topic Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access in My account

MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

StevieB — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:55:31 GMT

I understand the need to implement login verification on the web. All good. However it completely baffles me that your system requires a successful text-based authentication to my Bell mobile phone, and then immediately requires an additional e-mail based verification. This is ridiculous, useless, and a waste a time. Not even my bank makes me jump through that many hoops for a simple login. Once again Bell you are demonstrating you are more interested in showing off and spinning your wheels just for the sake of it, rather than focusing on the actual customer experience. I login to my Bell account often, and this has become such a source of irritation that I'm considering switching to Rogers. So, my question is, can you setup my account so that I'm not forced to double verify myself when I log in!!??

Re: MyBell MFA/2FA access

BellAntonie — Fri, 02 May 2025 18:27:43 GMT

Hey there @StevieB ,

Welcome to the community and thanks for your post.

We invite you to check out Multi-factor authentication for MyBell on Bell.ca to learn more on how to manage your authentication settings.

Let the community know if you have more questions.

Re: MyBell MFA/2FA access

SimplyJim — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:27:22 GMT

This 74 y o has yet to figure this out, but, every time I visit bell.ca my stress levels increase way above comfort levels. In fact, I have come to believe that I will likely suffer my 7th heart attack and finally die while visiting this website. The Depopulation Folk out there will most definitely LOVE this account! So please pass it on to them. ..... It has been said by others that the "little things" are what really irk you! Here is one that almost killed me tonight. ...... As a Senior I live uncomfortably fairly well below Canada's official poverty line for a single and tonight Bell ambushed me with multi level security as I logged into the website. Anyway, as I tried to figure all this stuff out, while online within this website, I was hit by a Two Minute countdown which claimed that I would be "booted" from my account due to supposed "inactivity"! I tried a minimum of 20 times to stop the 2 minute countdown but failed every time! ...... Surely an effective way can be found to allow me to STOP that 2 minute countdown on me? The dark almost black screen which appears behind the countdown mechanism is clearly NOT helpful as it blocks my access to my website page and so I cannot type anything onto the blocked page in front of me!! ...... Please allow me to halt that 2 minute countdown as it ticks down to ZERO!!!

Re: MyBell MFA/2FA access

WelshTerrier — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:28:11 GMT

Good Day.

Thank you for posting your concern.

At present, there is no method built in to reduce or remove the countdown time limit for logging in to your MyBell account. You must enter the code within 5 minutes of receiving it.

How are you accessing your MyBell account? Computer or device? Browser or application?

Please check your inactivity settings on the device that you are currently using to access Log in to MyBell

You may need to adjust these settings to compensate for the time it is taking for you to login. E.g. Power & sleep and Lock Screen, screen saver, or inactivity settings.

The countdown timer is there to protect your privacy & security & to prevent others from accessing your account.

I have included the following reference documents for your review.

Bell Support – Security and Privacy

Multi-factor authentication for MyBell (MFA)

Take care.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Psych_1967 — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:56:16 GMT

I manage my parent's technical issues (this is their account-I am their daughter) because they are in their 80's and the new obligatory MFA that Bell have introduced for email (www.bell.net) is a logistical nightmare. How Bell can expect an older person, with memory problems to remember where their Authentication App is on their phone and/or remember to check their Messages App for the MFA code; it is completely unrealistic.

Moreover, the "email" option (to add another email address) to receive their codes at, means that a friend or family member of this person always needs to be at their device, when the code comes through, and when the older person wants to check their emails. This is completely unreasonable. We cannot always be available to assist them-at all hours of the day/evening.

Having spoken to the technical team at Bell yesterday, it seems they are unable to disable the MFA-how can this be true? Bell need to consider that not all of their customers can manage the cognitive task of: login to email, wait for code, remember what device/App receives the code, find that App on said device (and quickly-before the code expires)! input code, and login to email. This task is too complex for many individuals. I am so angry with Bell, you cannot imagine. It is making my loved one's life more stressful than it needs to be, for the simple task of checking their emails throughout the day.

Remembering how to bring up a Browser, type www.bell.net and inputting email address and (remembering and inputting) password, is complicated enough for many older individuals. You really need to make MFA *optional*, as opposed to mandatory.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

WelshTerrier — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:57:05 GMT

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

In today's world, there are numerous fraudsters & scammers masking their identify & falsifying who they are and the company they represent. They are contacting you directly & indirectly with every method at their disposal.

MFA was introduced to provide another layer of protection. It is for this reason only there is no option available to turn off MFA.

This is a peer-to-peer website. As such, we do not have access to your parents' account. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds another layer of security to your MyBell account by using more than one method to verify your identity.

When logging in, they will still need to enter their existing MyBell password, followed by the unique one-time verification code that can be sent to their preferred email address.

