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Enable modern authentication for Skype for Business Online

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By on Enterprise Mobility, Identity and Access

As a Cloud Consultant working with products that are part of the Office 365 and the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility +Security Suite (EMS), I often get a lot of questions about multi-factor authentication (MFA), and how to get started.

Most customers today has a strategy about MFA when employees are trying to access corporate company data from outside the company perimeter. But when customers are using cloud services like Office 365, OneDrive and SharePoint that boundary moves from a physical boundary to the user identity. Therefore the requirement for multi-factor authentication is something that most customers wants to implement as part of their cloud strategy.

The key to a successful MFA deployment starts by enabling modern authentication. Modern authentication brings Active Directory Authentication Library (ADAL)-based sign in to your Office 365 applications, and without this enabled, end users will have to use “App Passwords”, witch is a true nightmare for any user and it department.

By default Office 365 tenants (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Skype for Business Online) will need to be configured to accept a modern authentication connection. I recommend that you enabled for modern authentication both Exchange Online and Skype for Business, if you want to use MFA.

  • Skype for Business Online – OFF by default.
  • Exchange Online – OFF by default.
  • SharePoint Online – ON by default.

 

Enable modern authentication for Skype for Business Online

To enable modern authentication for Skype for Business Online, complete the following steps:

Step 1: Install Skype for Business Online, Windows PowerShell Module:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39366

Step 2: Connect to Skype for Business using PowerShell

$sfboSession = New-CsOnlineSession -UserName user@domain.com
Import-PSSession $sfboSession

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Step 3: Verify the current settings (optional)
The expected result: ClientAdalAuthOverride : Disallowed

Get-CsOAuthConfiguration

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Step 4: Enable modern authentication for Skype for Business Online

Set-CsOAuthConfiguration -ClientAdalAuthOverride Allowed

Step 5: Verify that the change was successful by running the following:
The expected result: ClientAdalAuthOverride : Allowed

Get-CsOAuthConfiguration

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Important: Please note, that it might take up to 24 hours before modern authentication starts to work. Usually it’s less than one hour, but please be patient when you start testing. It you don’t get the result you expect, watch a movie, drink a cup of coffee and try again.
Thanks to @AlexFilipin for reminding me, to add this note to the article.

I have also posted a sample script on Microsoft TechNet Gallery, where all the commands used in this example can be found: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Enable-modern-authenticatio-d7180f99

That’s it… Enjoy!

+Ronni Pedersen

About Author

My name is Ronni Pedersen and I'm currently working as a Cloud Architect at APENTO in Denmark. My primary focus is Enterprise Client Management solutions, based on technologies like AzureAD, Intune, EMS and System Center Configuration Manager. I'm is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Microsoft MVP in Enterprise Mobility.

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43 Comments

  2. Alan on

    If I enable MFA for Skype for Business Online, using the powershell method you described, does that mean that EVERY user will be asked to enter a code from a Microsoft Authenticator APP, even though Two Factor Authentication may not be enabled on EVERY Office 365 User Account? Put another way, I only have 10% of my users enabled for Two Factor Authentication in my Office 365 tennant, and I am concerned that if I enable MFA on ‘Skype for Business Online’ via powershell, that it will prevent skype login for 90% of my users who do not enrol for MFA yet. Thank you.

    Reply

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  5. O365Guy on

    Are there any drawbacks to enabling modern authentication? I can’t imagine that this would affect any other O365 systems, but want to be sure before I enable this in our production tenant.

    Reply
  6. Jim on

    This article is awesome! I was spinning my wheels for quite some time just using the instructions provided by Microsoft (they really make you work for it).

    Thank you so much!

    Reply
  8. Farid on

    Hi Ronni

    Modern authentication is on for our users but our android users can’t use their mail and skype for business is there any reason for this case? Do I need to another script?

