Microsoft Authenticator to nuke Entra creds on rooted and jailbroken phones
0 net
Microsoft tightens Authenticator checks on Android and iOS • The Register Sign in / up The Register Topics Special Features Special Features Vendor Voice Resources Resources Personal Tech 46 Microsoft Authenticator to nuke Entra creds on rooted and jailbroken phones 46 Warning, lockout, then wipe if your device trips detection Richard Speed Tue 10 Mar 2026 // 13:28 UTC Microsoft is removing Entra credentials for school and work from jailbroken and rooted devices running iOS and Android. The process is automatic and there is no opt-out. If Microsoft Authenticator detects that a device has been jailbroken or rooted, it will first display a warning, then block access, and finally wipe credentials. The procedure is already underway for Android devices, and iOS devices will follow in April 2026. If all goes to plan, Microsoft will complete the process by July 2026. The app will warn, block, and wipe data "during any interactive operation that involves a work or school account in Microsoft Authenticator." There is an argument that an employer should provide employees with suitably locked-down devices anyway, and a jailbroken or rooted device might allow apps to cause all sorts of mischief that could bypass Microsoft's security controls and cause multi-factor authentication (MFA) headaches. Microsoft 365 confirms new premium tier, stuffed with AI and few discounts Windows Backup adds second-chance restore at sign-in Microsoft Azure challenges AWS for downtime crown Kubernetes kicks down Azure Front Door However, there are also good reasons to use a device – particularly an Android – that qualifies as jailbroken or rooted. There is plenty of software that only works on devices no longer solely part of a given vendor's ecosystem, although it is important to understand the risks involved. After receiving the warning, one user remarked : "Disabling the hardened memory allocator for the app got rid of it having an issue with the device." "Microsoft Authenticator is not officially supported on GrapheneOS and Entra accounts may be impacted in the future on devices running GrapheneOS that are detected as rooted," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "Microsoft uses a range of local health and anti‑tampering checks to detect rooted or jailbroken devices. As new threats emerge, these protections are continuously updated. To help limit circumvention and maintain effectiveness, Microsoft does not publicly disclose specific detection methods." Microsoft first warned customers last year that the Authocalypse was coming for jailbroken or rooted devices. In response to a post reminding users that the effort was underway, another observer said : "So, the quickest way to clean up tens of M365 accounts that were 'restored' to a new phone (and completely broken) would actually be to root my Pixel?" Perhaps not quite what Microsoft had in mind. ® Share More about Android Authentication iOS More like these × More about Android Authentication iOS Microsoft Multifactor authentication Narrower topics Active Directory Azure Bing Biometrics BSoD Excel Exchange Server HoloLens Internet Explorer LinkedIn Microsoft 365 Microsoft Build Microsoft Edge Microsoft Fabric Microsoft Ignite Microsoft Office Microsoft Surface Microsoft Teams .NET Office 365 OS/2 Outlook Patch Tuesday Pixel Pluton SharePoint Skype SQL Server Visual Studio Visual Studio Code Windows Windows 10 Windows 11 Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows Server Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2013 Windows Server 2016 Windows Subsystem for Linux Windows XP Xbox Xbox 360 Broader topics 2FA Apple Bill Gates Google Cloud Operating System Security More about Share 46 COMMENTS More about Android Authentication iOS More like these × More about Android Authentication iOS Microsoft Multifactor authentication Narrower topics Active Directory Azure Bing Biometrics BSoD Excel Exchange Server HoloLens Internet Explorer LinkedIn Microsoft 365 Microsoft Build Microsoft Edge Microsoft Fabric Microsoft Ignite Microsoft Office Microsoft Surface Microsoft Teams .NET Office 365 OS/2 Outlook Patch Tuesday Pixel Pluton SharePoint Skype SQL Server Visual Studio Visual Studio Code Windows Windows 10 Windows 11 Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows Server Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2013 Windows Server 2016 Windows Subsystem for Linux Windows XP Xbox Xbox 360 Broader topics 2FA Apple Bill Gates Google Cloud Operating System Security TIP US OFF Send us news Other stories you might like Nanny state discovers Linux, demands it check kids' IDs before booting Opinion Age-verification laws target operating systems because apparently teenagers having root access is now a safeguarding crisis OSes 13 Mar 2026 | Atomic Britain: UK plans regulatory reset to boost nuclear power It wants 'safe, cost effective, and rapid.' We say: 'Good, fast, cheap – you can have 2' On-Prem 13 Mar 2026 | 1 NanoClaw latches onto Docker Sandboxes for safer AI agents exclusive Take your YOLO and box it up Security 13 Mar 2026 | Unlocking the hidden power of unstructured data with AI Hyland is helping enterprises turn their fragmented, unstructured data into governed, AI-ready intelligence Sponsored Feature Google rushes Chrome update fixing two zero-days already under attack Skia graphics lib and V8 JavaScript engine brings browser's tally of actively exploited bugs to three in 2026 Patches 13 Mar 2026 | Windows pays tribute to Britain's creaking rail network with a BSOD Bork!Bork!Bork! Grappling with UK trains will send humans into Recovery too sometimes Offbeat 13 Mar 2026 | 7 Openreach: Fiber can sniff out leaky water pipes – if anyone bothers fixing them Distributed Acoustic Sensing tech uses broadband cables to pinpoint plumbing faults Networks 13 Mar 2026 | 8 BOFH: What physics defines as impossible, sales calls a challenge Episode 5 The Boss imagineers a new laptop spec with help from AI BOFH 13 Mar 2026 | 18 Blustering Blackbeard's PC was all at sea, sysadmin got him shipshape in seconds On Call Have you tried turning it on, never mind off and on again? On-Prem 13 Mar 2026 | 58 AI Burning Man happens next week – here's what The Register expects at GTC 2026 From Groq-ing about tokenomics to OpenClaw and the silicon that powers it, our predictions for the hottest ticket in town Systems 13 Mar 2026 | 6 Prince of PDFs, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, to step down after 18 years Didn’t say why, but for once AI may not be the reason for a lost job SaaS 13 Mar 2026 | 8 Apple takes a bite out of app store fees in China Beijing hinted it wasn’t happy with Cupertino, which weeks later made a change Personal Tech 13 Mar 2026 | 5 The Register Biting the hand that feeds IT About Us Contact us Advertise with us Who we are Our Websites The Next Platform DevClass Blocks and Files Your Privacy Cookies Policy Privacy Policy Ts & Cs Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2026