Assisting another Staff Member to log in and resetting their password
This article provides detailed information on how to assist another Staff Member with logging into SupportAbilty. It reviews suggested troubleshooting questions to clarify the issue the Staff Member is experiencing, the options available to reset their password, alternatives for managing Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), and facilitating remote access.
Audience: Authorised Representatives, HR Specialist, Team Leaders and anyone tasked with assisting another Staff Member to log in.
Prerequisites
- Staff require the 'Edit User Accounts' Security privilege in order to access the 'User Details' tab of Staff Accounts where individual passwords are reset, and where remote access is granted.
- We also recommend reviewing the information entered for 'System Administrator's Name and 'Contact Details' in the 'Installation Options' section on the 'Settings' tab of System Preferences, as this information is included in logging in and reset password emails:
Summary
The following list summarises the content of this article. Click on the links below to take you to the relevant sections:
- Suggested troubleshooting questions
- Where are passwords reset?
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Remote Access
Suggested troubleshooting questions
The following questions may be helpful to ask a Staff Member when you are assisting them with issues logging in:
- What are you seeing on your screen? Is the SupportAbility logo visible?
- If the logo is not visible, they are trying to log in at the Shared Security level and will need to enter the Shared Username and password.
N.B. When a Staff Member logs into SupportAbility using a new device or a different browser, or the Staff Member has cleared cookies, cache and/or browsing history, SupportAbility will ask the user for your organisation's Shared Username and Password. - If the logo is visible, then they are trying to log in at the Individual Security level and will need to enter their individual Username and Password.
We suggest verifying the Username they are using matches that which has been configured in their Staff Account.
- If the logo is not visible, they are trying to log in at the Shared Security level and will need to enter the Shared Username and password.
- Does your individual password match the minimum requirements? i.e. at least 12 characters long and includes 1 lower case letter, number & a special character, OR if your organisation has configured the Password Settings in System Preferences, does their individual password match this criteria?
- Have you checked whether your caps lock is on?
- Are there any error messages displayed on your screen? For example:
- "This password reset link has already been used or has expired" - they will need to select the 'Send a new Password Reset Link' button, or you can send a new Reset Password Link email from their Staff Account
- "The username and/or password is not valid" - check the username the Staff Member is using matches the one entered in their Staff Account.
- "Too many unsuccessful log in attempts" - the Staff Member has exceeded 6 attempts and will need to wait for the period of time specified in the error message e.g. 30 secs, before attempting to log in again
- It is important to double-check that a 'Staff Account Email Address' has been entered into the Staff Account User Details tab, so that they may reset their own password. Has an email address been entered?
- Have you received the 'Reset Password Link' email which was sent to you? If not have you checked your junk mail folder?
- Are you sharing an email address with another Staff Member, if so maybe the other Staff Member has accessed the Password Reset email.
- Is the email address entered in the 'Staff Account Email Address' field of their Staff Account a personal email address? this may operate differently to the organisation's primary email program.
Where are passwords reset?
While Staff have the ability to reset their individual password themselves via the 'Forgot Your Password' button on the login screen, there are occasions when they may require assistance from another Staff Member who has the relevant access to their Staff Account, to reset their password for them.
Passwords are reset in the 'Account Details' section on the 'User Details' tab of the relevant Staff Account.
N.B. A 'Staff Account Email Address' and 'Username' must both be present in order to reset a password.
Assuming these have been entered, or once this has been completed where required, you can then select the 'Reset Password' button:
This will open the 'Reset Password' window:
From here you can select one of the two methods available for resetting a password:
- Send Password Link - a 'Reset Password' link can be emailed to the relevant Staff Member, from which they can reset their own password,
- Reset Password manually - a temporary password can be created for the Staff Member, with the option to prompt them to change this on their next log in.
Information on how to action both these methods is outlined below for your reference.
Send Password Link
If 'Send Password Link' is your organisation's preferred 'Password Reset Method' ensure this option has been selected, then select the 'Confirm' button':
A confirmation message will display briefly at the top of the screen:
and a notification will display below the 'Reset Password' button advising the date and time the Password Reset email was last sent:
The email will be sent to the email address which has been entered in the 'Staff Account Email Address' field in their Staff Account. It is important to note that this link will expire in 3 days from the point it was sent.
The Staff Member will receive an email from SupportAbility on behalf of your organisation. This email contains:
- details about your organisation's Shared Username and Password, which is the first level of security required before entering or updating an individual password
- the Staff Member's Username and a 'Reset Password' link
- details of the System Administrator to contact if they experience any ongoing issues.
The Staff Member can access the reset password email via their usual email program. Once the Staff Member selects the 'Reset Password' link in the email it will open the Password Reset window with the Staff Member's 'Username' pre-populated as it has been entered in their Staff Account.
The Staff Member will need to enter a secure password in the 'New Password' field, ensuring it meets the Password requirements displayed, then enter the same password in the 'Confirm New Password' field, and select 'Reset Password:
A confirmation message will advise the password has been updated successfully, and log them in automatically.
More information regarding the process from a Staff Member perspective when their password has been reset for them, can be found in the Resetting my individual password article, linked below.
Reset Password manually
If 'Reset Password Manually' is your organisation's preferred 'Password Reset Method' ensure the following has been actioned:
- select 'Reset Password Manually' for 'Choose Password Reset Method'
- enter a temporary password matching the criteria outlined
- (optional) select the 'Force password reset on next log in' checkbox, to ensure the Staff Member changes their password to something which is secure and not known to anyone else
- select the 'Reset' button':
A confirmation message will display briefly advising the password has been reset successfully:
Once you have communicated the temporary password to the Staff Member they will be able to log on using this password.
If you have selected the 'Force password reset on next log in' checkbox they will be prompted to reset their password at next login. We recommend this option is checked to ensure the privacy and security of all User Accounts.
Whilst 'Force password reset on next log in' can be deselected, the only time we recommend doing so, is if you believe a Staff Members Account security has been compromised. Therefore, whoever may be logging into the Staff Members Account will no longer be able to gain access using the previous password.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
If Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has been configured for your organisation and the Staff Member you are assisting to log in has activated MFA for their Staff Account using an Authenticator App, the following will apply.
The Staff Member will be required to pass the MFA step periodically when logging into SupportAbility, in addition to entering the Shared User details and their Individual User Security details i.e. individual username and password:
Information on how to complete the MFA step is outlined in the MFA via Authenticator App - recommended section of the How to log in to SupportAbility once Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has been activated in your Staff Account article, linked below for reference.
If the Staff Member does not have access to their Authenticator App for the latest code and is, therefore, unable to pass the MFA step successfully, you can suggest they select the option to 'Request MFA code via email instead' as a fallback option:
It is important to note that the MFA code sent to an email address is only valid for a period of 10 minutes from the time it was requested. Additionally, when an MFA code is requested via email, an 8-digit code is provided to differentiate this from the 6-digit code generated by an Authenticator App.
Information outlining how to complete this step is available in the MFA via Email - fallback option section of the How to log in to SupportAbility once Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has been activated in your Staff Account article, linked below for reference.
Remote Access
If your organisation has configured remote access in System Preferences, by restricting access to a range of specific IP addresses, and a Staff Member is trying to log on from a remote location other than these IP addresses, without having the relevant privilege in their Staff Account, they will see the following message:
More information regarding this functionality is outlined in the Restricting Remote Access to SupportAbility article, linked below.
If it is appropriate for this Staff Member to have remote access, their Staff Account will need to be reviewed to ensure they have been granted the relevant 'Allow Remote Access' privilege:
More information regarding setting up Staff Accounts can be found in the Creating a Staff Account article, linked below.