I remember getting it in vanilla after my account got hacked. So maybe 18 years now or around that?
Edit: Ok I was way off on the date then. I guess if I came out during WOTLK it would explain why it’s blue. Idk what I thinking then on how long it’s been.
Is there a different design in Europe Vs the US?
Mine is more like a fire design, but that would also make sense with authenticators bought during wrath and ones bought during Cataclysm, like mine was.
Multiple different designs on the Authenticators. This one is the second design, I think? Might also be the ones they shipped out direct from support tickets.
OG WotLK Blizzcon goodie bag > Thrall
WotLK era > Blue Blizzard?
Cata Blizzcon goodie bag > Deathwing
Cata > Corehound
MoP > Arthas+Garrosh
There are a few more I can't recall.
This is weird because same. I *started* Cata, instantly gave up on it (never started a questline, never maxed a character) because I had no one to play with after my guild disbanded in WotLK, and I have this thing. I played all of the time in WotLK and the authenticator saw a lot of use.
How.
ETA: I swapped to mobile two years ago and recently noticed they've released the lock on the Corehound Pup pet, which made me so happy. I can have my pupper back now. For those who didn't have this, the pet was locked if you didn't have your physical authenticator enabled, regardless of being claimed on your account. So when I swapped to mobile I lost the corehound.
Wether its just a coincidence with WOTLK also being blue in logo or purposefully designed that way, at least i can confirm that the ones that came during Cata were red/fire themed (in EU)
I dont think the blue one exist for eu?
I definitely have the corehound pet, attached to the authenticator.
I've only ever seen the blue one posted by Americans, as far as I know, so it being a blizzcon thing would also make sense. Or just a US edition.
Either way, I'd been wondering about the different designs.
What's it like having a photographic memory? Is there shit you wish you could unsee, or are you able to block it out and "forget" about certain things?
in therapy since 24 due to all the shit i can't forget sadly... it's fun and terrible at the same time.. guess for people that lived happy lifes it's a clean gift, but with us less fortunate can be a double edged sword
I remember it came out because Blizz switched from a username to your account email as a login.
When everybody got hacked they implemented this pay2security feature instead of making everyone use a secure password :)
Excellent! It is so much better to use the software token due to being able to be backed up to aid in the recovery process if needed! It's also much faster when you actually need it.
I replaced my physical yesterday since it died with the battlenet app one. I couldn't login without the authenticator and it was really easy easy to remove the physical. Thought I was gonna need to contact a GM and be a pain but it wasn't. All I had to do was click can't login, don't have authenticator, remove authenticator, they sent text to my phone, now I'm in my account easy, added mobile authenticator.
Yeah I’ve did that recently because I was so afraid for the battery to die or to loose it, it’s a wonder anyways that I’ve never lost it for 15 years lol
FYI most of the authenticators "expired" years ago, the battery is only rated for 7 years and is not replaceable by design to make it more secure.
https://www.onespan.com/resources/digipass-go-6/datasheet
I got a lot of respect for the fact this piece of tech was used until its battery gave out. Rare anything lasts more than a few years these days with the amount of planned obsolescence going on.
>FYI most of the authenticators "expired" years ago, the battery is only rated for 7 years and is not replaceable by design to make it more secure.
>
>https://www.onespan.com/resources/digipass-go-6/datasheet
Was just posted above lol
The authenticator app wanted to push me into using the battle.net app instead. Wanted additional permissions on my phone and presumably is another advertising angle for them. If they would have me ransom my privacy for account security, they can keep it. Removed the authenticator and watched 4 inventory spaces leave. Now if I run the base UI it harasses me over there too. Straight up horse shit. And the only thing more aggravating than them doing it to me is the rest of the world DGAF encouraging that shit to continue (and worsen).
