A Microsoft app for iOS and Android devices that enables authentication with two-factor verification, phone sign-in, and code generation
The QR code must be generated in Availity Essentials on a computer; Microsoft Authenticator does not create or retrieve the Availity QR code.
Set up the Availity account
- Install or update Microsoft Authenticator on your smartphone. Authenticator is not available as a PC or Mac application.^1^
- On a computer, sign in to Availity Essentials.
- Select Set Up 2-Step Authentication.
- Choose Use an authenticator app. Availity should then display the enrollment QR code on the computer screen.^2^
- On the phone, open Microsoft Authenticator and select:
- + (Add account)
- Other account
- Scan a QR code
- Scan the code displayed by Availity, then enter the verification code generated by Authenticator back into Availity. Microsoft documents Other account as the correct option for non-Microsoft services such as Availity.^3^
Use separate devices during enrollment: display Availity in the computer browser and scan it with the phone. Availity permits one authenticator app on one device to be connected to an account at a time.^2^
If Availity does not display the QR code
- Look on the Availity setup page for a manual setup key or an option indicating that the QR code cannot be scanned. If available, choose Enter code manually in Authenticator.
- Allow Authenticator to access the phone’s camera if the scan option opens without showing a camera view.^3^
- If Set Up 2-Step Authentication is absent, setup returns directly to verification, or the account is already linked to another phone, contact the organization’s Availity administrator or Availity support and request that the existing two-step-authentication enrollment be reset. Reinstalling Authenticator alone will not make Availity generate a new enrollment code.
Do not use a QR code received unexpectedly by email; enrollment should be initiated from the authenticated Availity Essentials setup page.
References