System-Preferred Authentication is Coming to the First-Factor Login Screen

This article explains Microsoft's upcoming rollout of system-preferred authentication for the first-factor login screen in Entra ID. Previously limited to second-factor authentication, this feature now evaluates a user's registered credentials at sign-in and bypasses the password field if a more secure method (e.g., passkey, Microsoft Authenticator passwordless, or certificate-based authentication) is available. The phased deployment starts now and ends by July 2026. The article provides steps to check tenant configuration via the Entra Admin Center or Microsoft Graph API, and highlights the change management implications for organizations.