Impact of 2FA on Microsoft 365 and Email

Owned by Jim Luther
Last updated: Nov 10, 2022 by Ashley Mattingly
2 min read

Our UConn community may experience issues with their Outlook email client and Microsoft 365 applications when two-factor authentication (2FA) is activated for the first time. Generally, the process for correcting the issue involves signing out or removing the email profile and re-adding it to the device.

Microsoft 365 Applications

On November 10, 2022, 2FA will be required to log in to Microsoft 365 applications (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, Word, Excel, etc.). In most cases, you just need to sign in when prompted and respond to the Duo prompt.

After you respond to a Duo prompt, you may see a second screen from Duo if you were accessing the application online via a browser. The screen will ask if you want to “trust the browser.” Click Yes to reduce the frequency of authentication prompts from Duo.

You may also see a popup from Microsoft asking if you want “Stay Signed in?” Click yes to reduce the frequency of sign-in prompts.

You may also see another message from Microsoft about staying signed in. This message incorporates boilerplate language from Microsoft that is not customized for UConn. If you click OK, you will automatically be signed into other Microsoft 365 apps. For example, if you sign into Outlook and get this prompt, selecting OK will result in them being automatically signed into OneDrive, Teams, Word, etc. when attempting opening those applications.

Email (Faculty and Staff)

If you are unable to access your email on your device after Duo 2FA is enabled, deleting and re-adding your account may correct the issue. Please visit this guide to learn how to remove and re-add your email account to your phone: Add Outlook to Computer After you sign into your newly re-added account, you should receive an authentication prompt from Duo.

Some apps, such as Apple Mail, use the term “Delete” when referring to removing an email account from your device. This refers to deleting the connection to your UConn email on your device. Rest assured, your UConn email account and all contents will remain safe in UConn’s Office 365 servers, and will sync back down to your device once you sign back in.

Troubleshooting Sign In Issues with Microsoft 365

If you experience issues signing in to Microsoft 365 after Duo 2FA is enabled, try the following:

  1. Sign out of the application or QUIT/CLOSE the application if you cannot sign out.

  2. Sign back into the application, which should prompt 2FA authentication via Duo.

  3. If you are not prompted for Duo authentication, contact the Technology Support Center. You may need assistance clearing your profile.

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