topic Re: anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC? in Get Support

anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC?

frank44 — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 21:31:24 GMT

I'm using Interactive Brokers (IB) for stock trading. When I access my IB account from my PC it uses my cellphone to confirm my identity (2FA or 2 Factor Authentication). This is apparently done by internet communication (not text messages) between my PC, IB servers or systems, and my cellphone which runs on Public Mobile. The cellphone runs a brokerage app which does the 2FA. My phone is an iPhone 8.

I have had occasional problems with 2FA since around the time I started with PM around February 2020, so I am wondering if there might be some PM issue. I was using Koodo before, had no problems accessing IB from Koodo but I was not using my IB account very much at that time. According to IB, a possible cause of the 2FA problem is a technical issue (unspecified) with the user's wireless company.

So, it's a long shot, but I was wondering if anyone else here has had a similar IB PC Login problem?

Re: anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC?

Jb456 — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 09:10:42 GMT

@frank44 maybe reach out to the moderators? They work for Public Mobile and will be able look into your account.

Or send a private message to them at link below.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

Re: anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC?

mpcdesign — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 09:23:40 GMT

@frank44 , I had a similar issue trying to get into my work email and my authenticator. I even had the IT department looked into, and they had to reset all my passwords. But guess what? I realized through the tech support call; I was entering the wrong 2FA into the field.

You see, I have another application (I have a bitcoin account) with 2FA and my work email. Well, I was entering my bitcoin 2FA into my work's email; hence, why it wasn't working. Duh!

Make sure you are entering the correct numbers for that application. When I enter my work's email now, it will remember the 2FA code and thinks I want to re-save this new password. If, by chance, you saved that with the 2FA, it will automatically overwrite the real password. This means you need to manually enter the original password and then enter the 2FA in a separate field.

Re: anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC?

sheytoon — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 12:22:01 GMT

@frank44

Can you elaborate on the 2FA method? Is it SMS or a local app on your phone that generates a token?

Re: anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC?

frank44 — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 19:43:32 GMT

Thanks for the replies.

The 2FA is handled by a smartphone app IBKR from the brokerage, no SMS used. When it works it is pretty slick, I do not need to type in codes, just need to use the secure ID method applicable to my phone which (for phones like iPhone8) means using the fingerprint sensor.

in case it is a firewall issue I disabled my computer software firewall temporarily and that did not help. Next I will temporarily disable my wifi router firewall.

Re: anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC?

frank44 — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 19:57:54 GMT

OK the login problem appears to be fixed. I think the brokerage fixed something on their end as I did not need to update the phone app or change anything on my end.

Re: anyone having "Interactive Brokers" login problem from PC?

sheytoon — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 20:51:50 GMT

Glad it's sorted. Apps would be connection-agnostic, so whether you're connected via Wi-Fi or cellular, the behaviour should be the same.