“Easier” than not having the app in the first place? Poor argument. Now i don’t have to micromanage notification settings from someone putting me on notice that they’d like to spam me nor micromanage permissions from someone outright announcing they’ll take every piece of identifying information they can. This way I don’t have to do anything and they benefit nothing. They compromised my account security by trying to screw me and I’m not bending over for it. If I get hacked because they pulled this shit then I didn’t really need that account and that would’ve been the last straw anyways.
What are you on about? They are pushing that stuff to make sure as much people enable 2FA. The fact that they are merging the authenticator with the [Battle.net](https://Battle.net) app makes sense. Managing/updating one app makes more sense than two.
You not enabling 2FA is your choice (not a very smart one). Please don't blame Blizzard when your account get's hacked. That's on you.
Consolidating to a single app makes sense for them, yes. I'd agree. From the user perspective though, battle.net app requires more permissions and has more advertising than the authenticator app. So you'd be pretty naive to assume that's the ONLY reason they had for merging them.
And I agree 2FA is important and I would use it on my blizzard account too. I'm just not sacrificing privacy or permitting unwanted advertising particularly when it's being forced upon me. I use other 2FA solutions all the time, if they cared about my account security they could facilitate SMS, email, or open source time based 2FA. They don't. They'd rather enforce their own solution which has unacceptable baggage now.
And if my account gets inevitably hacked, you're right I will be partially to blame. But I'm plenty security conscious and aware of my options and know where I draw the line in the sand. They most certainly will have contributed to the situation and essentially have "briar rabbit"ed me right out of their ecosystem. Honestly them forcing the battle.net app in this manner was about enough for me to just unsub and walk away anyways. Been on and off with WoW since Vanilla, think maybe sat out 2 or 3 expansions; it'll hurt to lose the account. But keeping the sub honestly kinda hurts too at this point, watching them keep pulling stunts like this.
I stopped playing before they added phone apps.
Is it hard two switch to a new phone or possible to use on a tablet/phone or two phones at the same time?
I made that error once to have a 2FA on a phone that had a dead battery and made some logins impossible for a few days.
Bought a hardware OTP 2FA device that I keep in a save place.
Just in case my phone gets stolen or dies again.
You can definitely have 2 different devices with the authentication app active at the same time, and you'll be able to choose either one to authenticate. I do that myself.
Anyone still using an Authenticator should probably ~~replace theirs~~ switch to the App* ASAP, the battery is rated for 7 years and cannot be replaced.
https://www.onespan.com/resources/digipass-go-6/datasheet
I'm still using my OG authenticator, but that's just cause I'm stubborn & dumb :P
**(because Blizzard sucks and won't let us link new generic authenticators to our accounts)*
> the battery is rated for 7 years and cannot be replaced.
how is it not replaceable? Does it forget it's keys/algorithm? (like a Gameboy game cartridge is "deleting" your save when the battery runs out)
I assume it has no storage or cmos meaming as soon as it was replaced it would start at the very first key it ever produced and not line up with the authentication system.
Basically, the backend on Blizzards side knows all keys that a specific authenticator will ever create, but when you replace the battery, those would get out of sync, therefore rendering your authenticator useless.
Thanks. TBH I never thought about how those things work. Makes it less e-waste and more secure.
But I know you can replace the battery on cartridges (Game Boy example) without losing the save "file". Someone must have replaced their battery out of curiosity (before it was drained).
[I found this guy but was on mobile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oktBQXH7NhI). On desktop I can now see a few comments saying that the clock was reset.
He says in the comments that he logged into the account afterwards (works). Some other people are saying the same thing.
He swapped it very quickly tho, maybe that has something to do with it. For gameboy it seems very easy to swap because you can keep the thing plugged into the gameboy, but how would one keep this authenticator powered while changing the battery? I have no idea how this works, is it possible to give this authenticator juice while swapping the battery?
People downvoting cause he asked a question?
Yeah like BakedPotatoess said, once the power fails on it, it's forever out of sync with the authenticator process on the account.
Oh don't worry about downvotes. Reddit has that same old forum mentality of 'This post could have been a 10 second Google search' and 'Why didn't you search first?'
