Entra ID 2FA authentication

Last updated: November 15, 2023
Audience: All UW

The uw.edu Entra ID domain supports two 2FA providers: Duo and Azure MFA. Users are generally encouraged to use Duo. The Microsoft Authenticator App is the primary client for Azure MFA, so if you are directed to use it, there may be a problem unless you have one of the scenarios noted below.

Duo is the primary 2FA provider at the UW and the default choice with Entra ID. To enable Duo:

The typical sign-in experience for a UW Entra ID user account with Duo 2FA enabled is detailed here.

Azure MFA is ONLY for a few scenarios, including:

  • Entra ID only user accounts (which are not entitled to Duo)
  • scenarios where another Entra ID tenant requires Azure MFA to access resources in that tenant
  • scenarios where the user wishes to eliminate ‘Your single-use code’ email notifications from Microsoft, which are automatically generated by Microsoft when a security event of note occurs, e.g. a sign in attempt from a new device might result in generation of a single-use code as additional verification
  • scenarios where the user wishes to enable Windows Hello for Business and leverage Azure MFA to do so

NOTE: Outside of the above scenarios, users are recommended to NOT enable Azure MFA on their account by adding Additional Verification. Users which enable both Duo and Azure MFA may be prompted by both.