i already have an authenticator on my account yet the bag increase wants me to add 1

[skannerz22]

i already have an authenticator on my account yet the bag increase wants me to add an authenticator? it redirects me to the download page which makes no sense

[Aktec]

it wants you to add the sms protect

[Doogler]

it wants you to add the sms protect

It will accept just the sms protect but it does not mention this. It pretty clearly asks you to add an authenticator and does not indicate that you already have one. You have skip past that and get to the sms protect.

[skannerz22]

this just seems like extra steps to locking me out of my account in emergencies

[Marrilaife]

SMS protect is necessary to remove authenticator user-side without GM interference in case it breaks / malfunctions. However you need to be careful in some extreme niche cases, like the story I've seen in the other thread about a guy in northern Alaska where he couldn't use SMS protect due to extreme limited connectivity to cellphone network (no signal), but his tablet / laptop worked still with satellite internet.

But in most areas the cellphone network should have coverage.

Well, I've also heard some cellphone companies charge you extra or don't allow these kind of services. So you'd have to ensure all is okay first.