Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication for Outlook 2013 (Windows)

Although old, Outlook 2013 is still used by many. Let's make your Outlook more secure by enabling MFA.

SECURITY

Daniel Afkhami-Ardekani

2/6/20213 min read

Overview:

The following set of instructions will help users enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) compatibility for Outlook 2013. Anything below Outlook 2013 is not supported and incompatible.

Instructions:

​1. Click the Windows icon in the bottom portion of your screen (or elsewhere if you have changed your display settings) or press the Windows button on your keyboard.

2. Type in “Registry Editor” and click the first option.

3. You should now see the Registry Editor window and in the left panel, see five primary folder directories: HKEY_CLASS_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG. Click on HKEY_CURRENT_USER. This is the folder you want to stay in throughout the whole process.

4. Next, copy and paste the following path onto the current path SOFTWAREMicrosoftOffice15.0CommonIdentity. Your current path should now look exactly as shown in the picture below.

5. You should now see a subfolder called “identity;” click it. In the right panel, you should now see two registry subkeys called “(Default)” and “Version.” The subkey, “Version,” is a value we need and already has the correct data value of 1. We can leave it as it is. Directly underneath of it, right-click, click “New,” and then click “DWORD (32-bit) value.”

6. You should now see a new row like this:

6a. Right-click on “New Value #1” and then click “Modify.” Change the Value data to 1 and hit “OK.” Then, right-click “New Value #1” again and click “Rename,” and change it to “EnableADAL.” Your new subkey should look like this:

7. Once that is complete go back to step 3. ​Copy and paste the following into the file path: SOFTWAREMicrosoftExchange. Your new path should look like the following;

9. Now, this time you will see a subfolder called “Exchange;” click on it. In the right panel, you should now see a registry subkey called “(Default).” Directly underneath of it, right-click, click “New,” and then click “DWORD (32-bit) value.”

10. You will now have a new row. Right-click on “New Value #1” and then click “Modify.” Change the Value data to 1 and hit “OK.” Then, right-click “New Value #1” again and click “Rename,” and change it to “AlwaysUseMSOAuthForAutoDiscover.”

11. Now, close out the Registry Editor, Close Outlook; if it's already open, re-open it and enter your password and your two-factor authentication code. Suppose you are unable to sign-in, close the application once more and wait a couple of minutes. Outlook may need some time to observe the new settings.