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A user is displayed as disabled or enabled for Microsoft Azure Multi-Factor Authentication but behaves as the opposite

  • Article

Original product version:   Active Directory
Original KB number:   2934588

This article provides a solution to an issue in which a user is displayed as disabled or enabled for Microsoft Azure Multi-Factor Authentication but behaves as the opposite. This is an expected behavior.

Symptoms

Issue 1

When Microsoft Azure Multi-Factor Authentication is enabled, a user may be displayed as disabled even though the user behaves as enabled.

Issue 2

When Microsoft Azure Multi-Factor Authentication is disabled, a user may be displayed as enabled even though the user behaves as disabled

Cause

This problem occurs if the user is added in another directory as a guest user. Consider the following example:

User John (John@contoso.com) is created in contoso.onmicrosoft.com. This is his home directory. John is then added to a guest directory at fabrikam.onmicrosoft.com as a guest user. When the administrator of fabrikam.onmicrosoft.com examines the guest user, the user is displayed as disabled for Multi-Factor Authentication.

Resolution

This behavior is by design. Multi-Factor Authentication behavior is always based on the user's home directory status. If you want to change the desired Multi-Factor Authentication behavior, you or an administrator should make this change from the user's home directory.

More information

Guest users are users from one directory who are added to another directory. For example, a user from contoso.onmicrosoft.com may be added to fabrikam.onmicrosoft.com. In this case, the user is still authenticated by using the settings that are defined in the user's home directory (contoso.onmicrosoft.com).

Note

To quickly check whether a user is a guest user, notice whether the check box next to the user on the Manage Multi-Factor Auth screen is dimmed. A dimmed check box indicates that the user is a guest user.

Contact us for help

If you have questions or need help, create a support request, or ask Azure community support. You can also submit product feedback to Azure feedback community.