Problem with authenticator on new phone

Question

Problem with authenticator on new phone

Roger Taylor-Brown 0

I have purchased a new phone and I am trying to restore my Microsoft authenticator app. The back up is not working and I am unable to restore my microsoft account on to the authenticator. When I use my gmail account it asks for a new password and then send me round in circles with codes and then tells me run out of codes

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Answer 1

If Microsoft Authenticator restore is failing on a new phone and sign-in is looping for codes, use this path:

Confirm the backup prerequisites on the old phone.
- On iPhone, backup requires iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, iCloud Backup, and the Authenticator toggle enabled in Saved to iCloud.
- On Android, open Microsoft Authenticator > Settings > turn on Cloud Backup, then select the Microsoft personal account used for the backup.
Make sure restore is being done on the same device type.
- An iOS backup cannot be restored to Android, and an Android backup cannot be restored to iOS.
Use the same recovery account that was used for the backup.
- If restore from backup is unavailable, verify backup was enabled on the old phone, the same recovery account is being used, and the restore is to the same device type.
If the new phone is iPhone, try the supported troubleshooting steps.
- Uninstall and reinstall the Authenticator app.
- Make sure the old device had Authenticator version 6.8.33 or later.
- Make sure the app was opened at least once on the old phone before switching.
- Then try restore again.
After restore, expect some accounts to still need sign-in.
- For work or school accounts, only the account name is restored. Open the account in Authenticator and sign in again to complete setup.
- If Action required appears, tap the account, choose the sign-in option to recover it, enter the password, and complete the extra verification.
- For Microsoft personal accounts using passwordless sign-in, only the account name is backed up, so sign-in is required again after restore.
- For third-party accounts that use 30-second one-time password codes, the codes should be available once restored.
If sign-in says Authentication did not complete or keeps looping:
- Make sure the Authenticator app is unlocked.
- Make sure notifications are enabled and not silent.
- Update to the latest version of Authenticator.
- Check internet connectivity and try switching between Wi‑Fi and mobile data.
- Verify the phone’s date and time settings are correct.
If access to the backup account is the blocker:
- On Android, if the backup account cannot be accessed, support agents cannot help recover that backup. The remaining option is to regain access to the Microsoft backup account or add the accounts again manually.
- On iPhone, if iCloud access is the blocker, contact Apple Support.
If restore still does not work, add the accounts again manually.
- Microsoft states that if restore cannot be completed for other reasons, the accounts can be added again.
If the code loop is for a work or school account and no other sign-in method is available, contact the organization’s IT admin to reset MFA methods so the new phone can be registered again.