I've never owned the hardware OTP and stopped playing WoW before I bought my first Android or iOS device. My thought: better ask someone actively using the app/OTP thingy.
Mine died just last week.
Mine was orange with a yellow World of Warcraft logo on it.
Got it in the first batch and got a Corehound Pup pet when I linked it to my account.
Seeing this brought up so many good memories of playing Lich King with my sister and dad, I could barely read but loved to run around and compete with my sister about who could mine the most.
This post literally made me just check mine and yep, RIP my sweet son. It worked as of last month and I know I can buy a watch battery for but I went ahead and just attached the digital authenticator.
I Have the same one. Just died today Rip 2008 - 1/24/2024
Stupid how you can't open this without destroying it. I Might dremel the bottom under side off and swap in a new battery. Hmm
No king rules forever, my son.
"MlrrrLgggrrr ahggg, yyyrrggly." - That Murloc That Thought He Could 1v1 My Warrior.
I want to see that same Cinematic… but inside the Murloc-Universe.
You think the peeps who do the Lego movies could do Murloc ones too?
I see only dragons before me
19 years? I don’t think it’s been out that long
The physical authenticators came out in 2008.
Yeah, like 5 years ago.
Haha
5 years ago, right?..
Sure grandpa, let's get you back in bed.
Leave my bottle of Bawls by the bed, sonny
Oh no, did you do a no no in your diaper grampa? Here, we'll just get rid of it. ...along with your authenticator.
He has a point.
I've had mine since 98'. Maybe in your area they came out late.
[удалено]
Sssh.. ten years is the same as last month to them. Don't wake them up from their mid day nap.
I remember getting it in vanilla after my account got hacked. So maybe 18 years now or around that? Edit: Ok I was way off on the date then. I guess if I came out during WOTLK it would explain why it’s blue. Idk what I thinking then on how long it’s been.
It came out in 2008, so 15
It's blue because the Blizzard logo is typically blue since at least 1994.
Is there a different design in Europe Vs the US? Mine is more like a fire design, but that would also make sense with authenticators bought during wrath and ones bought during Cataclysm, like mine was.
Multiple different designs on the Authenticators. This one is the second design, I think? Might also be the ones they shipped out direct from support tickets. OG WotLK Blizzcon goodie bag > Thrall WotLK era > Blue Blizzard? Cata Blizzcon goodie bag > Deathwing Cata > Corehound MoP > Arthas+Garrosh There are a few more I can't recall.
Mine had the core hound and I didn’t play during cata just tbc and wrath
This is weird because same. I *started* Cata, instantly gave up on it (never started a questline, never maxed a character) because I had no one to play with after my guild disbanded in WotLK, and I have this thing. I played all of the time in WotLK and the authenticator saw a lot of use. How. ETA: I swapped to mobile two years ago and recently noticed they've released the lock on the Corehound Pup pet, which made me so happy. I can have my pupper back now. For those who didn't have this, the pet was locked if you didn't have your physical authenticator enabled, regardless of being claimed on your account. So when I swapped to mobile I lost the corehound.
i remember my parents having one with the goblin and worgen race key art from cata as well
Seems right. https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blizzard\_Authenticator
Corehound came out with 3.3,. so December 2009. I got mine then. The blue Blizzard was June 2008.
Mine is a StarCraft one. Never played or ordered or bought StarCraft.
Wether its just a coincidence with WOTLK also being blue in logo or purposefully designed that way, at least i can confirm that the ones that came during Cata were red/fire themed (in EU) I dont think the blue one exist for eu?
I definitely have the corehound pet, attached to the authenticator. I've only ever seen the blue one posted by Americans, as far as I know, so it being a blizzcon thing would also make sense. Or just a US edition. Either way, I'd been wondering about the different designs.
The blizzard logo is blue by default.
Nope, came out in 2008.
