How to replace a keyfob authenticator with a smartphone Battle.net authenticator

I've had my authenticator for years. Taking the sound advice of persons wiser than me, I picked up an authenticator way before it was cool. No hackers or n'er-do-wells were getting into my account and sharding my purples! Those purples vindicate my life choices, and criticizing my life choices is my wife's job, not some random stranger who scammed my password from Facebook!

But like many things in life, this authenticator too must pass. In this specific case, this authenticator must pass between the jaws of my dog. It didn't work so well after Sylvanas got done unleashing some Dark Puppy-level fury on it.

If you too find yourself needing to replace your trusty old authenticator, here's how you get it done. In this case, we're replacing the old sexy keyfob with a new, nearly-as-sexy iPhone authenticator app.

1. Call Blizzard. The first step is to call Blizzard to get the authenticator removed from your account. This is because you can't log into your Battle.net account without an authenticator (and if you had an authenticator right now, you'd not need to change it, would you?).

Here's Blizzard's contact information. You'll have to go through a phone tree, but that's just the reality of things these days. Try to be patient, and don't take out your impatience on the service rep. (Really, that's not cool.)

The support staff will have a few basic security questions. (Hopefully, you wrote up some serious answers and didn't say the name of your first pet was "My Swinging Cod" or something.)

If you're the phone-shy type, you can submit a ticket online to get your authenticator removed. You'll have to also send in a photocopied image of your ID, though, and that process can take a couple of days, according to the rep I spoke to. It's just faster and easier to place a phone call.

2. Download the Authenticator app. This is the easy part. Go to the app source for your smartphone of choice and grab the Battle.net Authenticator. It takes like seconds to actually download and install. The mobile authenticator is an incredibly lightweight app, considering how amazingly important it is to the safety of your account.

3. Turn on the Battle.net Authenticator app. Now comes the tricky part. (OK, it's not that tricky.) Sign in to your Battle.net authenticator management page. Select the kind of authenticator you're setting up. Follow the instructions on the screen.

For the iPhone app I set up, I first sent myself an email to verify my email address. The second step according is to download the app, if you haven't already. (I already did that first, of course.)

You then enter the serial code. Fire up the app. The serial code is right there -- you can't miss it. Punch that into the website, and you're good to go.

You'll be asked to write down a restore code. Now's a good time to drop those numbers someplace safe, in case you ever need them later.

You're done!

That's really all there is to it. The longest part is waiting for someone to pick up when you call support for help. The trickiest part is sending yourself an email, which is hardly complicated. Follow these steps, and you'll replace a dog-chewed authenticator in no time.

Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to everything you need to get started as a new player, from how to control your character and camera angles when you're just starting out, to learning how to tank, getting up to speed for heroics and even how to win Tol Barad.