IT ISSUE · IDENTITY AND ACCESS
Sign-in blocked
A refused sign-in is different from a wrong password. Something decided this attempt should not proceed.A blocked sign-in is different from a wrong password. Something decided this attempt shouldn't proceed, and the useful first question is what decided it, because in a good number of cases the answer is a control doing precisely what it was configured to do.
What you may notice
- It fails from one location and works from another.
- It began while somebody was travelling.
- One person is blocked and colleagues aren't.
- It works on a company laptop but not a personal one.
- The message mentions policy, risk or an administrator.
Find out what refused it before removing anything
We look at the sign-in record, what rule or risk assessment applied, the state of the account and the device being used, which usually names the reason precisely.
The quick fix is to switch off whatever blocked it. It is almost always the wrong one. A control that refuses an unfamiliar sign-in from an unfamiliar country isn't a fault, and disabling it to get somebody working before lunch removes the protection for everyone permanently to solve one person's afternoon. There is nearly always a narrower answer: an exception for that person, that device or that trip, rather than for the whole business forever.