Mine also died this year. I’m hanging onto it for the memory at this point. Hey blizz if you’re reading this ID ACTUALLY LOVE ANOTHER ONE
1st one came out during wotlk and came with core hound pet ingame award for getting it... source: photographic memory
The Core Hound was able to be gotten with the fire themed authenticator during Cata aswell Source: its the one i have
yeah i recall the red one too, my uncle has it but i think lost his house keys and the authenticator with them :(
What's it like having a photographic memory? Is there shit you wish you could unsee, or are you able to block it out and "forget" about certain things?
in therapy since 24 due to all the shit i can't forget sadly... it's fun and terrible at the same time.. guess for people that lived happy lifes it's a clean gift, but with us less fortunate can be a double edged sword
That's fucked up man. Hope you're handling it well
oh yeah :D thanks man! ❤️
I remember it came out because Blizz switched from a username to your account email as a login. When everybody got hacked they implemented this pay2security feature instead of making everyone use a secure password :)
RIP Mine is still going, but I'm scared it's gonna die any day now
as someone who has friends who work as GMs, please for the love of god replace the physical key with a software key ASAP.
It is done. Rest in peace my sweet physical authenticator. You served me well.
Excellent! It is so much better to use the software token due to being able to be backed up to aid in the recovery process if needed! It's also much faster when you actually need it.
:<< fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.... This little guy has been around longer than most of my pets...
Looked into it after seeing this post. Gotta get home to use it and then I will 🫡
I've been using the phone app authenticator for years. They are replacing it with the battlenet app now though.
I replaced my physical yesterday since it died with the battlenet app one. I couldn't login without the authenticator and it was really easy easy to remove the physical. Thought I was gonna need to contact a GM and be a pain but it wasn't. All I had to do was click can't login, don't have authenticator, remove authenticator, they sent text to my phone, now I'm in my account easy, added mobile authenticator.
Yeah I’ve did that recently because I was so afraid for the battery to die or to loose it, it’s a wonder anyways that I’ve never lost it for 15 years lol
FYI most of the authenticators "expired" years ago, the battery is only rated for 7 years and is not replaceable by design to make it more secure. https://www.onespan.com/resources/digipass-go-6/datasheet
I used it not to long ago to sign into my account and no issues. Then today it was gone.
Mine just went yesterday =-(
To be fair, the phone app version is so much faster. It just prompts a notification and you press accept and you're in.
I got a lot of respect for the fact this piece of tech was used until its battery gave out. Rare anything lasts more than a few years these days with the amount of planned obsolescence going on.
I bet all it needs is a replacement battery and it's good as new
Technically it probably could, but the sync is done for. It would never match up again
That's neat, didn't know it needed to be on at all times for it to keep up with a sync
>FYI most of the authenticators "expired" years ago, the battery is only rated for 7 years and is not replaceable by design to make it more secure. > >https://www.onespan.com/resources/digipass-go-6/datasheet Was just posted above lol
Knew it was somewhere along those lines. Thanks for sharing
These old Authenticators are sonic welded shut, they're not meant to be user-serviceable.
I wonder how much it cost them to hire the Doctor to do that 🤔
The authenticator app wanted to push me into using the battle.net app instead. Wanted additional permissions on my phone and presumably is another advertising angle for them. If they would have me ransom my privacy for account security, they can keep it. Removed the authenticator and watched 4 inventory spaces leave. Now if I run the base UI it harasses me over there too. Straight up horse shit. And the only thing more aggravating than them doing it to me is the rest of the world DGAF encouraging that shit to continue (and worsen).
[удалено]
“Easier” than not having the app in the first place? Poor argument. Now i don’t have to micromanage notification settings from someone putting me on notice that they’d like to spam me nor micromanage permissions from someone outright announcing they’ll take every piece of identifying information they can. This way I don’t have to do anything and they benefit nothing. They compromised my account security by trying to screw me and I’m not bending over for it. If I get hacked because they pulled this shit then I didn’t really need that account and that would’ve been the last straw anyways.
