Authenticator app

Set the new phone’s date and time to automatic, restart it, and try the newest Authenticator code once; an inaccurate device clock can cause rotating one-time codes to be rejected.^1^

1. Correct the phone clock

• iPhone: Settings → General → Date & Time → Set Automatically
• Android: Settings → System (or General management) → Date & time → Automatic date and time
• Restart the phone.
• Open Authenticator, wait for a fresh code, and enter it before the 30-second timer expires.
• Ensure that you selected the entry matching the exact account and site.

2. If it is still rejected, reconnect that account

Moving Authenticator does not transfer every credential in the same way. Work or school accounts require registration again; passwordless credentials for personal Microsoft accounts also require another sign-in. Third-party one-time-code entries are normally restored from backup.^2^

First identify the account from the affected Authenticator tile or sign-in page:

Work or school account

1. If the Authenticator tile displays Sign in to add your account or Action required, open it and complete the sign-in.
2. If another verification method or the old phone still works, sign in to Security info at https://aka.ms/mysecurityinfo.
3. Select Add sign-in method → Microsoft Authenticator.
4. Scan the displayed QR code using the new phone.
5. Test the new registration.
6. Remove the old phone only after the test succeeds.

A restored work or school account contains only the account name, not its credential.^2^

If no alternative sign-in method works, contact the organization’s IT administrator and request an MFA registration reset, then register the new phone again.^3^

Personal Microsoft account

1. Sign in to the Microsoft account Security page.
2. Select Manage how I sign in.
3. Select Add a new way to sign in or verify.
4. Add Microsoft Authenticator and complete the verification.
5. After the new method works, remove the obsolete phone registration.

Microsoft documents this security-method management path and recommends keeping verification methods current.^4^

If no existing verification method is accessible, select I don’t have any of these during identity verification and follow the security-information replacement process. Microsoft states that replacing all inaccessible security information can impose a 30-day wait before sign-in.^5^

Third-party site

If the affected site is not a Microsoft work, school, or personal account:

1. Use that site’s recovery code, alternate verification method, or account-recovery option.
2. In the site’s security settings, remove or reset the existing authenticator method.
3. Add Authenticator again by scanning the site’s new QR code.
4. Test the new code before deleting the old Authenticator entry.

If the rejected code prevents access and no alternative method exists, the affected site’s support or administrator must reset its two-factor authentication registration; Microsoft cannot reset another provider’s account.

References

1. [Personal accounts](https://support.microsoft.com/authenticator/troubleshoot-problems-with-microsoft-authenticator)
2. Transfer Microsoft Authenticator account entries to a new phone
3. Code notifications - Microsoft Q&A
4. Microsoft account security info & verification codes | Microsoft Support
5. Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues | Microsoft Support