Signing in on a new device
A passkey belongs to the device that made it. Whether it appears on your other devices depends on where it is stored, and this is the part that surprises people most
Two kinds of passkey
- Synced. Created in iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager, Windows Hello with a Microsoft account, or a password manager that syncs. It appears on your other devices on its own, and there is nothing to do
- Device-bound. Created on one machine and kept there. It never appears anywhere else
Your dashboard marks a device-bound passkey with an amber line reading On this device only. If that is the only passkey you have, losing that device means losing the account — which is why the warning exists
Reaching your account from a second device
Option 1: Use your phone
On the new device, press Sign in with a passkey and choose the option to use a phone or tablet.
Your browser shows a QR code; scan it with the phone that holds your passkey and approve the
prompt there. Nothing is installed and nothing is copied — the phone signs in on this computer's
behalf, once
Option 2: Add a passkey to the new device
If you can already reach your dashboard on the new device, open the Passkeys card and press
Add a passkey. This is the cleanest answer: two passkeys means neither device is a single point
of failure
Option 3: Email yourself a link
If you cannot sign in at all on the new device, use Lost your passkey. The link adds a passkey to whatever device you open it on
A security key on a keyring works anywhere you can plug it in — it is not tied to one computer. We support them, but we have not been able to test one, so if you use a security key and something behaves oddly we would genuinely like to hear about it at
support@vauz.sealzi.com