MHG Ascend

Setting up your authenticator app

Two-step sign-in

Every MHG Ascend account signs in with a password and a six-digit code from an authenticator app on your phone. The code changes every 30 seconds and never leaves your phone, so a stolen password alone cannot open your account.

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Which app to use

Recommended
Microsoft Authenticator. Most Department staff already have it for Microsoft 365, and MHG Ascend can live alongside your work accounts in the same app. Free on the App Store and Google Play.
Also works
Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, Duo Mobile, and the built-in password managers on iPhone (Settings › Passwords) and Android. Any app that supports time-based one-time passwords will.
Does not work
Apps that only send SMS codes. MHG Ascend does not send codes by text message.
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Adding MHG Ascend, step by step

  1. On your computer, sign in to MHG Ascend for the first time, or ask an administrator to reset your authenticator. You will see a square QR code.
  2. On your phone, open the authenticator app and choose Add account (in Microsoft Authenticator: the + button, then Other account).
  3. Point the phone's camera at the QR code. The app adds an entry called MHG Ascend with your email address under it.
  4. If you cannot scan, choose Enter code manually in the app and type the setup key shown beside the QR code.
  5. Back on the computer, type the six-digit code the app is showing and choose Activate. Codes expire every 30 seconds; if one is refused, wait for the next.
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Signing in after that

Enter your email and password as usual, then open the app and type the current MHG Ascend code. On Microsoft Authenticator you may need to tap the account to reveal the number.

Prefer not to type a password? Choose "Sign in with an emailed link instead" on the sign-in page. The link still asks for your authenticator code.

Never share a code with anyone, including MHG staff. MHG will never ask for one.
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If something goes wrong

Code always refused
Your phone's clock is probably off. Turn on automatic date and time in the phone's settings, or in Google Authenticator use Settings › Time correction for codes.
New phone, or app deleted
Your codes do not move with your password. Ask through the Help page if you can still sign in, or the contact form if you cannot. MHG resets your authenticator and you scan a new code at your next sign-in. The reset is recorded in the audit log.
Recovery codes
When you enrolled you were shown recovery codes. Each works once in place of an app code; keep them somewhere other than the phone.