The "NEW" authenticator/log in not working?

I tried to log into Battlenet via phone and it requires the authenticator code ( I think?) Normally I just open the app and hit accept but this time I can’t because it needs the code before I can open the app. So now I’m at a stalemate, any ideas?

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What app are you trying to open? You should be using the Battlenet App, not the Authenticator app, which is going away.

If you have not yet migrated from the authenticator app, you will need to do this by the end of the month. Have you already done that?

To open the authentication portion of the battlenet app, you open the app, then click your profile picture. Under here should be the Authenticator. Clicking on this will allow you to manually produce a code, similar to how the physical keychain authenticator worked.

It is possible you need to restart your device to make the authenticator work again. Sometimes phones and tablets get stupid and need rebooted, much like computers. Yes, even Apple phones.

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What DTMAce said. The Authenticator app should work still, but is being migrated into the Battlenet launcher app on the phone.

You can read the pinned post about it here

If you still use your keychain auth like I do, this does not impact you. Not until the battery eventually dies. Then it has to be removed and the person must migrate to the new Bnet app version of the Auth if they want one.

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Follow up question, if you have a backup keychain authenticator that hasn’t been registered could you not just use that assuming your first one dies? Or will the option to even register a keychain authenticator be gone too?

Mostly just asking out of curiosity. I switched to the app a while ago, but I still have two authenticators. One that’s just the normal blue Blizzard logo on black, and another that I got from a Blizzcon a long time ago of the SC2 ghost. Both still work, but I only ever registered one of them.

Yes, you can change authenticators. Not an issue. Usually it sends a request to the old one, then you can remove it. Then add a new one, and it will send request to confirm it, and you are done.

Kinda the same process for the mobile versions as well. They have a way to manually generate the code like the keychain ones do. I have the original D3 keychain, but the button stopped working.

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I don’t know if it will still accept the serial number of the Keychain Auth on setup. It also now requires a valid in-country mobile number during Auth setup.

Using one already on the account is fine, not sure about setting it up with one. I have two as well. One is desynched though and was removed. It generates a number, but not one that works. Heh. That one is from 2008. The one on my account is 2010.

Heck, I am not sure my phone will even run a current Bnet app. Phone is 2016.

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I’m fairly sure you can still use the keychain option, even with the phone number thing. Its just an authenticator, the phone number requirement uses the SMS portion for a layer of security, they just happen to have the option to use the mobile authenticator with it, and now its built into the battlenet app.

Shouldn’t be an issue at all.

However, there have been a few people that have run into a loop of needing to log into the app on the phone and it now requesting the authentication, but not able to access it because its not logged in or setup.

Which seems odd to me, but there it is. However I only know of two that have posted about it on the forum.

Easy enough to find out. Simply install the app and test it.

I tested adding the physical. Yes, you can still do this, but you will need to have a phone number now to do so for an SMS message request.

Update to some useful info:

Don’t have access to the previous device?

If you no longer have access to your old device, you will need to click “Can’t Log In” on the login screen. If you have SMS set up you can verify your identity through SMS verification to remove the old Authenticator from your account allowing you to set up the Authenticator in the Battle.net Mobile App. If you are unable to verify your account through SMS you will need to [contact customer support] for assistance with removing your old authenticator.

Note: The SMS verification code is sent to the phone number linked to your Battle.net Account. If you changed your phone number you will need to [update your Battle.net Account phone number] before you can restore your Authenticator.

-Blizzard Support - Attaching a Battle.net Authenticator

I highly recommend using a phone number (and keeping it current) on your account as a backup means to get access to the account in case of authentication issues.

If that number changes AND you lose access to the authenticator, you may get stuck in a vicious circle of not being able to log in at all.

Seconded. I do have the SMS set up so I can remove my keychain auth when it dies by myself. No CS help needed.

If someone does not have that set up, they get to go through Support to prove they are the account holder and get the old number and/or Auth removed. Then they can put a new one on. It can take days and is a frustrating process.

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Wanted to add, I edited my post above, but I did test adding the physical authenticator. You can still do this, but it does require a cell phone on the account in order to set it up.

https://account.battle.net/security

I saw :slight_smile: Thank you for testing it.

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Yeah, I have a beef with how they buried this in the app the way they did. Additionally, I also dislike that they removed a critical feature, which was the ability to enter your restore code if the authenticator portion of the app had a “valid” code already established on the device. They still have a way to enter the code manually for situations where it’s needed, but no way to enter the restore code unless you nuke the app’s cache/prefs first, which is asinine.

Fair warning: The backup authenticator’s battery has been draining this entire time, so it may also be on borrowed time depending on how it has fared over the years.

I believe you said yours is the LG V30? If so, it came with Android 7 and is upgradeable to Android 9 (Pie). Android 5 is the minimum required OS currently, though expect that to be bumped to Android 7 in the foreseeable future for compatibility reasons (primarily permissions). Your phone will run the app.

Edit: I’m actually surprised your phone still works. I’d check frequently for bulging, as those lithium ion batteries in phones don’t last forever, and rarely more than three or four years before they start to do so. You definitely don’t want battery fires happening.

True, I didn’t mention that, but I do hate that its buried. However when you send the request it just pops up, so under normal use situations, you should never have to go digging for it. But yeah. It shouldn’t be buried in the menus, I agree.

