So these are the people the game is now designed to block from playing ever again? That sounds like a bad design.
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When first installing the authenticator, it brings up the S/N and recovery code screen and explicitly tells you to write them down and keep them in a safe place in case you need to recover after reinstalling or moving to a new device. It even offers to take a screenshot of that info to your phone for just that purpose (so you can then back it up to another device and restore using the info in the screenshot). If a user fails to heed the in your face warning, that isnât bad design, thatâs impatience.
Always, always, always copy the information you need to recover an authenticator app. For Blizzardâs app thatâs writing it down or screenshotting it and backing up that screenshot. For something like Google Authenticator, itâs saving a screenshot of the QR code for each account saved to that authenticator so you can restore quickly or copy the authenticator accounts to a new/extra device.
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Yeah, thatâs definitely messed up. I always authenticate in the app, no reason to type anything into another program.
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Well to be fair, it does tell you to record the information and keep it safe as it will be required if you wish to remove the authenicator in the future. I mean if it was easy to remove, then it would defeat the purpose of having it to begin with.
This is the public theyâre dealing with. It shouldnât be an extension of those âRPG elements from the roots of wowâ devs like so much. Unrecoverable mistakes shouldnât force long-term customers from the game forever.
If they took as little care programming this as some of the other stuff we see in the Bug Reports forum, Iâm not surprised that âSomething went wrong, oh well, itâs your own faultâ is the response this player is getting.
On this character, a critical quest early in Argus did not come up. Iâve done that questline over 50 times. It should have come up. I posted in the Bug Reports forum and got no response. If I successfully put in a ticket (which is not a given) I am guaranteed to get a response telling me to go to wowhead or figure it out for myself.
They have made a change in the game that will permanently block anyone from ever completing Argus again. And no one cares.
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Theyâre only unrecoverable if the user does not heed the up front warning to make a copy of the necessary info in order to recover. Thatâs why the authenticator app actually tells you to do so explicitly upon initial setup.
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It doesnât, you can still remove it you just have to prove you are the owner of the account. If any John Doe could just contact support and get it removed quickly there would be no purpose in having it to begin with.
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they donât.
a simple call to CS and a picture of their driverâs license will get them back in.
and the next time, maybe theyâll write down the recovery codes.
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i totally agree. if i were a developer i would simply write bug-free code. i donât know why developers would want to write buggy code in the first place. just lazy i guess
So you are saying that unrecoverable mistakes SHOULD force paying customers out of the game forever. And as I said above, the patch is full of unrelated glitches on just about every change. Yet you say that the authenticator was the exception and actually is guaranteed glitch free? How do you know this to be true?
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I feel your pain. I use the original authenticator and when I made a new account it worked fine for about 5 years then, out of the blue, it said I could not use the pet any more. Took months to sort out - they said the auth wasnt linked to my new acount!, but I had been using it there for literally years. Also I didnt get the 4 bag slots as I cant use the new auth because - (and I know this is shocking) - I DO NOT HAVE a cell phone.
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My sarcasm meter just went off.
Did all that.
For heaven sake read.
Yep. Did all that. Thank you. Go charge that phone of yours, lol
Guys, gals I appreciate all your help. Like I said, did everything correctly, uninstalled, hard rebooted both pc and phone, tried again, read all the articles, contacted customer support who sent an email (theyâre swamped and just wanted me to mark as resolved,) had my tech son come over who has had a phone authenticator since Blizz offered them to check my steps, and still itâs not working. Four hours - two with son, Iâm frustrated and tired, and done for today. Will try one more time tomorrow.
Took screenshots and wrote everything down. Enough!
Was able to disable it and just use my own password to play. So. Itâs all good. Iâll reread patch notes about groups tomorrow as well.
Thank you. Take care.
who said anything about forever, other than you? itâs not forever. you talk to CS, send them a picture of your DL or other ID, and youâre done.
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Case closed fellas
Sometimes itâs best to step away when frustrated and try again later. I sincerely do hope that youâre able to get it working.
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If by âforeverâ you mean contacting support and sending them a copy of your picture id so they can verify you own the account, sure. Or in the immortal words of Montoya
âYou Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Meansâ
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There havenât been any substantiated reports of the authenticator having issues outside of a phone having incorrect system time set (the authenticator uses that for its initial setup and to display current codes and validate via remote tokens). Itâs a temporal one time password (TOTP) type app. As long as the system time is correct and the setup code/QR code matches what the account is set to use, it will function properly.
I did read. You did not mention once whether or not you wrote down or in any way recorded the serial number and restore code. If you did not do so, then when you uninstalled the authenticator from your phone and reinstalled it, the reinstalled authenticator would have a new S/N and different restore code and would not work with your account, ever. The reason I mentioned this in the first place is because it was the one thing that wasnât discussed prior to my post.
Real quick question for you though: You just now mentioned you got the auth removed from your account and can use your own password again by itself. Did you do so by giving Blizzard your identifying information (i.e. a scan of your ID) or via a different method? Iâm asking because depending on which way you did so, you may find yourself in for some issues with delayed account flagging (this is a common issue with Blizzard) that might prevent you from logging in via just the password in the near future.
I just want to ensure you are able to continue to access your account properly. Recovery headaches areâŠwell, migraine inducing. 
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âA few secondsâ is closer to 30.
Its super clear youre looking for this to be a hassle. I havent had to enter the code in months and its not hard at all to do it even when you have to.
Liadariel noted âRAâ in her post, which I presume refers to Rheumatoid Arthritis, which makes fast movement difficult. Combined with age and slower reflexes it can make entering something under 30 seconds very difficult, and for some people even impossible. Having a physical impediment isnât âlooking for this to be a hassleâ.
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