    Thanks

    Reply
  11. Alex on

    Hi Ronni, thanks great article. Do you know, if i can enable only the sfb online users to use modern Auth. in a Sfb Hybrid environment and let the onprem users on legacy Auth.?

    Thanks

    Reply
  12. Miriam J on

    I am the de facto IT person for our small company. I’m not a IT person by trade and I have been struggling to make MFA work with Outlook and Skype for our company by cobbling together various internet searches. Your article was the key! It was impossible to find this same information on the Microsoft support and I spent close to 3 hours with their help desk personnel and we never got this far. Thank you!

    Reply
  13. James on

    Hi Ronni,

    Could you please confirm the impact enabling Modern Authentication will have on the users who are not MFA enabled/enforced. For example, will it force all non-MFA users to re-enter the passwords?

    thanks

    James

    Reply

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  16. Raj Harkare on

    Thanks Ronni, for making the clear picture about enabling Modern Authentication for Skype for business as i was assuming this is enabled by default for the Skype for business as per the Microsoft. but here is the Gap-

    Here is the per service state of modern authentication by default for tenants created before August 1, 2017:
    Skype for Business Online – OFF by default.
    Exchange Online – OFF by default.
    SharePoint Online – ON by default.

    Note: As of August 1, 2017, for all newly created Office 365 tenants, use of modern authentication is now ON by default for Exchange Online and Skype for Business Online.

    Reply
  17. Jessie Salgado on

    The -ClientAdalAuthOverride parameter for the CMDLET Set-CsOAuthConfiguration takes one of three options:

    NoOverride
    Allowed
    Disallowed

    Can you explain what each option does when set?

    Reply
  18. Gene Zokiol on

    Thanks Ronni, how can we enforce that only Modern Auth is allowed? You mentioned above in the comments that basic auth will still work for legacy clients. We already have a conditional access policy that would block legacy protocols, however, is there a way in the skype online powershell module to enforce only modern auth? For example, the parameter “ClientAdalOverride” has also the possible value of “NoOverride.” I can’t find documentation that clearly explains what allowed, disallowed and nooverride mean.
    Any help much appreciated.

    Reply
  19. Sam Martin on

    Thanks Roni for the info, I have 2 questions:

    We have SFB on – prem, but we use SFB Broadcast (which is SFB online), and our users in our organization can connect to SFB online though their own skype user interface (with is on-prem)

    1. By enabling Enable modern authentication for Skype for Business Online, my understanding is that it affects to the SFB Broadcast (online) and the impact applies to all of our users in our organization who want to be connected to the SFB online?

    2. Is there any outage after enabling modern authentication for Skype for Business Online?

    Reply

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  23. Mikey G on

    Hi Ronni,

    Our setup is On-Prem exchange and SB On-line. If we turn on MA for SBOL, how ill this affect our user in this kind of environment? Will it affect SB on mobile devices as well? Thanks

    Reply
  25. Sky IT on

    Hi Ronni,

    We enabled modern authentication on office 365 tenant but when user’s try to login Skype for business desktop, they are getting error like user name and password is incorrect.

    Can you please suggent.

    We are using latest Skype for business desktop app but operation system windows 7.

    Same it is working on Windows 10 machines.

    Reply

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  27. neil curran on

    Hi Ronnie,

    Looking some guidance. We currently have approx 200 users SFB online with SFB 2016 client.

    if i turn on Modern authentication for SFB Online and some of these users have MFA enabled and enforced, will it then ask this user for 2nd factor authentication (call to phone, text to phone or authenticator app) logon to SFB Online with SFB 2016 client ?

    thanks

    Reply
  28. CheeKiat on

    Hi

    Would like check with you if modern authentication needed for account like Skype for Business online, did third party device like Logitech Tap, Lenovo Hub need to be configure also? Or as long account itself activate modern authentication can direct login on third party device with configuration?

    If third party device need to be configure where should I go for setting, is it done at windows account by power shell in third party device?

    Reply

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