There has to be a phone number attached to it, and you can’t use Google voice or a prepaid number either.
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Says who? I have metro by T-mobile and use one just fine.
What about a Skype number? (yea yea, who uses skype nowadays lol).
Not mine. It kinda doesn’t exist any more. Because it melted.
Okay, thing is, I had a house fire about six years or so ago, and it was luckily mostly confined to my home office. Good for the rest of the house, only some smoke damage (and funny smelling books) for most of the office at that, but it was concentrated around my computer corner and my freaking PC was melted along with the authenticator.
Shortly after, I figured it was time to bite the app option, because that was shortly after physical authenticators were phased out…
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when did you buy yours? they only last roughly 7-10 yrs max. its exceedingly rare to have one last any further.
Yep. They are rated for 7 years. I have had mine since 2010 and it is fine, but these past few years I rarely use it. The Bnet log in system detects me using the same PC at the same location and does not challenge it.
I will eventually have to get the App. Eventually… Not willingly though.
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See, now this is why I can’t get one. We’re a US military family with a Japanese phone number and an American military address. Our home of record is in the USA and we play on North American servers (have done for 16-ish years).
But I don’t think our phones (which are contracted phones through a Japanese cellular company) would get us authenticators. We don’t even HAVE a Japanese street address to give them (despite living on an actual street in an actual domicile in actual Japan). The address is American. So…yeah, get me a keychain authenticator, Blizz! Let’s go.
/claps hands
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This is the type of thread that is needed, to make a change happen. Constructive feedback about all the varied reasons the current authentication system is not feasible for many players.
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i refuse to get it simply out of principle since this “free” app isn’t actually free in that it REQUIRES a monthly phone service subscription to work if i understand correctly. That and i don’t trust sms as being secure enough. this is basically activision blizzard giving a giant middle finger to poor people such as myself that live on a budget.
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Why when you can get digital for free, its the same thing literally
So you don’t use a cell phone?? What ear are you in. Even welfare phones work
They can’t gather your meta data, location, and what you had for breakfast with keychain authenticators. It’s not part of the current software, but it’s just one software update from happening when you give both unfettered access to your device and the internet. Your contact list, your saved photos and docs are all exposed. I don’t like this trend to tying all our access to one device on which we conduct banking transactions, and those apps expecting unlimited access.
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Interesting… I recently acquired a smart phone at long last and attached it to my account (mostly for the bag slots). My service is 100% prepaid. So… apparently Blizz doesn’t know what they do and don’t allow, hmm?
Still have my physical authenticator though.
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some people don’t have the luxury to spend money on a phone contract since prepaid phones are no longer valid for it.
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No. The whole point behind the authenticator change is to make it harder for spammers and advertisers to get “throwaway,” accts. Blizzard can’t stop them because even if they get banned they just setup a new acct. The only way to stop this is to make it unprofitable. That means tying accts to expensive things like cell phones which they can’t just replace so cheaply.
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And this is the number one reason I DON’T use my phone for banking. The number two reason is a phone is easy to lose.
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Apparently you don’t know about welfare phones do you
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you seem like your just here to troll so im just done replying to you.
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You do realize that there actually isn’t coverage everywhere, even in the US, right? Those maps that cell companies like to show for their coverage lie. I didn’t have reliable coverage for years. I only very recently was able to get a phone that works where I live–though it works a LOT better when I go somewhere else. Your own circumstances are not the same as everyone else, and it’s rude to mock someone because their circumstances differ from yours.
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I have one but don’t use it because it is old and if my battery dies, I am locked out of my account forever unless I am willing to provide Blizzard with a copy of a piece of gov’t ID which I am very uncomfortable with.
But if they could come up with a workaround for that, yes, it would be great for people like me who do not have a phone.
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