Guide
A passkey is not working or has disappeared
You are at a sign-in screen and the passkey is missing, greyed out, or rejected. This page explains what that usually means and the order to fix it without locking yourself out further.
The short answer
A passkey cannot be reset or recovered. It is a credential created in, and held by, whichever credential manager the person chose when they set it up. When a passkey stops working, you sign in another way, then remove the dead passkey and create a new one. Do not sign out of your only working session to test this. If no other sign-in method works, stop retrying and go to the provider's account-recovery process: a passkey cannot be reset, and no support agent can override the provider's verification.
What "not working" usually means
A broken passkey is not one failure. The sign-in screen usually tells you which failure it is, and the documented fix differs by message. This table combines the failure messages Microsoft documents with Google's documented passkey checks, and names the cause each one points to. The wording in quotation marks is the providers' own, and most of the quoted messages come from Microsoft because it is the provider that publishes this level of detail.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "No passkeys available" (Microsoft) | The manager is not offering your passkey. The most common cause is a device whose screen lock is turned off: without a PIN, fingerprint or face unlock, a passkey cannot be used. | Turn the device's screen lock on and try again. If it still does not appear, sign in another way and check the passkey list on another device that uses the same manager. |
| No QR code for "iPhone, iPad, or Android device" (Microsoft) | The cross-device handoff is not working: Bluetooth is off, the two devices are out of range or offline, or an organisation policy blocks it. | Turn Bluetooth on for both devices, keep them near each other and connected, then refresh the sign-in page. If the device is managed by an employer, ask its administrator. |
| "This passkey can no longer be used", "not found", or "no longer valid" (Microsoft) | The passkey was deleted from the account or the device, or the unlock method changed — for example, a new PIN or fingerprint. | Sign in with the password or a backup code, then create a new passkey and delete the stale entry. |
| "We couldn't use your device to verify your identity" (Microsoft) | That device's passkey is no longer valid, even though the account still lists one. | Choose one of the other sign-in options offered, sign in, and remove the passkeys that no longer apply. |
| "Something went wrong" (Microsoft) | A catch-all. The manager may already hold a passkey for this site (a manager can keep only one per site), the step may have timed out, or the operating system or browser may be too old for passkeys. | Use the existing passkey through its synced manager rather than adding a second, retry without a long pause, and update an unsupported browser or operating system. |
| A Google Account passkey does not appear at sign-in (Google) | Google's documented causes are the same screen-lock rule, the "Skip password when possible" setting, or a passkey that is too new to be trusted yet. | Turn the screen lock on, check the setting in your Google Account security page, or wait: Google documents up to 7 days for a newly created passkey unless you have a trusted passkey or security key. Use "Try another way" to sign in meanwhile. |
| "We couldn't sign you in" on an Android work profile (Microsoft) | A work-account passkey was saved in the personal profile instead of the work profile. | Recreate the passkey in the work profile. Do not scan the sign-in QR code with the personal camera app; it will save to the wrong profile again. |
Two further causes do not announce themselves, so they are worth checking directly. The first is that the passkey lives in a different credential manager from the one you are looking at; a passkey created in one browser, app or security key is not visible in another. The second is that a hardware security key may simply not have been read in time: unplug it and reinsert it, and respond promptly. For the first, see Where is my passkey stored?
What to do, in order
Do not remove a working method yet
If you can still sign in at all, do not delete the only sign-in method you have and then try to prove recovery works. Microsoft's own guidance says new passkeys should be created before old ones are removed. And never sign out of your only working session to test whether a code or a passkey arrives; you may not be able to get back in.
- Choose another way to sign in. Do not keep retrying the same passkey. At the sign-in screen, look for the option to use a different method. Google documents one labelled "Try another way"; on Apple's verification screen the documented options read "Didn't Get a Code?" and "Can't get to your devices?". Use a password, a saved backup code, another registered device, or a code sent to a number you can still reach.
- Write down which method worked. If a password, a backup code, or a second device got you in, that method is now your proof that the account is still yours. You will need one of these the next time.
- Once you are signed in, check your sign-in methods. Remove any passkey or security key that no longer works, and remove devices you do not recognise.
- Create a new passkey, and keep an independent backup. A single passkey is a single point of failure. Add one on a second device or a hardware security key, or use a credential manager that syncs. See Prevent getting locked out.
If the passkey was on a phone you no longer have
This is a different problem from a broken passkey. Whether you can still use the passkey elsewhere depends on whether it was synced through a credential manager or bound to that one device. Work through Your phone was lost, stolen, or replaced, which separates securing the device from regaining the account.
If you cannot tell where the passkey is stored
Providers can tell you that a passkey exists on your account, but they cannot show you the passkey itself, and they cannot tell you the rules the credential manager used. To find which app or device actually holds it, see Where is my passkey stored?
When the provider controls the outcome
If no other sign-in method works, the next step is the provider's own account-recovery process, not a passkey reset. That process is run and decided by the provider. It can take days, and contacting support does not override it. The interactive guide can tell you which process applies to your situation and link you to the provider's own page.
Get a next step that fits your answers
The step-by-step guide asks what is still working and points to one provider-supported action. It never asks for a password, a code or a key.
Official sources
- Microsoft: Troubleshoot signing in with a passkey
- Microsoft: Create and save a passkey
- Microsoft: Manage your saved passkeys
- Google: Fix common issues with 2-Step Verification
- Google: Sign in with a passkey instead of a password
- Google Chrome: Manage passkeys in Chrome
- Apple: About the security of passkeys
- Apple: Get a verification code and sign in with two-factor authentication
- 1Password — Save and sign in with passkeys in your browser
- Bitwarden: Autofill passkeys
Passkey Lifeboat is independent and not affiliated with these providers. These pages were last checked on 16–17 September 2026; provider instructions can change, so the provider's own page is always the final authority.