Microsoft forces SMS verification to an unrecognised phone number despite having 7 authentication methods configured

Hello,

I am experiencing an issue with the sign-in verification process for my Microsoft account.

Authentication methods configured

Under my account's Security page, I currently have seven ways to authenticate my sign-in:

Password

Email verification code (Email 1)

Email verification code (Email 2)

SMS verification code (phone number ending in 78)

Microsoft Authenticator app

Google Authenticator

Passkey (access key)

The problem

Whenever I try to sign in to my Microsoft account, Microsoft immediately asks me to verify my identity using an SMS code.

However, instead of sending the code to my registered phone number ending in 78, Microsoft wants to send it to a phone number ending in 56.

I do not recognise this phone number, and as far as I can tell, there is no phone number ending in 56 registered to my Microsoft account.

If I select "Use another sign-in method", I can choose to enter my password. However, after entering my password, Microsoft once again requires SMS verification and tries to send a code to the same unrecognised phone number ending in 56.

I am not given the option to use Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, either of my registered email addresses, or any of the other authentication methods configured on my account.

Why this is a serious problem

I currently have seven different authentication methods configured on my account, specifically to ensure that I can always access it.

Yet Microsoft is forcing me to use an SMS verification method associated with a phone number that I do not recognise.

If I had not previously saved my passkey on an old laptop, I could potentially have lost access to my Microsoft account entirely, despite having multiple other authentication methods configured.

My questions

Why is Microsoft forcing SMS verification to a phone number that does not appear to be registered to my account?

Why can't I choose one of my other configured authentication methods?

How can I remove or correct this unrecognised phone number?

How can I ensure that Microsoft allows me to use my configured authentication methods instead of forcing SMS verification?

I would appreciate a proper explanation and a solution to this issue. Having multiple recovery and authentication methods should mean that I have alternative ways to verify my identity, rather than being locked into a verification method that I cannot use.

Thank you. Hello,

I am experiencing an issue with the sign-in verification process for my Microsoft account.

Authentication methods configured

Under my account's Security page, I currently have seven ways to authenticate my sign-in:

Password

Email verification code (Email 1)

Email verification code (Email 2)

SMS verification code (phone number ending in 78)

Microsoft Authenticator app

Google Authenticator

Passkey (access key)

The problem

Whenever I try to sign in to my Microsoft account, Microsoft immediately asks me to verify my identity using an SMS code.

However, instead of sending the code to my registered phone number ending in 78, Microsoft wants to send it to a phone number ending in 56.

I do not recognise this phone number, and as far as I can tell, there is no phone number ending in 56 registered to my Microsoft account.

If I select "Use another sign-in method", I can choose to enter my password. However, after entering my password, Microsoft once again requires SMS verification and tries to send a code to the same unrecognised phone number ending in 56.

I am not given the option to use Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, either of my registered email addresses, or any of the other authentication methods configured on my account.

Why this is a serious problem

I currently have seven different authentication methods configured on my account, specifically to ensure that I can always access it.

Yet Microsoft is forcing me to use an SMS verification method associated with a phone number that I do not recognise.

If I had not previously saved my passkey on an old laptop, I could potentially have lost access to my Microsoft account entirely, despite having multiple other authentication methods configured.

My questions

Why is Microsoft forcing SMS verification to a phone number that does not appear to be registered to my account?

Why can't I choose one of my other configured authentication methods?

How can I remove or correct this unrecognised phone number?

How can I ensure that Microsoft allows me to use my configured authentication methods instead of forcing SMS verification?

I would appreciate a proper explanation and a solution to this issue. Having multiple recovery and authentication methods should mean that I have alternative ways to verify my identity, rather than being locked into a verification method that I cannot use.

Thank you.