I bought 2 of the Yubico 5ci keys and I cannot get them to work. I've tried multiple times as of 1/27/2023. My MacBook Pro M1 and iPhone 13 are both running the newest version of MacOS and iOS. I've rebooted both and tried multiple times hours apart. Could it be a server issue (if there's one involved)? Or is it all done in software on the device itself? Thanks in advanve.
iPhone 13
Ok, I finally got it to work and it was my mistake. After going back and forth with Apple Support (great experience btw!) I also tried using the keys with Google and it didn't work with their system either. Well, I thought, it must be a key problem, so I contacted Yubikey support and they sent a help email with some troubleshooting steps and during this process the documentation said to "touch the disk" on the key and my key doesn't have a disk to touch, instead the keys have two small metal pieces, one on each side of the key. I thought "Surely not", but touched both sides with my thumb and index finger and that was it. So simple, yet not very intuitive. Oh well, maybe this will help someone else out with the Yubikey 5Ci key. I'll be contacting Apple support again tomorrow to let them know of the solution. Thanks again for everyone's attempts at helping!
Ok, I finally got it to work and it was my mistake. After going back and forth with Apple Support (great experience btw!) I also tried using the keys with Google and it didn't work with their system either. Well, I thought, it must be a key problem, so I contacted Yubikey support and they sent a help email with some troubleshooting steps and during this process the documentation said to "touch the disk" on the key and my key doesn't have a disk to touch, instead the keys have two small metal pieces, one on each side of the key. I thought "Surely not", but touched both sides with my thumb and index finger and that was it. So simple, yet not very intuitive. Oh well, maybe this will help someone else out with the Yubikey 5Ci key. I'll be contacting Apple support again tomorrow to let them know of the solution. Thanks again for everyone's attempts at helping!
Do you have a laptop that you can install YubiKey manager? Fire it up and confirm:
Thanks for the update - yeah, the Yubikey I have is the 5C NFC - and you need to tap the little flashing 'Y' to make it work. I agree it isn't obvious to a first time user, although if you use the YubiKey Manager and 'reset', it will remind you to do so - which is probably the first time anything explicitly tells you that's what needs to happen.
Where in the process does it fail or not do what was expected? Also, are you getting any specific error messages or other feedback from any of the devices that you can share to help narrow down the issue?
This is only a community support forum, and the process of enrolling hardware keys is relatively new - so there might not be a lot of "oh, you need to just do this", but if you can describe the problem, perhaps someone has struck the same issue and found a workaround or solution.
Good luck!
I am at a loss. As you’ve said, it should just work.
Really edge case things to check ..
Sorry I haven’t added any value, maybe another L10 will drop in and find the solution!
Cheers.
What will get Apple’s attention is contacting Apple directly; Apple does not generall participate in this user forum. Go to Contact Official Apple Support; you can choose a callback or a chat.
I had only seen the Yubikey Authenticator app and it was of no help. I just downloaded the Manager app from their website and the app sees both keys fine and the serial numbers match what's on the key. I saw a post on their site saying the firmware isn't upgradeable because it is a possible attack vector for hackers. I did use the Authenticator app to reset them to factory defaults and that didn't help. As far as Apple is concerned, it should "just work" and this is their page I've referenced to get this far: About Security Keys for Apple ID - Apple Support
Thanks for attempting to help by the way.
LOL agreed! No, no lockdown mode on. I did just recently setup Advanced Data Protection which encrypts everything or most everything across devices via iCloud and I have FileVault turned on as well. Perhaps it's just some weird configuration I have that Apple didn't test against. I don't know what an MDM profile is so I doubt that. The connecter is working fine and the Yubikey app sees both. Also, when I plug both keys into my iPhone and MacBook, the Yubikey has a small LED light on the side that blinks as though it's waiting to communicate with the device it's plugged into.
Perhaps others will try to set this up and have similar issues, then they'll post and maybe get Apple's attention.
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Use a security key for 2-Step Verification - iPhone & iPad
As you may not have noticed, SravanKrA, with 359,526 points, puts him in the top 20 contributors of all time in ASC, and level 10, the highest level. So he hardly needs points from you. And you only get points if the person who posted the original question says that the reply was helpful or a best answer, which presumably is not something you are likely to do.
What was the result when you followed the guidance in the Related Article above your name on this page, that you were reading just before you posted here? If the Related Article doesn't answer your question please post back with more details about the issue so another user in this user-to-user forum can try to help.
Thanks for a better response than that from a Level 10 Grandmaster.
As best I can tell, I'm following the instructions to the letter and there is no feedback per se other than a photo of the screen that comes up after the software times out. I has a button as you can see that says "Try again". The keys are the recommended Yubico 5ci, brand new and I've tried both over two days multiple times now. I even thought to try over both WiFi and 5G to no avail.
I've been a Mac and iPhone user since 2007, I'm only a Level 1 with a mere 4 points because I always scour the web to find the answers to my questions and have never needed to use this website to get help. Pardon me if I felt a little insulted when he merely responded with a link to an article from the Google website which refers to using security keys with Google services, not setting them up with Apple iCloud services (I read that article also.) It seemed to me he was merely posting his comment to help his stats rather than actually be helpful. Perhaps he doesn't yet know of Apple's new Security Keys implementation and he replied with the best resource he knew of at the time?
Did you read what I wrote at all or just trying to get more "points" and increase your "level"?
Stop wasting people's time.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, and when you solve it post back, as I’m sure other users are interested (I know I am)!
Unable to Get Security Keys to Work
