My Microsoft authenticator broke upon getting a new phone, and now I can't receive codes from one of my accounts connected to it.

Grace Greenfield 0 Reputation points
2026-10-13T10:56:34.5966667+00:00

Though I have my work email registered to my authenticator, when switching phones it kept sending the codes to my old phone. This didn't change when I deleted the app off my old phone. I want it to send it to my current one but I can't work out how to fix it.

#MicrosoftAuthenticator

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For business | Other
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Answer accepted by question author
Julie Huynh 3,860 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-10-13T11:05:37.4633333+00:00

Dear @Grace Greenfield,

Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum!

First of all, I would like to clarify that this is a community forum where users help one another. No one here, including myself, has access to your Microsoft 365 tenant, account details, billing information, or authentication settings.

Regarding your situation, this typically happens because Microsoft Authenticator accounts do not automatically transfer to a new device unless cloud backup and recovery were configured beforehand. When you moved to your new phone, the sign-in request may have remained associated with the authenticator registration on the old device. As a result, MFA prompts and approval requests continued being directed to the previous phone until the authentication method is updated or re-registered on the new device.

Currently, there are several ways to deal with this.

The simplest being if you're an end-user, please reach out to your IT administrator for assistance. If you’re unable to sign in due to a phone change, a new phone number, or issues receiving your authentication code, your IT administrator can help by updating your authentication methods or revoking and re-registering your authentication.  

For detailed guidance, ask your IT administrator to review the step-by-step instructions provided in the referenced article: Manage user authentication options

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Here's how to find your IT Admin: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? (please also kindly reach out to your colleagues, managers, etc. to see if they have the IT department contact) 

Here's where thing could get a bit complicated:

If you're an admin, please check to see if there are other IT admins in your organization who can help you with the reset following the steps in the above article.

If you're the only admin, in this situation, the Microsoft Data Protection Team has tools and processes in place to verify identity and regain access to administrator accounts.

Please let me know if you're the only admin of your organization so that I could provide you with suitable steps accordingly.

Any updates you’re able to share would be really helpful.

I'm here and happy to help! Thank you for your kindness and patience!

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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-13T10:56:50.2433333+00:00

    This usually happens because the push notification is still tied to the device where Microsoft Authenticator was last used.

    Try this in order:

    1. Check whether the old phone still receives the prompt
      • If the old phone is still accessible, open Microsoft Authenticator there and approve the sign-in.
    2. Use another verification method if available
      • If the account offers SMS or another method, use that to sign in.
    3. Re-add the new phone for the affected account
      • For work or school accounts, restored entries still require sign-in again after moving to a new phone.
      • If the account shows "Sign in to add your account", open that account in Authenticator and sign in again to complete setup.
    4. Remove the old phone’s authentication info and add the new one
      • On the security info page for the account, delete the old phone/authentication method.
      • Then add the new phone as a sign-in method and set up Microsoft Authenticator again.
    5. If this is an account from another organization or guest access account
      • Those MFA registrations might still be tied to the old phone.
      • Sign in to that organization’s security info/My Sign-Ins page and add the new phone.
      • If access is blocked, contact that organization’s administrator and ask them to reset MFA for that account so Authenticator can be set up again on the new phone.
    6. If backup/restore did not fully come across
      • Verify the backup was enabled on the old phone and that restore used the same recovery account and same device type.
      • On iPhone, if the restored backup does not appear, enable iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, and iCloud Backup for Authenticator on the old device, make sure Authenticator is turned on under Saved to iCloud, update to Authenticator 6.8.33 or later, open the app once, then on the new phone uninstall and reinstall Authenticator.

    Important:

    • Keep the old phone until sign-in works on the new phone.
    • For work or school accounts, backup restores the account name, but sign-in must still be completed again on the new phone.
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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