I trust if you are looking after their technical issues, you are also looking after any MyBell & email account problems that they might have.

I can only offer up a couple of suggestions. None of which may fully meet your needs.

Have you considered having them add you as authorized contact?
Have you thought about transferring ownership of the account into your name?
Have you thought about removing the MyBell app from their mobilie devices & restricting access to their MyBell account by way of a web browser?
You can also adjust the MFA settings in MyBell to allow for email authentication only. Simply remove the mobile phone number in the multi-factor authentication section

I wish I could do something more to assist you in resolving this issue. MFA is not optional. MFA was a business decision made by Bell to protect all of us. Policy decisions such as this cannot be changed on this website.

Service provider impersonation scam - Bell

Multi-factor authentication for MyBell : What is multi-factor authentication (MFA)?

Take care.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Psych_1967 — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:35:03 GMT

Thank you for your reply and suggestions but none of these would resolve the issue or are not possible.

I do not live in Canada, and so I cannot install the My Bell App on my phone (in the country I am-I have tried-it's not available). Adding me as an authorised contact will not make a difference-if it is not possible to disable the MFA in their account, then adding me as an authorised contact is pointless.

Adding MFA might have been a business decision, but it was a bad one for older customers who simply cannot navigate these complex cognitive tasks-many older people do not have anybody close by to help them with these tasks.

My mother can still (with my help on the phone) login to her email account, but the MFA adds an extra step that makes it more difficult for the reasons I stated.

Are you saying that if my mother has the My Bell App on her phone, she can disable the MFA on her account?

To be clear-I would like her to be able to login by inputting her email address and password-that's it. Forget the codes being sent to either another email address/authenticator App or her cell # (Messages App)-that is far too complicated for her and I am not physically with her and so I cannot help her in any way other than on the phone/remotely. As I said, MFA is a logistical nightmare for many older people.

MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Phones — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 17:08:21 GMT

Frequently my email app is unable to connect to my Bell email sever with an error message indicaring wrong password. I then need to access My Bell and simply re-enter my existing password. The problem now is this:- In order to access MyBell it sends me a code number which goes to the email address that I cannot access! Is there any workaround for this?

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

BellNick — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 12:51:30 GMT

Hi there @Phones. Thank you for your post and welcome to the Community.

We'd like to take a closer look into this and have sent you a private message. Please check your Messages within your profile avatar in the top right corner.

Unsure how to check or send a private message? See How to send a private message

Additionally in regards to the email password issue, we'd recommend checking out the helpful reply on the thread titled Email password issues - Invalid Credentials.

To avoid issues it may be beneficial to use an alternative email address (such as Gmail, Outlook, etc..) for MFA, that isn't your Bell Email (as it's attached to your account / MyBell).

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

WelshTerrier — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 17:25:47 GMT

Good day.

Thank you for your reply.

My apologies. You did not mention that you are assisting her from another country. You are correct in so far as you cannot download the MyBell app to your device.

Your mother cannot just disable MFA on her phone. She can have the code sent to her email address or by text message. She can choose one or the other or continue using both methods. She will still need to input the code whether she is accessing MyBell by way of the MyBell app or logging in to MyBell with a web browser.

It is also very possible for all of us to learn new things, at any age. Let me digress for the moment & allow me to suggest the following.

You will be able to access her MyBell web account if all of the following is acted upon & holds true:

Your mother sets you up as an authorized contact with Bell.
You also have been given access to her email account. It does not have to be Bell webmail. It can be whatever other email account that she is using. If it is Bell webmail, you need to be able to login with her: Email address & password.
You have been given access to your mother's MyBell web account. Username & password.
If you can answer yes to 1, 2 & 3, you would now be able to adjust the MFA settings in her MyBell profile to allow for email authentication only. You will also have full access to assist her remotely and make any changes that she might wish to make on MyBell. This in itself can be achieved without having the MyBell app installed on your device.

I will leave this with you. I can speak from experience. "You are never too old to learn more than you already know and to become able to do more than you already can."

Just some food for thought.

Take care.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Psych_1967 — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 08:24:16 GMT

Dear Welsh Terrier, thank you your kind reply but I'm afraid it isn't as simple as "you are never too old...". When a memory problem is present, it has nothing to do with age, but everything to do with your ability to recall what you are supposed to do next. You don't seem to understand that this is a problem of *memory*. When somebody has moderate cognitive decline they cannot remember a) where to check for the codes b) more than one step at a time, etc. You honestly have no idea how complex a task this is for them. And yes, instruction sheets have been provided, but they are constantly misplaced. You just have no idea.