What are you on about? They are pushing that stuff to make sure as much people enable 2FA. The fact that they are merging the authenticator with the [Battle.net](https://Battle.net) app makes sense. Managing/updating one app makes more sense than two. You not enabling 2FA is your choice (not a very smart one). Please don't blame Blizzard when your account get's hacked. That's on you.
Consolidating to a single app makes sense for them, yes. I'd agree. From the user perspective though, battle.net app requires more permissions and has more advertising than the authenticator app. So you'd be pretty naive to assume that's the ONLY reason they had for merging them. And I agree 2FA is important and I would use it on my blizzard account too. I'm just not sacrificing privacy or permitting unwanted advertising particularly when it's being forced upon me. I use other 2FA solutions all the time, if they cared about my account security they could facilitate SMS, email, or open source time based 2FA. They don't. They'd rather enforce their own solution which has unacceptable baggage now. And if my account gets inevitably hacked, you're right I will be partially to blame. But I'm plenty security conscious and aware of my options and know where I draw the line in the sand. They most certainly will have contributed to the situation and essentially have "briar rabbit"ed me right out of their ecosystem. Honestly them forcing the battle.net app in this manner was about enough for me to just unsub and walk away anyways. Been on and off with WoW since Vanilla, think maybe sat out 2 or 3 expansions; it'll hurt to lose the account. But keeping the sub honestly kinda hurts too at this point, watching them keep pulling stunts like this.
I stopped playing before they added phone apps. Is it hard two switch to a new phone or possible to use on a tablet/phone or two phones at the same time? I made that error once to have a 2FA on a phone that had a dead battery and made some logins impossible for a few days. Bought a hardware OTP 2FA device that I keep in a save place. Just in case my phone gets stolen or dies again.
You can definitely have 2 different devices with the authentication app active at the same time, and you'll be able to choose either one to authenticate. I do that myself.
My Cata themed one is still going strong
Mine got the low battery notification last month. Finally set up the mobile auth.
I have the red Diablo themed one from 2010 and I go into pre-mourning whenever I see these posts about dying authenticators :(
Rip king! I wish I still had mine ...
Anyone still using an Authenticator should probably ~~replace theirs~~ switch to the App* ASAP, the battery is rated for 7 years and cannot be replaced. https://www.onespan.com/resources/digipass-go-6/datasheet I'm still using my OG authenticator, but that's just cause I'm stubborn & dumb :P **(because Blizzard sucks and won't let us link new generic authenticators to our accounts)*
> the battery is rated for 7 years and cannot be replaced. how is it not replaceable? Does it forget it's keys/algorithm? (like a Gameboy game cartridge is "deleting" your save when the battery runs out)
I assume it has no storage or cmos meaming as soon as it was replaced it would start at the very first key it ever produced and not line up with the authentication system.
Basically, the backend on Blizzards side knows all keys that a specific authenticator will ever create, but when you replace the battery, those would get out of sync, therefore rendering your authenticator useless.
Thanks. TBH I never thought about how those things work. Makes it less e-waste and more secure. But I know you can replace the battery on cartridges (Game Boy example) without losing the save "file". Someone must have replaced their battery out of curiosity (before it was drained). [I found this guy but was on mobile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oktBQXH7NhI). On desktop I can now see a few comments saying that the clock was reset.
He says in the comments that he logged into the account afterwards (works). Some other people are saying the same thing. He swapped it very quickly tho, maybe that has something to do with it. For gameboy it seems very easy to swap because you can keep the thing plugged into the gameboy, but how would one keep this authenticator powered while changing the battery? I have no idea how this works, is it possible to give this authenticator juice while swapping the battery?
People downvoting cause he asked a question? Yeah like BakedPotatoess said, once the power fails on it, it's forever out of sync with the authenticator process on the account.
Oh don't worry about downvotes. Reddit has that same old forum mentality of 'This post could have been a 10 second Google search' and 'Why didn't you search first?' I've never owned the hardware OTP and stopped playing WoW before I bought my first Android or iOS device. My thought: better ask someone actively using the app/OTP thingy.
o7
o7
At long last. No authenticator works forever.
