MFA | Troubleshooting - Zoho Accounts

Troubleshoot MFA related issues

Introduction

If you have set up multi-factor authentication  (MFA ) to protect your Zoho account and have issues signing into your account, we will help you regain your account access. The first thing you need to do after regaining account access is switching to a different authentication mode. In case you cannot switch to a different authentication mode, disable MFA for the time being.

Select the issue you have:
  1. Having issues with multi-factor authentication (MFA) and couldn't access the account
    1. SMS-based OTP
    2. OTP authenticator
    3. OneAuth
    4. Security Key
  2. Having issues connecting to mail client

Having issues with multi-factor authentication (MFA) and couldn't access the account

MFA mode: SMS-based OTP

Issue

What to do

Lost access to my mobile number and no longer able to sign in.

Go through our account recovery help for instructions on how to recover your account.

 

Alternatively, contact our support team at support@zohoaccounts.com. You will be given a backup verification code to sign in after validating your identity.

Switched to a different number and no longer able to sign in.

Lost access to my device associated with the mobile number.


MFA mode: OTP authenticator

Issue

What to do

Uninstalled the OTP authenticator from my device.

Go through our account recovery help for instructions on how to recover your account.

 

Alternatively, contact our support team at support@zohoaccounts.com. You will be given a backup verification code to sign in after validating your identity.

Lost access to my device associated with the OTP authenticator.

Receiving the "Incorrect OTP" error when trying to sign in.

This issue may occur if time is not synced properly on your app.


To sync time:
  1. In iOS device:
    1. Go to the Settings app.  
    2. Tap General, then tap Date and Time.
    3. Turn on Set Automatically.

  2. In Android device:
    1. Go to the Settings app.
    2. Navigate to the Date and Time settings.
    3. Turn on Set time automatically or Use network provided time.

  3. On your Windows device:
    1. Navigate to Settings.
    2. Click Time & Language, then click Date & time.
    3. Under the "Synchronize your clock" option, click Sync now.

  4. On your macOS device:
    1. Navigate to the Apple menu and click System Settings.
    2. Click Date & Time.
    3. Click and authenticate to unlock the settings.
    4. Enable the toggle  Set the date and time automatically.
    5. Enter a network time-server for your region, if required.

MFA mode: OneAuth

Issue

What to do

Uninstalled OneAuth from my device.

Go through our account recovery help for instructions on how to recover your account.

 

Alternatively, contact our support team at support@zohoaccounts.com. You will be given a backup verification code to sign in after validating your identity.

Lost access to my device having OneAuth.

Push notification is not being received when trying to sign in.

Go through our help article to troubleshoot notification issues.

Or,

Sign in using OneAuth's alternate verification modes.


MFA mode: Security key

Issue

What to do

My security key is not working.

Follow these steps if the security key isn't recognized or not working.
  1. Insert the security key and confirm the LED turns on. If not, try flipping it over, as some USB ports are oriented differently.
  2. If your security key is blinking continuously, unplug it and try again. 

To check whether your security key is connected to your computer:
  1. For Windows, check Devices and Printers in the Control Panel.
  2. For MacOS, check Apple Menu > About This Mac > System Report, and look under Hardware > USB.
  3. For Linux, type "dmesg" in Terminal. 


The browser doesn't support FIDO2/Webauthn protocol. Please try again with a supported browser.

If you encounter this error, you can try signing in from a browser that supports security key. See supported browsers

(or)

If you cannot use a different browser, you can sign in using a backup verification code. If you don't have a backup code at the moment, you can generate from accounts.zoho.com if you have an active session.

My security key is lost/stolen.

Go through our account recovery help for instructions on how to recover your account.


Having issues connecting to mail client

Issue

What to do

Unable to sign in to my mail client after enabling MFA for my account.

If your mail client doesn't support MFA, generate an application specific password and then use it as password to sign in to your mail client.

Unable to connect to my mail client that I set up previously.

Go through our help article to troubleshoot this issue.