Microsoft Authenticator Discontinues Apple Watch App - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Microsoft Authenticator Discontinues Apple Watch App

by

Microsoft Authenticator is no longer available on the Apple Watch following an update to the app released on the App Store today.

Microsoft Authenticator
"This update removes Microsoft Authenticator from Apple Watch," reads the release notes for the update. Microsoft notes that in the Apple Watch's notification settings, you can still choose to mirror iPhone alerts from the app to your Apple Watch.

Primarily used for signing into Microsoft accounts with two-step verification enabled, the Microsoft Authenticator for iOS gained an Apple Watch companion app in 2018. Microsoft previously announced that the Apple Watch app would be discontinued in early 2023.

Those looking for an alternative two-factor authentication app on the Apple Watch can check out the Authenticator App by 2Stable and Authy by Twilio.

The Microsoft Authenticator app for Apple Watch joins a long list of third-party watchOS apps that have been discontinued over the last few years, either because of perceived redundancy or lack of user uptake. Other notable Apple Watch apps that have been discontinued include Twitter, Instagram, Target, Trello, Slack, Hulu, and Uber.

(Thanks, Aaron!)

Tag: Microsoft

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x Feature

New Study Highlights Advantages of $549 Windows Laptop Over MacBook Neo

Wednesday May 13, 2026 10:38 am PDT by
Microsoft has responded to the MacBook Neo by commissioning a study that highlights advantages of some Windows laptops. Market research firm Signal65 evaluated four Windows laptops:Lenovo's IdeaPad Slim 3x Lenovo's Yoga 7i HP's OmniBook 5 HP's OmniBook X FlipWith a starting price of $549.99 on Best Buy's online store in the U.S. at the time of this writing, the IdeaPad Slim 3x is the only ...
Read Full Article • 195 comments
nvidia rtx spark

Nvidia Challenges Apple Silicon With New RTX Spark PC Chip

Monday June 1, 2026 3:41 am PDT by
Nvidia is entering the consumer PC chip business for the first time and has thrown down the gauntlet to Apple, describing its new RTX Spark processor as "the most efficient PC chip ever built." Nvidia says its RTX Spark Superchip is purpose-built to run AI agents that can work proactively across apps and run in the background as a personal "teammate." With the chip, Nvidia says users...
Read Full Article • 170 comments
Apple Wallet

iOS 27 Will Add Two New Apple Wallet Features to Your iPhone

Monday June 1, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on Monday, June 8, and the update will reportedly include two new Apple Wallet features. First, iOS 27 will reportedly let users create their own digital passes by scanning items like movie tickets, concert passes, and gym membership cards. Many apps already offer Apple Wallet passes, but now users will be able to create a custom...
Read Full Article

Top Rated Comments

X
xpxp2002
44 months ago

LoL who needs MS Authenticator when a competitive authenticator is already built into iOS? (I suppose folks still stuck on PCs.)

But ultimately I wonder if authenticators in general will be depreciated as the move to passwordless login increases.
The Microsoft Authenticator provides seamless and passwordless authentication to personal Microsoft accounts, Azure, Office 365, and a number of other popular Microsoft services. That doesn't work natively with iOS (or Android, for that matter).

Being able to approve requests and even do number matching directly from the watch was very convenient.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
TheLisnakFactor
44 months ago
This sucks. I use the watch app all day with work. I have a bunch of Microsoft accounts that require the dumb app - and the watch app makes it so much easier as I just click an approve button over the iPhone app that requires me to open the app, FaceID and then click - and the worst part is its clicking in a different place on the screen every time because the notifications aren't always the same size.

Microsoft should bring this back - their added feature of number clicking can easily be implemented on the watch screen - the watch screens can display 3 2-digit numbers easily.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jakey rolling Avatar
jakey rolling
44 months ago

LoL who needs MS Authenticator when a competitive authenticator is already built into iOS? (I suppose folks still stuck on PCs.)
People who use their computers for work, perhaps?
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
dtlee1974
44 months ago

People who use their computers for work, perhaps?
Exactly. That post was another example of the "Well if I don't use it, no one does" attitude. I don't use Spotify for example, but I understand a lot of people do.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gank41 Avatar
gank41
44 months ago

LoL who needs MS Authenticator when a competitive authenticator is already built into iOS? (I suppose folks still stuck on PCs.)

But ultimately I wonder if authenticators in general will be depreciated as the move to passwordless login increases.
We use all Microsoft Apps for our work (very large healthcare org) and have no choice but to use MS Authenticator.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B
bluespark
44 months ago
This is too bad. The Apple Watch is the perfect platform for authenticator apps, since it’s attached to you. It would almost always be easier to authenticate through the Watch than through the phone.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments