MyBell and Bell Email MFA/2FA access

[StevieB]

 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!!??

[BellNick · Accepted solution]

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).

[WelshTerrier]

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:

1. Your mother sets you up as an authorized contact with Bell.
2. 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.
3. You have been given access to your mother's MyBell web account. Username & password. 
4. 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.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Kindly add me to the list of people completely annoyed by this MFA. I check my email frequently throughout the day, easily upwards to 30 times a day.  To have to enter MFA every time I want to check my email is insane and a complete utter waste of my time. What shortsighted tech came up with this ridiculous policy? I would like to have the option to bow out of the MFA if I do not want it. Bell does not need to force this on people who hate this idea. On the record :  I CAN'T STAND THIS IDEA. 

[DavidP]

Bell REALLY has to work some of the bugs out of your 'updates' before forcing people to use it !!! One comment of having an "alternative email address" seems unreasonable for some people who 'rely' on Bell for their email !!! If my email address was 'portable' ,  I would of been gone years ago !!! Customer support is terrible in this new upgrade !!! Bell REALLY has to provide support for seniors and those less savy in trying to conform to your 'upgrades' !!!

It actually took me awhile to sign into My Bell, but luckily there's still another 'glitch'  in the system ... and you can usually get in through a workaround ...;-)

One method of MFA-2FA should be enough for bell ... as it is for banking access ... when you have all the information already in our file !!!!  Please Fix It or provide proper help for those that require help !!!!!

[Psych_1967]

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.  

[Psych_1967]

Springstein-I hear you and support you and echo your frustration. It should be up to the individual user as to whether they want the hassle of using MFA-not up to Bell. Bell have done their duty in warning customers about the possibility of fraud. It is up to each customer as to *how* they wish to protect themselves.    

[Psych_1967]

David-I hear you, and support you, but am also curious-what is the workaround you are referring to (I may be able to assist my mother using this). I can see that she has tried to login (unsuccessfully) last night-late....because I woke up this morning to 8-10 Bell Verification code emails. They come to *my* email address because she doesn't have another. And yet yesterday, miracle of miracles, she seemed able to login because I received an email from her-she either knew to check her text messages for the code, or possibly had still been logged in from a previous email "session". I honestly don't know which it is and I would be very surprised if she knew to check her text messages because when I tried to introduce her to the Text messages icon on her iPad/iPhone, she said it was all too much for her and "I will forget". 

It is a real shame, and a huge oversight that Bell's tech team did not consider the level of complexity of MFA for those who's cognitive abilities and memories are not what they were. This process needs to be simplified.    

[WelshTerrier]

@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.

[Psych_1967]

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.  

[DavidP]

To Psych_1967 I would rather not ... it's the only way I can get into MyBell ... Bell may 'fix it' so I wouldn't be able to into that 😞  It only works on MyBell, and not for email 😞  Whenever I attempt to sign in usually ... I get the MFA form, request a password ... then I never receive a text message 😞  Email is working again ... for now ... i hope they fix the main problems before it goes out again!!!!!!

We need the Good Olde Days ... when Bell was one of the things you could trust ...

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[Psych_1967]

Hi @DavidP I hear you, and understood! I just thought I'd ask but respect your preference! As long as you're able to navigate your App.....👏.  And yes....👍 to the good ol' days. Things were a lot simpler back then:). 

[Kitty1]

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.  

[WelshTerrier]

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:

1. Log in to your MyBell account using a web browser. Select >  MyBell web account
2. Enter your: Username & password.
3. 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.
4. This opens the MyBell home page. At the top of the page, select > My profile.
5. Select > MyBell. This will open up your MyBell profile web page.
6. Go to the right side of the page to the section: Contact & multi-factor authentication information
7. Select > Contact email address. Select > Edit . Enter your email address, confirm your email address & Select > Save. 
8. If you do not wish to receive any further MFA text notification. Go to > Mobile phone number. Select > Edit.
9. Delete > Current mobile phone number entry.
10. 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.

[GlobeHiker]

First, I logged in my bell email using the correct password. Then I entered the MFA code to complete the two-step verification. The I received 'Error occurred checking otp value' message.

No matter how I tried,  even resetting my password, I always ended with the same error. Any help out there?  

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

If you're having trouble logging into your Bell email after multiple attempts, it's likely due to an incorrect password or a temporary lockout. First, double-check your username and password, ensuring Caps lock is off. If you are having problems with the MFA code, verify your keyboard settings. E.g. Num lock, Caps lock, etc.

If you still can't log in, try clearing your browser's cache and cookies, or try a different browser. If those steps don't work, you might be temporarily locked out, and you'll need to wait a short period before trying again.

If you’ve forgotten your login information but know the email address you registered with, you can use the: forgot login info tool.

Please refer to the following web link: I need help logging in to My Bell.

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

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

Take care.