I didn’t realize it was that bad, yikes. That would be very problematic in those situations.

Provided the carrier supports the update. I have had older phones that should have been on a later OS not update, even though the carrier had pushed updates out before. Its almost as if after a period of time, they cancel the option.

That has to do with more than just age, but sure, its a concern sometimes. Most older phones beyond a number of years were far less likely to develop this, as they actually had better quality batteries to begin with.

I have a number of 10 year old plus phones around here that have never had a swollen battery, but I have encountered them occasionally here and there.

I once had a Lenovo laptop come to me with the keyboard all popped out because the internal wired battery pack had inflated to such a degree that it was nearly 3 times its original width.

I removed it, installed a new one, but it was impressive how ballooned it was. But it was all gas. Once popped it deflated safely. Of course the battery was still bad regardless. lol

Typical OS support for most non-Samsung Android phones is three years. For Samsung it’s a paltry two years. The phones should be able to update even after that period, just not to anything higher than the last update the carrier committed. Usually the vendors commit the builds and the carriers just slap on their bloatware. Except for Samsung. They’ve got their own brand of obnoxious bloatware too.

It actually has to do with multiple factors: amp-hour ratings (Ah, e.g. 5000 mAh in my S22 Ultra), method of charging (normal, “fast”, Qi/wireless, or any combo of these), frequency of discharge, and whether or not a person keeps their phone topped off constantly. Older phones has lesser battery Ah ratings and slower charging methods and were less prone to heat issues prematurely ending the battery’s life than newer phones. Having removable batteries helped a lot too. The EU is going to force that to come back, so hopefully we get options like that in the US and elsewhere again in the future as well.

I got lucky and noticed that my Otterbox Defender case for my Note 8 felt odd as it clicked when I squeezed my phone to pick it up. Lo and behold, my phone’s glass front was sharply beveled in one spot, indicative of battery bulge.

Not the greatest idea unless you are either outside with safety gear on or in a fireproof room (again with safety gear on). Sudden pressure changes can ignite gases just as easily as heat can.

Samsung J320V

Android version 7.1.1

Phone is from 2016 and the last update it did was 2018. I have tried prompting it to look for updates but it says it is as current as it is getting. Makes me sad it won’t run the Merlin bird app. I don’t even DO apps really, but that one would have been interesting.

Wow.

You would not want to watch me dismantle laptop batteries then. I am always harvesting 18650 cells out of packs. I’m working toward building a powerwall with an end goal of 14k of them. I have a system and testing method that works, and sort out the cells, etc.

Right now, just trying to get to where I have 7k to start with. (I think I’m sitting on over 1400 at the moment.) 7000 will give me 500 per bank for 14 banks to end up with a 48v battery pack. And if I am building it to expect a low 1000mAh individual battery sustain, that’s going to equal 24,000 Watt hours. And if I use batteries at a higher capacity rating, that simply goes up.

It needs to be able to support a 220v A/C output, and at that level, it should sustain my office build for nearly a full day. But I would get double that with double the battery count. And the individual battery stress would be quite low. I plan on it operating within a capacity of between 35%-85% charge to limit battery stress, which is another reason to have a lot of batteries. We all know Lithium batteries don’t like being fully charged and completely discharged. They last longer when operating in a shorter usage frame.

Of course I still have to build the remote building just to house it, run the wiring, buy all the solar panels, the inverter/charger/UPS, and a lot of other stuff. But it has to have a big pack in order to support the office building properly. The short days of Winter and the electrical load is where I’m basing my setup from. Of course I’m going to need something like 25-30 solar panels to even have enough support to hopefully charge it, but it will also be grid connected with auto-failover and grid charging as well.

If all goes like I hope, it will use a little electricity in the winter and hopefully none in the summer. lol

But I’m a long way from getting it complete, between costs, setup, building battery packs, etc. lol

I had the authenticator app. So, I downloaded the Battlenet app and couldn’t get it to all work together. I THINK I finally got it down, though I may have had to delete the auth part. I don’t know. It was not very user friendly at all. I just hope I got it done correctly.

And I mean, I wasn’t looking forward to having to download the BN app to my phone in general. I likely won’t use it. Not that I can foresee.

When I did mine, the authenticator transferred itself to the bnet app.

Good news is, if you had added your phone number to your account, you can remove the authenticator or bnet app if its not working if needed to fix any issues and re-add it.

At least it’ll run the Battle.net app. Not speedily, given how much bloatware that app is, but enough to do push notifications for authentication purposes.

Also, I’m assuming you mean the Samsung J3 (J320V is the code for Verizon’s version). As noted it’ll run the app, so you at least have an alternative. But keep an eye on that battery and pop the cover once in a while to check for bulging. The removable batteries don’t always cause the case to bulge due to the fact they aren’t glued in and can move on their own slightly. I doubt you can get a new battery for it that isn’t some Chinese knockoff at this point, but it’s still better to be safe than sorry. I’d have kept on my Note 4 if I could have since it had a removable battery, but alas, no go since the batteries dried up and I wasn’t risking knockoffs.

You’d probably end up with less cost and more compatibility if the battery array fails by just going with a power wall from any reputable manufacturer. And you’d have a warranty too. :wink:

When I first tried, nothing worked.

I hope it did the second time. I’ll have to check.

It should be more user friendly.

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