Signing in on a new device

A passkey is made on one device. Whether it also turns up on your other devices depends on where it was saved, and this is the part that surprises people most. New to passkeys? See What is a passkey?

Two kinds of passkey

• Shared between your devices. Saved in iCloud Keychain (Apple's saved passwords), in Google Password Manager, or in another password manager that keeps your passwords on all your devices. It can appear on your other devices signed in to the same Apple or Google account, or the same password manager
• On one device only. Made on one device and kept there. It never appears anywhere else

Your dashboard marks a passkey kept on one device only with an amber line reading "On this device only — if you lose it, you'll need an email link to get back in". If that is your only passkey and you lose the device, you are not locked out for good: a link we email you adds a new passkey, see Lost your passkey. A second passkey on another device saves you from needing it

Reaching your account from a second device

Any one of these works. Pick the one that suits you

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, a square black-and-white pattern: point the camera of the phone that holds your passkey at it, and approve the prompt there. Your phone does the sign-in for this computer. If you close that box instead, the page says "That was cancelled, or it timed out ⏳ Try again whenever you're ready"

Add a passkey to the new device

If you can already reach your dashboard on the new device, for example after using your phone as above, press Add a passkey at the top right of the Passkeys card. This is the best answer: with two passkeys, losing one device still leaves you a way in

Unless you signed in within the last five minutes, you are first asked to confirm it's you with a passkey you already have — on a new computer, that usually means your phone again. Adding it straight after signing in skips that step. See Manage your passkeys

If the page says "This device already has a passkey for your vauz.sealzi.com account 🙌 Try signing in instead", your passkey has already reached this device, for example from your Apple or Google account. There is nothing to add: next time, sign in with it on this device

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. For its first 24 hours, a passkey added that way cannot do a few things, such as removing another passkey or changing your family. See Safety pause