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!!??

[JD23]

Bell mail requiring multifactor authentication each time I login into web mail is very cumbersome and not necessary. Now I have to login to my gmail mail account to pick up the id code in order to login into Bell mail.  Makes you want to discontinue using Bell mail since gmail and MS mail do not require extra authentication as it is not necessary.

[dks]

Thank you for your concern. You can use SMS text for your 2FA authentication, is that is your choice. You can select it from Other at the bottom of the Send ID Code popup. That may be more useful to you. You can also set up an offline reader such as Outlook or Thunderbird to download your e-mail without requiring authentication. 

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

Good Day.

To avoid using multi-factor authentication (MFA) when accessing Bell email, you can utilize an email client like Outlook, Apple Mail, Samsung Mail, GMail app, Thunderbird, etc., instead of logging in through a web browser or the MyBell portal.

Most manufactures & software supplier offer some form of a free email client software program or app as part of their operating system. E.g. Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, etc.

Bell's MFA is primarily required for accessing your account through their web portal, not for email clients that support their email service.

Take care.

[Aug]

Hello,

While logging into my account, I was promted to send an email to asking for a Multi-factor authentication code.

I was not aware this would setup Multi-factor authentication for my account, and i would like to remove the email access to authenticate the "Multi-factor authentication" feature.

This is very frustrating, as there is no ability to remove an existing account in the menu of the mobility webiste whithout adding another email address.

PLEASE fix this function, I do not give permission for Multi-factor authentication to the email through this account.

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome to the Bell Community Forum.

All Bell customers are required to use multi-factor authentication (MFA). You cannot opt out

Do you have a mobile number? If so, you can choose to have the authentication code sent to your mobile phone or to your email address on file.

After you log in with multi-factor authentication (MFA) for the first time, you can make changes to your email address or mobile phone number by following instructions on the MyBell profile page. One-time verification codes can only be sent to an email address or Canadian mobile number.

To log in to MyBell, go to the MyBell login page at https://mybell.bell.ca/Login . Enter your Bell.ca username and password, then click "Log in". Confirm your identity by entering the 6-digit code that was sent to your mobile number. If more preferable, you can choose another method. E.g. email.

Take care.

[Bob- R]

Hello and thanks for the info. I have been trying to setup MFA for almost 2 weeks. I also have a Gmail acct which I am trying to get emails thru. Could you please give the link or the instructions on how to bypass Bell sympatico email and go thru Gmail. Thank you for any info you can provide. Robery

[BellPatricia]

Hey @Bob- R 

Welcome to the Bell community 🙂

Once you log in with MFA for the first time, you can then make changes to your email address by following the instructions right on your MyBell profile page.

Check out the support article we shared in this Helpful reply for more information on managing MFA settings.

Let us know if you need anything else.

@BellPatricia 

[Alton]

I understand how MFA works the problem is that my wife and I share our email accounts.
How do we set it up so that we can still share them?

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day & Welcome.

@Alton Thank you for posting your question.

There can only be one owner of a MyBell or Bell email account. Both of these accounts can be shared by more than once individual.

MyBell Account

If both of you are sharing the same MyBell account & are sharing the same email account, then both of you must also share the same mobile device & same email address in order to receive the MFA authentication code. The MFA code can only be sent to one mobile phone number and or one email address.

If you choose to have the MFA code sent by email, then either one of you can receive the MFA code & access it on which every device either one of you are using to access your shared email account.

Bell eMail Account

If both of you have a separate Bell email address, when you setup MFA for Bell webmail, you can setup a secondary email or different mobile number of your choosing.

Take care.

[Alton]

Thank you but I understand that.
If I use an email client, such as Microsoft mail or something else, can I then not bother with Bell/Sympatico mails?
I know this is not your doing but I'm seriously thinking of abandoning my Bell accounts, which I have had since the early 90's when the Sympatico service was an email program that kept mails on my pre-windows computer.

[alump]

This new MFA security feature is a real pain in the butt. I am surprised that this issue hasn't already been addressed, considering the many negative MFA comments from your customers.

My wife & I share the same Sympatico email account. I have a 2nd email account for business purposes. In order for me to access our Sympatico account, you forced me to set up MFA and I used my business account email to achieve that. At the time I set it up I expected that it would only apply to my device. Now I see otherwise. It's a nuisance for me, when using our Sympatico account, but I can manage as I rarely have to reload by Bell email on my device.

My wife does not have a second email account. Nor does she have a smart phone. Consequently she has no way to independently obtain the 6 digit security code when accessing our Sympatico account. When I am home she can ask me to get the code for her. When I am not at home she cannot get into our sympatico account without getting in contact with me. That is not always possible, and when it is; it can be frustrating for both of us.
Surely the Bell crew can get their thinking caps on and resolve this issue before more customers switch to Rogers. Something we have been considering of late. Now that Rogers is upgrading their service in our area, we will be thinking about switching over.

How quickly can you resolve this issue?  Al.

[Vanadiel]

Easiest would be to setup a free Gmail account and have the authentication code go there.

There's no way to opt out of MFA for Bell e-mail access.

You can read more here. 

[dks]

I concur with @Vanadiel . Bell no longer provides e-mail accounts with their internet service (business is a separate service). A second account from Gmail or another free service is the preferred option for you. 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Yes, you can set up your Bell email account on a mail client such as Microsoft Mail, Outlook, Gmail, etc.

If you setup your email account on an email client, you will bypass MFA authentication for email access only.

MFA is intended to provide another layer of security for your webmail.

Setting up Bell email : Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

You do not need to specifically use your Sympatico email address. You can choose any email service provider.

If you wish to continue to use your Bell email address on an email client, I have included the instruction below:

 Using Bell email : Bell email features

Take care.

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day @alump 

There is no work around for the MFA email authentication. Depending on the device you are using, (computer, tablet, etc.) a quick fix that may solve your problem would be to use an email client such as Microsoft Mail, Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Safari Mail, Samsung Mail, etc.

You can configure Bell email to work with email software using either POP or IMAP settings. I recommend using IMAP because it provides useful functions, such as syncing your folders and messages across multiple devices.

Add your Bell email account to any one of these free email clients and you will no longer need to enter the MFA security code when using the email client. (MFA security code entry will continue to be a requirement if you choose to access your email account with a web browser.)

Using Bell email : Bell email features

Setting up Bell email : Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Take care