requests, you can set it from the Security info page.

To change your default security info method

  1. On the Security info page, select Change next to the Default sign-in method information.

    Change link for default sign-in method

  2. Select Phone - text (your_phone_number) from the drop-down list of available methods, and then select Confirm. The default method used for sign-in changes to Phone - text (your_phone_number).

    Choose method for default sign-in

 

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