Multi-factor prompts from Google or Microsoft

While signing in to Cradle, you may see your phone light up with "approve this sign-in?", or Cradle's sign-in window may ask you for a six-digit code. That prompt isn't coming from Cradle. It's coming from Google or Microsoft, who handle authentication for your work account. Cradle doesn't run its own multi-factor system.

Why you're seeing it

Cradle signs you in by sending you to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. If your organisation has multi-factor authentication turned on for your work account, Google or Microsoft will ask you to confirm it's really you before they hand Cradle a valid sign-in.

What this looks like:

An Authenticator app prompt on your phone (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or another approved app), asking you to approve or deny the sign-in.
A six-digit code that you type into the sign-in window. The code comes from your authenticator app, an SMS, or a hardware key.
A passkey prompt if your organisation has rolled out passkeys.
A security-key prompt if your organisation uses hardware keys (YubiKey, etc.).

Whichever you see, the wording will mention Google or Microsoft, not Cradle.

What to do

If you started the Cradle sign-in

Approve the prompt within the window your authenticator gives you (usually under a minute).
If you're entering a code, type the six digits exactly as shown in your authenticator app.
Cradle should land you on the dial pad a moment after the prompt clears.

If you didn't start a Cradle sign-in

If you weren't trying to sign in to Cradle and an approval prompt appears anyway, treat it as suspicious. Someone else may have your password and be trying to sign in as you.

Tap Deny / No on the prompt.
Don't type a code into anything if you didn't kick off the sign-in.
Change your work password in Google or Microsoft as soon as you can.
Tell your IT admin.

Recovery flow for the work account itself:

Google Workspace: myaccount.google.com → Security → review Recent security activity and change your password.
Microsoft 365: myaccount.microsoft.com → Security → review Sign-in activity and change your password.

If your organisation manages your account, your IT team can also force a sign-out from every device and re-enrol your authenticator.

"I can't get past the multi-factor prompt"

A few common reasons:

You've changed phones recently. Your authenticator app sits on the old phone. You'll need to re-enrol your authenticator on the new phone. For Google Workspace, go to myaccount.google.com → Security → 2-Step Verification. For Microsoft 365, go to mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info. Your IT admin can do this for you if you no longer have access to the old phone.
The prompt isn't arriving. Check your phone has signal and the authenticator app is open. Try kicking off the sign-in again to send a fresh prompt.
The code keeps saying it's wrong. The code rolls every 30 seconds. Wait for the next one and try again. If your phone's clock is wildly off, the code can be rejected, check your phone is set to network-provided time.
Your organisation uses single sign-on and the prompt never appears. That's the SSO doing its job. Sign-in goes through your IT-managed identity instead.

If you're still stuck, this is an IT-side problem, not a Cradle one. Your IT admin owns the multi-factor configuration and can reset your enrolment.

What Cradle doesn't do

Worth being explicit about, so you know what to ask for:

Cradle has no "reset my Cradle 2FA" page. There's no Cradle 2FA to reset.
Cradle can't send you a Cradle authenticator code. The codes you see all come from Google or Microsoft.
Cradle can't disable multi-factor for your account. That setting belongs to your IT team.

When in doubt, the chain of escalation is: your authenticator app first, then your IT admin, then Google or Microsoft account recovery if your IT admin can't help.