Windows passkey missing “iPhone, iPad, or Android device” option

I recently ran into this problem too, so here is how you solve it.

TLDR: If an app on your Windows 10 computer requires passkey and you want to use an external device, you need to upgrade to Windows 11. If a website wants you use an external device, just make sure you are using Chrome 108+ or Edge 108+. You also must have Windows Hello enabled.

Apparently, the passkey spec differentiates between “FIDO Cross-Device Authentication” and “device-bound” passkeys like a YubiKey:

FIDO Cross-Device Authentication (CDA): Allows a passkey from one device to be used to sign in on another device. For example, your phone can be linked to your laptop, allowing you to use a passkey from your phone to sign into a service on your laptop.

https://passkeys.dev/docs/reference/terms/#cross-device-authentication-cda

Device-bound passkey: A FIDO2 Discoverable Credential that is bound to a single authenticator. For example, FIDO2 security keys typically hold device-bound passkeys as the credential cannot leave the device. Device-bound passkeys have been previously referred to as single-device passkeys.

https://passkeys.dev/docs/reference/terms/#cross-device-authentication-cda

The former is what is required for Windows/ your browser to show you that option.

Unfortunately, as of January 2025, support for these features in Windows is as follows:

Windows Hello, the local platform authenticator in Windows 10 and 11, has the following capabilities:

• creating and using device-bound passkeys on the local device
• creating and using device-bound passkeys on a FIDO2 security key

The following is also possible in Windows 11 version 23H2 and newer:

• using passkeys from iOS and iPadOS devices for signing into services in all browser and native apps using FIDO Cross-Device Authentication
• using passkeys from Android devices for signing into services in all browser and native apps using FIDO Cross-Device Authentication

The following is also possible in both Windows 10 and Windows 11 (earlier than 23H2):

• using passkeys from iOS and iPadOS devices in Chrome (108+) and Edge (108+) for signing in to web services using FIDO Cross-Device Authentication
• using passkeys from Android devices in Chrome (108+) and Edge (108+) for signing in to web services using FIDO Cross-Device Authentication

https://passkeys.dev/docs/reference/windows/

After doing the above, you should be able to see this wonderful option: