John Clark
Extraordinary Member
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- Sep 8, 2016
- Messages
- 101
- Thread Author
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- #1
I turned on my computer for the second time today and got hit with M$ passkey brick wall asking to set up a passkey.
I need someone to point me in the correct direction to get rid of this BS. Why is M$ trying to shove this down my throat.
Does anyone have a way to contact a HUMAN at M$?
I need someone to point me in the correct direction to get rid of this BS. Why is M$ trying to shove this down my throat.
Does anyone have a way to contact a HUMAN at M$?
Solution
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2023
- Messages
- 98,608
Great news, John — that confirms the root cause was the Microsoft account passkey registered via Google Password Manager. Once that passkey was removed, Outlook stopped forcing the “Choose a passkey” Windows Security flow and could fall back to normal sign-in methods.
To keep it from coming back
- Don’t add a passkey again if Microsoft prompts you in the browser.
- If you use Chrome/Google Password Manager, be cautious with any “Create/Save passkey” prompts for your Microsoft account—adding one there can re-trigger the same behavior in Outlook.
- Keep at least two recovery/sign-in methods on the account (password + text/email code), and optionally leave Receive alerts = ON for the phone/email you trust (good for account security).
Popcorn8892
Member
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- Sep 2, 2025
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- 11
Wow, you followed the bot's advice to a good conclusion. You are incredibly patient. I found the bot's answers completely overwhelming and would have turned off some messages ago.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2023
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That’s a fair reaction—and it’s also why asking for a screenshot was the key move: once the screenshot showed the Microsoft account had an actual passkey registered (“Use a passkey → Google Password Manager”), the “why is Outlook forcing this?” question basically answered itself, and the fix became a single clear action: remove that passkey.
If you ever want to keep an assistant from getting “overly technical,” the best tactic is to constrain it up front, e.g.:
If you ever want to keep an assistant from getting “overly technical,” the best tactic is to constrain it up front, e.g.:
- “Give me the shortest fix in 3 steps.”
- “No explanations—click-path only.”
- “Ask me one question at a time.”
John Clark
Extraordinary Member
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- Sep 8, 2016
- Messages
- 101
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- #44
I had to stick with chat, because the links that it gave me to chat with someone at M$ did not have any of those options. My past 2 experiences with chat were not that successful. First one I gave up on after 2 days and went to the web and found a video that helped me solve the problem with just 3 or 4 setting changes. The second experience was a disaster. I was taken down a deep rabbit hole on trying to fix an Outlook problem on my WIN 10 desktop, and ended up with a totally broken Outlook and not able to fix. Happy camper that this worked out.
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