How to use my computer's web browser for sign-in

Question

I am trying to sign-in to my Visual Studio install. Specifically, sign-in to the Team Foundation Server. The problem is that as of this posting there is a widespread problem with the sign-in service. I am trying to follow the recommendation from the Live Site Event Details at https://status.visualstudio.microsoft.com/. Which recommends switching the authentication mechanism to “System web browser” or “Windows Authentication broker” using the steps on page https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/ide/work-with-multi-factor-authentication?view=vs-2022#enabling-system-web-browser.

These steps are not working for me. It still displays the sign-in using the Embedded Web Browser and still gives the same errors.

How do I work around this problem so I can sign-in to my Visual Studio?

I am using Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.

Answer 1

To address the issue of signing in to Team Foundation Server (TFS) via Visual Studio Professional 2019, you can follow these steps to switch the authentication mechanism. First, open Visual Studio, navigate to Tools > Options, and then to Environment > Accounts. Here, select System web browser or Windows Authentication broker from the Add new account with: dropdown menu, then restart Visual Studio to apply the changes. If this doesn't work, clear the Visual Studio cache by deleting the contents of the %localappdata%\Microsoft\VisualStudio\<version>\ComponentModelCache folder, and ensure Visual Studio is up to date by checking for updates under Help > Check for Updates. Alternatively, use the Developer Command Prompt for Visual Studio and run devenv.exe /useBrowserAuth to force the use of the system web browser. Ensure your system settings allow the system web browser and check for any network or proxy settings that might interfere. If needed, you can disable the embedded web browser through the registry by navigating to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\16.0_<InstanceId>\IdentityCRL, setting the UseEmbeddedWebView value to 0, or creating it if it doesn't exist (proceed with caution and back up the registry first). As a temporary solution, consider using Visual Studio Code with the Azure Repos extension to access TFS projects. If the problem persists, reaching out to Microsoft Support may be necessary for further assistance.