First-time Login, MFA Setup & Password Change

1. Signing in

When you log in to your account for the first time, you’ll be asked to enter your U of G email address (e.g. username@uoguelph.ca) into the “Email, phone, or Skype” textbox:

After you enter your email, you’ll be prompted to enter your password into the “Password” textbox:

After entering your password correctly, you’ll be prompted for more information to keep your account secure, and you may press the “Next” button to proceed:

2. Setting Up MFA

                                          

To help keep your account secure, you’ll be prompted to set up two Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) methods, starting with “Microsoft Authenticator”, which is the default MFA method that we recommend you use. If you don't want to use the authenticator app, don't have a smart phone or you are having a problem setting it up, choose the option at the bottom left of the screen "I want to set-up a different method" and you can choose a different method such as phone number.
 

If you don’t currently have “Microsoft Authenticator" downloaded on your mobile phone, you can select the “Download now” option, and follow the instructions on the webpage you are directed to, in order to install “Microsoft Authenticator” on your phone. Once you have installed Microsoft Authenticator on your mobile phone, you may select the “Next” button:

Now you may open the “Microsoft Authenticator” app on your phone, ensuring that you allow notifications, if prompted. Then you may add an account (selecting the + icon in the top portion of the “Microsoft Authenticator” screen) and select “Work or school account”.

After that, you may click the “Next” button on the MFA setup page on your computer:

You will be presented with a QR code that can be scanned using the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone to automatically add the first MFA method for your account into the Microsoft Authenticator app. Once you’ve scanned the code, you may select the “Next” button:

To verify that the MFA method has been set up correctly, you’ll be sent a notification on your phone which you can select and then enter the two-digit number provided on the MFA setup page:

Once you’ve completed the MFA confirmation on your phone, you can select the “Next” button on the MFA setup page:

Once the first MFA method has been successfully setup, you’ll be prompted to add a secondary method (to provide a spare method to use in case you lose access to your default MFA method). To set up a phone number as your secondary method, you can choose to either receive a code by text or a phone call to complete MFA verification. In this example, you’ll select “Receive a code” and then enter your phone number in the corresponding textbox and then select the “Next” button:

You’ll receive a text message with a six-digit code, which you can enter into the corresponding textbox, and then select the “Next” button:

After entering the code correctly and selecting the next button, you should receive a message indicating that the secondary MFA method was successfully registered, at which point you can select the “Next” button:

With both MFA methods setup successfully, you can select the “Done” button:

3. Alternative Authentication Methods

There are alternative methods to the Microsoft Authenticator and Phone options to complete MFA. For instance, if you have a Hardware token, such as those you can purchase from the Campus Bookstore, you may use it as an MFA method.

However, it cannot be added as a method in the initial MFA set up. If you wish to use a Hardware token, once you've completed the initial MFA setup, you can follow our IT Help guide on Registering a FIDO2 security key or hardware token.

To set up Email as a secondary method, you may enter an external email that you have access to into the "Enter email" text box (eg. the personal email you used to apply to the University of Guelph):

You'll then receive a email at that external email address containing a code, which you may enter into the "Enter code" textbox, and then click the "Next" button, to finalize adding Email as a secondary method:

To set up Security Questions as a secondary method, you may select and then enter the corresponding answers to five questions chosen from the list of provided options in the "Select a Question" dropdown boxes, and then click the "Done" button to finalize adding Security Questions as a secondary method:

If you're unsure about which authentication method can be used to complete MFA and which cannot, you may refer to the following table in the MFA - FAQ.
 

4. First-time Password Change

Finally, you’ll be prompted to change the account password you received, to allow you to create a new secure password that only you know. You’ll enter your current account password, followed by the new password that you wish to change it to, and then you can enter that new password again to confirm it is correct. The password requirements are as follows:

Once you’ve entered that information, you can select the “Sign-in” button to finalize the password change: