Question regarding authenticator.

[Maggibesti]

Hello MMO-Champion,

My friend told me the other day that the video game store next to us sells WoW(Battle.net) authenticators. And I was wondering, how does it work? I mean can I just buy one and attach it somehow to my account? I thought I needed a specific authenticator for my account with some specific serial number or something.

I've been thinking of getting physical authenticator for my account because the mobile(that I used via program since I dont have a smartphone) was starting to give me a heartattack. Was gonna log into b.net and it told me information was wrong and then when I tried to check if I was using the right authenticator(I have one for my 2nd account too) it gave me an invalid password error so something has gone wrong with the program. Luckily I was able to log on my laptop and it worked there. So I was wondering if maybe it was a virus I got or something that messed it up(scanning my computer atm).

So yeah, can I just go to the video game store and purchase the authenticator, will it work? Also how well do the physical authenticators last? Can they break easily? Can you have a backup authenticator?

Would love some answers and advices! Don't wanna leave my account without an authenticator!


Thanks in advance!

PS I hope I posted in the right section, wasn't sure if I should've posted here or off-topic. But thought I'd post it here cause it's related to WoW.

[Zippoflames]

You enter the serial number from the authenticator on the battlenet page so it attaches to your account, Write the serial number down and put it under your pc tower or whatever that way if you lose it you can get it taken off. (my battery has lasted 2 years so far.)

I think but I am not 100% sure you can use the same authenticator on both wow accounts.

[Deleted]

You can buy any authenticator as long as it's a Blizzard one, duh.

How long do they last ? Well you can't change the battery cause that resets it or something but a battery should last for over 5 years, even then just make sure to remove the authenticator if the screen looks like the battery is going to die out soon, buy another authenticator and attach it for 5 years more.

[Deleted]

I don't think you can just use a physical without changing your account settings, instead of the mobile one, but you can buy 2 authenticators and remove the mobile authenticators and then add the 2 physical ones you bought.

My physical authenticator is still in top condition. They don't break easily I'd say. No, you can't have a backup authenticator. 1 per battle.net account is the limit.

[Deleted]

You enter the serial number from the authenticator on the battlenet page so it attaches to your account, Write the serial number down and put it under your pc tower or whatever that way if you lose it you can get it taken off. (my battery has lasted 2 years so far.)

I think but I am not 100% sure you can use the same authenticator on both wow accounts.

Holy crap. My battery is on it's 4th year and I play wow every day. What the hell are you doing over there ?!

[Hottage]

If you have an Android or Apple smart phone a mobile authenticator is a far better bet.
One less thing to lose / carry around and also easier to recover if lost (you can use the serial and recovery code to convert your new phone in the same authenticator if you lose your old one.
Even the old generation Android 2.3 phones are supported.

[Deleted]

If you have an Android or Apple smart phone a mobile authenticator is a far better bet.
One less thing to lose / carry around and also easier to recover if lost (you can use the serial and recovery code to convert your new phone in the same authenticator if you lose your old one.
Even the old generation Android 2.3 phones are supported.

Why would you carry around the physical authenticator ?! Mine is always sitting on my desk at home.

[Deleted]

With the new BattleNet client I don't even need to use my Authenticator anymore... I inserted it once (God knows how long ago) and now whenever I click on WoW icon it logs me into the client and I can log straight into it (or Diablo 3/Hearthstone/Starcraft 2).

[Maggibesti]

Thanks for the answers, helped a lot.

Btw anyone know why my authenticators' password all the sudden doesn't work? If anyone here uses WinAuth program. Never happened to me before and used it for 2 years always worked. But my other authenticator works fine for my 2nd account.

[Hottage]

Why would you carry around the physical authenticator ?! Mine is always sitting on my desk at home.

Mine was attached to my key-chain, when I had one, otherwise I'd lose it in my desk.

[Sildor]

You can buy any Blizzard authenticator, the authenticator has a serial number on it that you type into battle.net.

No idea how long the battery will last, but my authenticator is 4 years old and still going strong, they are quite durable, so if you're careful about it it should be fine.

[Pull My Finger]

I got my authenticator not long after they first started making them. Can't remember when that was. Still works.

I had two active WoW accounts at times. You don't need two different authenticators for that. My authenticator also works with D3 and anything else battle.net related.

[frostyflakes]

Thanks for the answers, helped a lot.

Btw anyone know why my authenticators' password all the sudden doesn't work? If anyone here uses WinAuth program. Never happened to me before and used it for 2 years always worked. But my other authenticator works fine for my 2nd account.

This is usually just because the time has changed between your computer and Battle.net, which is how the codes are created. Use the Sync option in WinAuth to make sure the time is set correctly. If you still have a problem log an issue on code.google.com/p/winauth