Re-the steps that you have provided-yes, I can say "yes" to all of the above, but my mother should be able to login at any time of day/night without me having to provide her with the codes. I don't *want* to create a new email address/account for her elsewhere-she will not remember to check her emails there. And so I have both email and text message options selected for MFA in the hopes that she does think to check her messages-but she doesn't. This is the reality-she doesn't. She doesn't use Text messages to message anybody. She is 83 years old for goodness sake. She doesn't have many contacts at all. And so I have set it up so that all codes come to *my* email address, which is impractical for someone who still wants to maintain some degree of autonomy and independence and check their emails by logging in with email address and password, *without* having to ask their daughter for the code that was sent to the daughter's email address. It's absolutely ridiculous! She has no other family or friends who can help her with tech issues-nobody.

I will continue advocating for a simpler login process for the elderly and those with memory problems.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

WelshTerrier — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 09:43:23 GMT

@Psych_1967 Thank you once again for sharing this detail with the community. Unfortunately, there is little else I can offer up to you to solve MFA verification code entry requirements.

I do understand the issues that can be presented as all of us age & encounter lapses in memory. Other than what I have previously suggested, the option to turn off MFA code verification just does not exist today.

I wish I could do more.

Take care.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Psych_1967 — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 10:59:09 GMT

Thank you Welsh Terrier. I understand that you cannot do more-I didn't expect a solution from this forum-merely raising the problem that MFA presents for those who have cognitive and memory impairments and hoping that if enough of us raise the issue that something might be done about it in the backend on the technical side. I am not talking about normal "lapses" in memory. I am speaking of something much more severe. It is *these* customers that Bell should have thought more about when introducing MFA.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Kitty1 — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 12:52:52 GMT

I am finding that this constant need to enter a MFA code every time I log on to be a real inconvenient nuisance. I started out this week by having the code sent to my cell phone, but that has been extremely inconvenient. I would like to change how I receive my MFA code to a far more convenient location, such as a non-Bell email address, so that I don't scream in frustration at this necessity. I have read posts in this forum on tis subject, but none have been helpful. Please respond to this with a simple step-by-step explanation in terms that those of us who are not techno-savy can understand.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

WelshTerrier — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 12:53:30 GMT

Good Day.

Thank you for reaching out to the Bell Community Forum.

Only the email associated with your MyBell profile is required to use multi-factor authentication (MFA). After logging in you can edit your profile to change your email address or to add or make changes to your mobile phone number to use with multi-factor authentication (MFA).

To change how you receive your MFA code, please follow these steps:

Log in to your MyBell account using a web browser. Select > MyBell web account
Enter your: Username & password.
An MFA code will be sent by text to your mobile device. Enter the MFA code to Confirm your identity on open box that appears on your browser. Select > Submit.
This opens the MyBell home page. At the top of the page, select > My profile.
Select > MyBell. This will open up your MyBell profile web page.
Go to the right side of the page to the section: Contact & multi-factor authentication information
Select > Contact email address. Select > Edit . Enter your email address, confirm your email address & Select > Save.
If you do not wish to receive any further MFA text notification. Go to > Mobile phone number. Select > Edit.
Delete > Current mobile phone number entry.
Select > Continue & follow the onscreen prompts.

I have included the following document that will be of assistance in answering any further questions you might have.

Multi-factor authentication for MyBell : What is multi-factor authentication (MFA)?

Take care.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Anita1 — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 12:44:06 GMT

I'm with you. This driving me crazy, and I still haven't figured out how to have two email accounts open on my cell phone. So basically I can no longer check my emails on my phone. When it first started, I thought--or was it hoped--the verification was limited to the first time you login that day, but I quickly learnt after having to go this five or six times within a few hours that it was every time you login. Whoever came up with this idea isn't on their phone as much as the rest of us! Bell, please change this or make it optional.

MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Johnny3 — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 13:41:25 GMT

Why am I asked to confirm every time I open my emails. I have a very strong password manager. This is most annoying when checking for emails numerous times a day??????.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Psych_1967 — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 09:19:37 GMT

Hi Anita-I don't know if this will help you, but my mother uses Safari as her browser for her emails (on iPad) and I managed to clear her cache for her (you may need help with this) and I also checked that the box for "Block All Cookies" was unchecked. Since then, she has been able to remain logged in-and she has strict instruction (from me) not to close her email tab in Safari. So far, this method has worked. It *is* a real pain and customers should not have to log in repeatedly over the course of a day (or more), to check their emails.

Re: MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Psych_1967 — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 20:29:15 GMT

Exactly, Johnny! Depending on what device you use and which browser you use to login (if you use the web as opposed to the App) you can clear the cache and cookies and this may give you more time before it logs you out.

MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

Alton — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 12:50:53 GMT

Bell is now implementing double verification when logging into email.
I have three accounts I regularly use at various times of the day on my computer. It's enough grief logging in and out every time. Is there a way to bypass the new verification other than clicking on the do it later buttons?