Locked out of Microsoft authenticator

Question

Locked out of Microsoft authenticator

Shane Dunne 0

Basically I was using Microsoft authenticator for a different account (not this one), when I switched phone I wasnt logged into the authenticator app anymore but now every time I try to log into that account I have to use the authenticator app even though I factory reset my other Phone, I am soft-locked completely out of my other account.

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Answer 1

Contact your organization’s IT help desk and ask an Authentication Administrator to require MFA re-registration for your work or school account, which removes the old Authenticator registration and prompts you to configure the new phone at your next sign-in.^1^

Before requesting the reset

On the verification screen, select Sign in another way, Other verification options, or I can’t use my Microsoft Authenticator app right now.

If a previously registered option such as SMS, phone call, security key, or another authenticator is offered, use it.
After signing in, open your account’s Security info, add Authenticator on the new phone, and remove the old registration.
If no usable alternative appears, proceed with the administrator reset. Self-service password reset may also be unavailable if every registered authentication method was tied to the erased phone.^2^

What to request from IT

Send the help desk this request:

I replaced and factory-reset the phone registered for Microsoft Authenticator and have no usable alternative verification method. Please verify my identity and select Require re-register MFA for my account.

An Authentication Administrator should:

Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center.
Go to Entra ID → Users.
Select your user account.
Open Authentication methods.
Select Require re-register MFA.^1^

This action deletes the account’s registered Authenticator apps, phone methods, and software OATH tokens. At your next sign-in, Entra will require you to register a new MFA method. It does not merely reset your password, so ask specifically for MFA re-registration rather than only a password reset.

Register the replacement phone

After IT completes the reset:

Install Microsoft Authenticator on the new phone.
Sign in to the work or school service again.
Follow the registration prompt.
In Authenticator, add a Work or school account and scan the QR code displayed during setup.
Complete the test approval or code prompt.

Restoring an Authenticator backup alone is generally not sufficient for this scenario: for work or school accounts, only the account name is restored, and the account must be signed in and verified again.^3^

If this is an unmanaged tenant where you are the only administrator, another administrator cannot perform the reset; contact Microsoft support through the organization’s support channel for tenant access recovery.^4^

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