Sign in on another device

A passkey lives on your device or in your password manager. Whether it is on the new device depends on where you keep it.

• If your password manager or your platform syncs passkeys, the passkey is already available on the new device once you are signed in to that service there. Open the sign-in page, select Sign in with a passkey, or click into the Email field, where the browser may offer a saved passkey. Approve the prompt.
• If the passkey lives only on your old device, it is not on the new one. Sign in another way (below), then add a passkey on the new device from Security, Passkeys. See Add a passkey.

A passkey sign-in does not normally ask for a separate second step, because the passkey already proves it is you with your device lock.

If the passkey is gone for good, enter your password. A correct password always signs you in, but a brand new device looks unusual, so the Confirm it is you page appears. It offers Continue with my password only (limited session) and, when a passkey is the only second step on the account, Email me a code instead, and an I lost my passkey link to account recovery. The code goes to the address you are signing in with, your other verified addresses are told, and the sign-in is one level lower than a passkey. See If you are locked out.

Using the emailed link or code#

The message holds a link and an eight digit code. The sign-in is tied to the browser where you started, so:

• Open the link in the same browser you started in. The page it opens says that opening it does not sign you in. Select Continue.
• Or, if you are reading the message on a different device, type the code on the Check your email page in the browser where you started. This is how you can read the mail on your phone and finish a sign-in begun on a laptop.
• If nothing arrives, Send again becomes available after a short wait.

The link and the code work once and expire at the time the message states.

When a sign-in comes from a browser or place the account does not recognise, the platform can stop it and email you a link, where it is offered. The page the link opens is titled Confirm this sign-in. It shows the time, the approximate place and the browser.

Confirm only in the browser you were signing in with. The page tells you so. The platform does not describe what makes a sign-in look unfamiliar, and it does not need to for you to act: if you recognise the device and the time, confirm it, and if you do not, deny it.

You may also receive an email titled New sign-in to your account. It lists the device, country, address, method and time. If it was you, no action is needed. If not, its Review this sign-in link opens a page titled Was this you? with three choices: Yes, that was me, No, sign that session out and No, secure my account. The title and labels quoted are the English wording: the email follows the recipient's saved language, see Languages. What a security alert email means explains each.

Devices the account has seen are listed under Devices. A device you mark as Trusted is not treated as new when you sign in from it. On a shared or borrowed computer, do not trust it, and tick Keep me signed in on this device only on a device you control. Where that box appears, the page says to use it only on a device you control.

To see and manage every browser and session, see Sessions and devices. When you finish on a device you do not own, select Sign out in the account menu at the foot of the navigation.

Where it applies, a password-only sign-in can add a sign-in method, such as a passkey or an authenticator app, only from a browser your account has known for at least 24 hours. A sign-in that used a passkey or a second factor is not held back. On a brand new device the page may say This browser is new to your account. Use a browser you already sign in from, or sign in on the new one once with a link or code emailed to you and come back after a day. A browser becomes known only through a sign-in that proved more than the password (a passkey, an authenticator code, or a link or code emailed to you); a password alone never does, however often you use it.

If none of your methods work on the new device, see If you are locked out.