How To

Signing in from a new device

Using your smartphone to sign in on a computer that doesn't have its own passkey reader.

Every sign-in screen offers a "Use my Smartphone" option alongside the regular passkey prompt — for a computer that doesn't have its own fingerprint reader or security key, or one you're using for the first time.

How it works

  1. On the sign-in screen, choose Use my Smartphone.
  2. A QR code appears on the computer's screen.
  3. Scan it with your smartphone's camera. This opens a page on your smartphone, not the computer — your smartphone is where the actual passkey check happens.
  4. Complete the check on your smartphone exactly as you would signing in there directly (fingerprint, face, or security key).
  5. The computer signs you in automatically the moment your smartphone confirms it — no code to type back, no separate confirmation step on the computer.

The QR code refreshes periodically while you wait, so it doesn't go stale if you take a moment to find your smartphone.

This doesn't register a new passkey on the computer — it just borrows your smartphone's passkey for that one sign-in. If you'll be using a particular computer regularly, you can still register it with its own passkey separately; the QR option is there for whenever that's not worth doing, like a one-off shared machine.