I spent the past hour typing up this little guide to helpfully alleviate some of the more common problems that people keep asking about linking their PlayOnline account to the new Square Enix accounts. If you see any problems let me know.
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Here's a quick walk through of how to get yourself up and running with this:
1) First you're going to need a SquareEnix account.
You should go to the link here. (Square Enix Account Management System). Simply select the country that your PlayOnline account is registered to. For example, if you imported a NA copy FFXI to Europe before it came out, you need to pick the NA option.
You're going to be asked to put in your e-mail address so that SE can send you an activation link. Once you activate your account, assign your account a username and password and you're good to go! You now have a SquareEnix account.
2) Link your SquareEnix account to your PlayOnline account.
This part will link the SquareEnix account you just made to your PlayOnline account. This will allow you to utilize your security key chain when it arrives.
First, login to your SquareEnix account with the username and password you just created here, (Square Enix Account Login) . Once logged in you will need to link your PlayOnline account to your SquareEnix account. You do this by clicking "Link Settings" on the left side of the page. Once you click that, you will be brought to a page that will display what PlayOnline accounts are linked to your SquareEnix accounts. Click the "next" button to begin the process of linking your PlayOnline account to your SquareEnix account.
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Click the PlayOnline option and click next again. The next page will ask you for your PlayOnlineID and password. Once you've done this, click next and confirm that you want to link these accounts together. If you have mule accounts, you can do the same thing for them so that you can use your security key chain with them as well without having to order an extra one.
Congrats!! Now your PlayOnline account is linked to your SquareEnix account.
3) Setting up PlayOnline to link to your SquareEnix account
Pay close attention here, this is where a lot of people are screwing up and getting frustrated. The first thing you need to do is click on your account name like you're going to login like normal. However, instead of logging in, you need to click "settings" on the left.
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Once you've done this, you will be brought to your settings page. All of your old information should be in here with the exception of this new SquareEnixID section. First, set your PlayOnlineID password to be saved and enter it above. This is your old PlayOnline password that you've always used. You now need to put your SquareEnixID into the blank box below. Make sure the "One-Time Password" setting is set to DO NOT USE. You haven't gotten it in the mail yet! I'll get to that later.
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Hit OK and you can now login to your account! But wait! You will notice something a little different now. It's going to ask you for your SquareEnix Password now. Enter your new SquareEnix password into the box and hit connect. You should now be logged into PlayOnline!
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Awesome, lets get you a security key chain now!
4) Ordering a Square Enix Security Token
You're now going to order your security Token. This is a little thingy that displays a 6 digit number at random once every 30 seconds. This makes it so that RMT can not possibly steal your account due to keylogging. Even if you were to get keylogged, it wouldn't matter because you also need the randomly generated number from this to login as well.
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To order one of these, bring yourself to the Final Fantasy XI login page like you do every time you want to play. You're going to see a bar below that says "Square Enix Security Token Sales". Click it!
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Right now, the servers are jammed with people trying to login to order one of these. Just keep trying, you'll eventually get in there and you'll see this page:
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Once you complete this process, the account you use to pay for your FFXI account monthly will be billed an extra 10 bucks this month for the key chain.
To continue check the "Agree to the above" boxes and click next. Pick the country you want your device to be shipped to and click next again. You will now be brought to a page that will ask you for your address/e-mail/phone number. The address you put in here is your SHIPPING ADDRESS. This is where you want your device to be sent to. Fill this all out and click next, then next again to finish. You will receive an e-mail from Square-Enix letting you know that you've ordered a device.
AWESOME!! You're only a week or two away from never having to worry about your account being stolen again. Let's jump ahead to that glorious day when you receive the key chain in the mail.
5) Setting up your account to use the security keychain
First, log back into your SquareEnix account. (https://secure.square-enix.com/accou...n?cont=account) Once there, click the "Security Expansion" button on the left. This will bring you to a similar page to the one you used to link your PlayOnline ID. Click next here. On the next page, click the "Security token registration" button and click next again. Accept the terms and click next again. You should now be at this page:
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Look at your new security key chain and flip it over to the back. You're going to see a serial number on the back. Type that serial number into the first set of boxes you see. Next, flip your keychain back over, hit the red button, then type that one time password into the "One-Time Password" box. Quickly click next so that password does not expire.
I can't be certain what happens next because I haven't gotten my key chain in the mail yet. I'm guessing it will just ask you to confirm what you've done and be done. There is a possibility that it will ask you to enter a 2nd number off your key chain by pressing the red button again. If it does, just do that and finish.
SWEET! Your SquareEnix account is now like Fort Knox! Let's go back to PlayOnline and set that up too!
6) Last step, PlayOnline
Go back to your accounts PlayOnline settings page. It's the same place you put in your SquareEnixID before.
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This time, switch the "One-Time Password" option to "Use" and hit OK. Now, try to login. You'll notice that the "One-Time password box is no longer greyed out. Enter your Square Enix Password in the first box. Next, hit the red button on your key chain and type that number into the "One-Time Password" box. Quickly click next.
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BAM!!! You're now logged into your account securly and do not have to worry about some RMT keylogging you. If they did keylog you, it doesn't matter because the One-Time password you just used expired when you clicked next. You sure showed them didn't you!
You can now play FFXI feeling secure that you won't wake up the next morning with years of your hard work stolen.