Some questions about authenticators

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1

Good day, I just installed Bnet on my new PC after not having needed it for over half a year.

Now i decided to change my password for good measure and after reading, that some people’s physical authenticator eventually died I thought I’d remove it and just replace it with mobile authentication. Some questions did arise:

  1. Do I really have to download the Blizzard app instead of using one of the many Authenticator services (I use Google Authenticator personally) - quick searches said I cant. Is there any way around this? I hate installing apps on my quite old phone (and also won’t)

  2. Since the physical authenticator seems pretty healthy (after cleaning the display :3 ) I wonder for how long it might keep working anyway. From what I’ve read, I will get some sort of battery warning for quite a long time before it eventually dies - so I shouldnt worry until then at all?

  3. If it happens to die and is still attached, will providing the serial number of the device do or do I have to scan a license? Also how long does that process take? There’s nothing worse than not being able to play when you want to, we all know that =)

  4. How does SMS Verification play into the whole thing? For example when I try to reattach my authenticator it sends me an SMS with a code I have to confirm - I’d expect that to happen on suspicious login activity too

Edit: 5. Can’t I have two authenticators attached just in case the physical one dies? It doesn’t seem possible in the account menu :confused:

So concluding, I’ll probably attach my trusty old authenticator again because of no battery warning and not wanting to install an app. If I skip it, my account is still kinda safe cause my password has never been pwned according to HIBP and there might even be some SMS verification on suspicious logins, for lack of there being another good factor?

Sorry if it’s a lot but I’m an IT guy and a curious one at that. Thanks in advance for your help/explanations <3

2
  1. Yes - Blizzard don’t use any of the standardised authenticator systems, in order to maintain backwards compatibility with their physical authenticators.
  2. They will keep working until the battery dies. The battery is not user replaceable though, and even if you managed to crack it open and change the battery, it would no longer be in sync with the servers.
  3. I don’t know.
  4. The mobile authenticator does not need SMS. SMS protect is just another layer of protection. Blizzard DO require a valid mobile phone number to set up the mobile authenticator though.
  5. No. One authenticator only.
3

Thanks that was a pretty quick response, much unsatisfying as expected though.

Would still like some confirmation about the battery warning though - if there is one, then for now I’ll stick with the physical thing i guess.

Also if I have no Authentication setup, will they require SMS on suspicious login activity?

4

They have never sent me an SMS, ever, for any purpose. So I really can’t honestly answer that. But I do use the mobile authenticator. I honestly don’t understand peoples reluctance to use it. Its small, lightweight, especially compared to other apps people willingly install, it doesn’t require any odd permissions (no gps, etc), and it DOES NOT report back to “the mothership”.

I mention the last one because I’ve seen people claim its spyware.

5

Ah thanks for the info I thought it was something more sophisticated - I’ll give it a shot if I ever get that ominous battery warning or feel my physical authenticator is in fact dying.

I’m just a really oldschool guy - took me ages to buy a smartphone (2013-14ish?), and I’m still rocking that old phone (with great battery lifetime btw). I literally don’t use any apps except for authentication and an actual browser to read news while I take a dump.

Then again I have a background in online marketing and know my fair share about how analytics and tracking works cause I have to use/implement it for work.

If anyone can confirm the battery warning thing I’d be happy but I’ll mark your first answer as solution anyway cause you pretty much covered all my questions, thanks a lot again

6

I’ve had my physical authenticator right from when they were introduced … I don’t know when it was but they still had a store in Germany which sent it to me. I don’t have any sort of warning on mine … but then I very rarely use it nowadays.

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7

Yes pretty much same here, since it’s working just fine I just decided to keep it attached, screw modern ways of authentication :slight_smile:

Eventually we will have to swap though

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