I’m sure we’ve all been there. We’re talking on our phone and need to get into an app on another device while keeping the conversation going. Or do we need to start something on one device and move it over to another one. Or we need to get a text message on our phone to log into an account from our computer. No matter how you slice it, working with multiple devices is a royal pain in the butt. There are times when you need to suck it up and deal with an inconvenience.
The inconvenience is trying to log into a system with two-factor authentication (2FA). Which is better for making a quick entry into, say, your accounting app? If you’re using your phone, do you go through the gyrations of switching apps and everything that’s involved with getting a code from a text or email – then making that entry, logging out of the app and returning to your original app? Or do you just keep the app open on your phone and use your tablet to sign into the second app – and go through 2FA again? Ugh.
The difficulty with multiple devices is that you never know how well they’re synching the data in your apps. If, for example, you update the data in your accounting app and then need to refer to it in an app on your phone, did the update make it to both devices? You always need to verify your data is updated, and that can be yet another inconvenience when relying on multiple devices.
But sometimes, you can make the login less cumbersome if you have a process, especially for dealing with 2FA.
Our first suggestion is to use a password manager for an entire business and tie it to the facial recognition capability of all devices where possible. It’s better for security and convenience. As long as the face the device’s camera sees matches the face on file, this can eliminate both the need to type in a long, complex password and the need to receive and respond to a text or email message.
Our second suggestion is to send a text message to a cell phone if given the choice of a text or email. It’s faster and easier to keep the verification box open on your computer and just type in what’s typically a six-digit code. It’s also more secure because it’s assumed you are the person in possession of the phone to receive the code. Some web-based services require everyone to access a text message instead of an email as part of their 2FA, and that means they’ll need a cell phone in their possession to access their accounts.
As for keeping your data intact as you move about from one device to another, take advantage of the cloud. Systems such as OneDrive for Microsoft 365 applications update files and save them almost instantaneously. If you need to keep working with a file as you move from your computer to another location, you should be able to do so on another device.
The key to working with multiple devices is to have a process or processes in place. That’s where we can help. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to review your apps, devices, and systems to design and implement a process that works for you.