Blizzard Authenticator out of sync issues

I'm posting this here because I could find no mention of it on the Blizzard forums, etc. I have recently been having problems with my authenticator. It started off that I would not be able to login and two or three tries (of new keys generated from my authenticator) would get me in, and it slowly got worse from there. I was to the point last week that I had to get the code from my authenticator then wait about 30 seconds before hitting Enter, or I would get an authentication failure. So I e-mailed blizzard to ask them what to do. I got back the most horrible response.


Hello Alex,

Thank you for contacting Blizzard Billing and Accounts Services, If you are requesting that the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator be deactivated from the account due to receiving an error upon login that the Authenticator code entered is invalid, please try using the "Resync" button to see if that resolves the issue.

If you were unable to remove the authenticator using the "Resync" option, please submit the following documentation in order to deactivate the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator:

- A legible photocopy of the identification of the registered account user. Only a government issued photo ID or Birth Certificate will be accepted for the registered user. (School IDs are *not* accepted.)

- A copy of the TOU (Terms of Use) form found here: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/BNETTOUFORM

You may send the information 3 different ways:

**EMAIL**
- Email as an attachment to Billing and Account Services: AccountServices@Blizzard.com
- Use the account name as the SUBJECT line
- Attachment must be under 5MB
- Attachments must be in JPG, GIF, or BMP format.
- Make sure that all attachments meet the recommend requirements. Security concerns may cause files with other formats or files that are too large to be filtered or deleted without response.

**FAX**
- (949) 725-0701

**MAIL**
- ATTN: Blizzard Authenticator
Billing & Account Services
Blizzard Entertainment
PO Box 18979
Irvine, CA 92623


To assure prompt processing of your submission please review the following tips:
- Be sure to include *ALL* of the requested documents. Missing or incomplete information may cause delays.
- Print and manually sign the TOU form. *DIGITAL SIGNATURES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED* Processing will not proceed without the proper legal acknowledgement of the Terms of Service.

If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please e-mail our Billing and Account Services department at billing@blizzard.com or call us for live assistance. Billing representatives are on hand to take your call between 8am and 8pm Pacific Time, 7 days a week at 1-800-59-BLIZZARD (800-592-5499). Customers in Australia should call 1-800-041-378.


Ciro E.
Billing and Account Services Representative
Blizzard Entertainment


-----Original Message-----
From: alex@cresswell.org
To: web.support@blizzard.com
Sent: 1/20/2010 7:00:54 AM
Subject: [en]World of Warcraft -- Other -- Authenticator

Contact Information -----------------------
Name: Alex Cresswell
Email: alex@cresswell.org



System Information ------------------------
IP: 209.163.254.38

Request ------------------------------------
Product: World of Warcraft
Category: Other -- Authenticator

Description --------------------------------

Beginning this week my authenticator has been causing me to not be able to login immediately. It seems that my authenticator is out of sync with the server, because if I enter the code from the authenticator and immediately try to login I get authentication failure, but if I try again and enter the code and then wait about 15 seconds before logging in I get in fine. Is there a way to re-synchronize my authenticator with the server? Is this a common problem?


So after receiving this I was even more frustrated. I know that the mobile authenticator app has a 'Resync' button, but that gets me nowhere with my hardware authenticator. So I decided to see if I could get it fixed myself. I got it to work, and here's the solution in case you need to do the same:

From the main page on worldofwarcraft.com click on Account Management, and login. After login click on Home, then click on Change Security Options. This will get you to the page where you can remove your authenticator. You will have to enter two codes, and then will have to enter the serial # and the code to add it back again. I believe the server side requires two codes in case your authenticator is out of sync so it can verify that it's the right authenticator, and adding it back will sync the 'time' on the server side to the internal 'time' on your authenticator.

Hope this helps!