diff --git a/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/utils.js b/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/utils.js
index a1e0cdd2ef8..6e04ac97ca6 100644
--- a/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/utils.js
+++ b/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/utils.js
@@ -21,3 +21,35 @@ export function encodeBase64Url(bytes) {
     .replace(/\//g, "_")
     .replace(/=/g, "");
 }
+
+/**
+ * Parse an HTTP Response object. Allows passing in custom handlers for
+ * different status codes and error.type values
+ *
+ * @param {Response} response
+ * @param {Function[]=} handlers
+ */
+export async function parseResponseAsJSON(response, handlers = []) {
+  const bodyText = await response.text();
+
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    let error;
+    try {
+      error = JSON.parse(bodyText);
+    } catch (e) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Failed to parse body as JSON. Status: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}. Body: ${bodyText}`
+      );
+    }
+
+    for (const handler of handlers) {
+      handler(response, error);
+    }
+
+    throw new Error(
+      `Response was not OK. Status: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}. Body: ${bodyText}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  return response.json();
+}
diff --git a/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/webauthn-authenticate.js b/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/webauthn-authenticate.js
index a46da28ddbf..8db77603b33 100644
--- a/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/webauthn-authenticate.js
+++ b/edb/server/protocol/auth_ext/_static/webauthn-authenticate.js
@@ -1,19 +1,26 @@
-import { decodeBase64Url, encodeBase64Url } from "./utils.js";
+import {
+  decodeBase64Url,
+  encodeBase64Url,
+  parseResponseAsJSON,
+} from "./utils.js";
 
 document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => {
-  const registerForm = document.getElementById("email-factor");
+  /** @type {HTMLFormElement | null} */
+  const authenticateForm = document.getElementById("email-factor");
 
-  if (registerForm === null) {
+  if (authenticateForm === null) {
     return;
   }
 
-  registerForm.addEventListener("submit", async (event) => {
+  authenticateForm.addEventListener("submit", async (event) => {
     if (event.submitter?.id !== "webauthn-signin") {
       return;
     }
     event.preventDefault();
 
-    const formData = new FormData(/** @type {HTMLFormElement} */ registerForm);
+    const formData = new FormData(
+      /** @type {HTMLFormElement} */ authenticateForm
+    );
     const email = formData.get("email");
     const provider = "builtin::local_webauthn";
     const challenge = formData.get("challenge");
@@ -151,9 +158,9 @@ async function authenticateAssertion(props) {
       signature: encodeBase64Url(
         new Uint8Array(props.assertion.response.signature)
       ),
-      userHandle: props.assertion.response.userHandle ? encodeBase64Url(
-        new Uint8Array(props.assertion.response.userHandle)
-      ) : null,
+      userHandle: props.assertion.response.userHandle
+        ? encodeBase64Url(new Uint8Array(props.assertion.response.userHandle))
+        : null,
     },
   };
 
@@ -170,19 +177,26 @@ async function authenticateAssertion(props) {
     }),
   });
 
-  if (!authenticateResponse.ok) {
-    console.error(
-      "Failed to authenticate WebAuthn credentials:",
-      authenticateResponse.statusText
-    );
-    console.error(await authenticateResponse.text());
-    throw new Error("Failed to authenticate WebAuthn credentials");
-  }
-
-  try {
-    return await authenticateResponse.json();
-  } catch (e) {
-    console.error("Failed to parse WebAuthn registration result:", e);
-    throw new Error("Failed to parse WebAuthn registration result");
-  }
+  return await parseResponseAsJSON(authenticateResponse, [
+    (response, error) => {
+      if (response.status === 401 && error?.type === "VerificationRequired") {
+        console.error(
+          "User's email is not verified",
+          response.statusText,
+          error
+        );
+        throw new Error(
+          "Please verify your email before attempting to sign in."
+        );
+      }
+    },
+    (response, error) => {
+      console.error(
+        "Failed to authenticate WebAuthn credentials:",
+        response.statusText,
+        error
+      );
+      throw new Error("Failed to authenticate WebAuthn credentials");
+    },
+  ]);
 }