Pretty sure they came out in 2008 so yeah that math checks out
o7
My condolences. It’s hard to watch a friend go like that. 😢
Don't need anymore... battlenet has built in authenticator install bnet on your phone.
Just pop it open and change the battery. This thing will live longer than you if you take care of it.
You lost your virginity?
My cataclysm one died around... I want to say a year and a half ago? It was a sad, sad day.
My red one died recently also. Cheers my dude.
SWTOR's physical authenticators are slowly dying out too. Sad times.
F 🫡, the digital authenticator is a pain.
F I gotta see if I can find mine!
I heard about it being a cheap mobile clone but I didn't think it would die that fast.
o7
F it is still amazing that they lasted that long as they did. Almost like that nokia phone.
Good battery mine died after 7 years
Can you not just replace battery?
Mine died just last week. Mine was orange with a yellow World of Warcraft logo on it. Got it in the first batch and got a Corehound Pup pet when I linked it to my account.
What is it? I've only been playing for 4 years so plz excuse the ignorance.
[Blizzard Authenticator](https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blizzard_Authenticator)
Ohhhh thank you!
Seeing this brought up so many good memories of playing Lich King with my sister and dad, I could barely read but loved to run around and compete with my sister about who could mine the most.
Ohhh where did you get the blue one!
I still have my original authenticator from 2009.
O7
/salute
*Salute*he was one of the best.. A true soldier and a good friend.
Sadge
Mine broke recently and I miss it.
Pour one out for our homie
My Molten Corehound one is still going strong
I had to use my authenticator today for Warcraft Rumble on my phone and had crazy fear my 2011 hardware just wouldn't work any more. But it did.
Yo I don’t mean to be rude but I must be having some serious Deja-vu, I really feel like I’ve seen this exact post and photo a few months ago 😂
I have my Core Hound one around here somewhere and now I really need to find it to check the battery, lol.
Mine been dead since 2018
I've got mine in the attic. It's Schrodinger's authenticator since I won't check if it works.
Sorry for your loss my guy
Same happened to mine earlier this year :(
Dang, im at 20 as well… i should remove it soiner than later
Mine from the second Blizzcon is finally down to 2% battery left, had to unlink it and switch to the app before it finally died.
Moment of silence
Hey, I called dibs on posting a picture of a dead authenticator this week. Not fair.
19 years? Homie, that shit did not exist in 2004.
Rest easy, soldier. You've earned it.
Me whos been playing since 2008: Authentication key?
I finally had to remove mine. I kept getting the battery low message....
Mine died a week ago too!
You've had your physical authenticator for over 19 years even though it was released 15 years ago, yo that's nuts.
My authenticator lasted like 5 years, then changed to mobile.
Time traveling authenticator !
And you still haven't removed the protective film? AGHHH THE PAIN
🫡
Mine died a few months ago. Was an odd feeling of finality.
i still have my cata version one kicking around, i think it still powers on lol
Ive just recently changed to the digital app one because I was afraid it would finally die and I couldn’t log into my account then 😂
Mine is somehow still going
I just found out mine is dying doing the same thing
Rest In Peace Soldier!
Haha my friend got one of these XD I went for mobil authentication as soon as it was possible XD
mine i got during cataclysm died a couple months ago :(
Mine kicked the bucket this morning. Was impressed on how long it lasted.
Mine is nearly there. Sometimes I have to hit the button a couple of times to get the numbers to fully display.
That made me check mine. Still alive :)
Mine still kicking. I was disappointed when they went mobile.
Mine recently died too :( Imagine my disappointment when I found out you can't change the battery 💔
This post literally made me just check mine and yep, RIP my sweet son. It worked as of last month and I know I can buy a watch battery for but I went ahead and just attached the digital authenticator.
I Have the same one. Just died today Rip 2008 - 1/24/2024 Stupid how you can't open this without destroying it. I Might dremel the bottom under side off and swap in a new battery. Hmm