Lost access to all my TOTPs in authenticator app

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Lost access to all my TOTPs in authenticator app

Niraj-Dilshan 25

MY mobile mobile was broke so i had to restore my mobile now when i try to install the authenticator i accidently logged in without recover now when i try to recover im getting and error even try to uninstall and reinstall the app it self is there any way to fix this cause i had a lot of totps are saved

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Answer 1

Austin-H 8,370 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Niraj-Dilshan ,

Thanks for reaching out about the trouble with your Microsoft Authenticator app after your phone broke. I know how frustrating it is to lose access to your authentication codes, and I completely understand your concern. Let's find the best way forward.

From your description, it seems your device was reset, and after reinstalling the Authenticator app, you may have signed in without restoring your previous backup. The Authenticator app primarily uses a cloud backup (to a personal Microsoft or iCloud account) for restoring saved codes. If this backup wasn't active, recovering them can be quite challenging.

If you had enabled cloud backup before, please try the following steps to recover your accounts:

Open the Authenticator app on your restored mobile.
On the welcome screen, tap Begin Recovery or Restore from backup.
Sign in using the exact same personal Microsoft account (or iCloud account) you used on your old device.
If a valid backup is found, the app will prompt you to restore your saved accounts.

For more detailed instructions, you can find them here: Back up and recover account credentials in Authenticator app

If recovery doesn't work or no backup was ever enabled, unfortunately, Microsoft can't retrieve your lost codes. For security reasons, your TOTP codes are only stored locally on your device.

In this situation, you'll need to regain access to each individual account that used TOTP codes. Please:

Contact the support team for each website or service (e.g., Google, Facebook, banking apps) where you had 2FA enabled.
Follow their account recovery process which usually involves verifying your identity and resetting MFA settings using alternative methods such as backup codes, recovery email, or phone number.

We understand this can be challenging, and we appreciate your patience.

I hope this helps clarify your situation and guides you toward regaining access to your accounts. Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Austin-H 8,370 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-26T01:45:37.5266667+00:00

Hi Niraj-Dilshan,
I'm following up on your issue regarding lost access to your TOTPs (Time-based One-Time Passwords) in the Authenticator app.

Were you able to regain access to your accounts or restore your TOTPs?

If you're still experiencing difficulties, please reply to this comment.

We can guide you on potential recovery options or advise on contacting your account administrator, depending on your account type.
Niraj-Dilshan 25 Reputation points

2025-05-26T02:17:32.73+00:00

hi unfortunately no i couldn't not restore account so i have started to recover accounts individually, but I'm pretty sure i was enabled backup cause previously i have restore my account
Camila Th 1,945 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-26T09:34:17.04+00:00
Hi @Niraj-Dilshan

I'm sorry to hear that you haven't been able to restore your accounts yet and that you're now recovering them individually. I can imagine how frustrating this must be, especially since you recall having backup options previously.

Since you mentioned you believe you had backup enabled, let's focus on the common steps to recover your Microsoft Authenticator accounts:

Verify Cloud Backup: First, ensure you enabled cloud backup for your Microsoft Authenticator app. You can verify this by checking if your backup was synced to iCloud (iOS) or Google Drive (Android). If you were using a cloud backup, it should be available for restore on a new device or after reinstalling the app.

For more information on setting up cloud backup, you can check this guide: Microsoft Authenticator Backup and Restore

Restore Your Accounts: If cloud backup was enabled and you're unable to restore the accounts, try to uninstall and reinstall the Microsoft Authenticator app. When you set up the app again, it should offer to restore from the backup (if available).

Individual Account Recovery: If you still can't restore all accounts, you'll need to recover them individually. This might require you to use account recovery options (e.g., recovery codes, security questions, or email verification) specific to each service. You can follow the instructions here to recover your Microsoft accounts: Microsoft Account Recovery

Contact Support: If you're unable to restore via backup or recover individual accounts, please contact Microsoft Support directly for more assistance. We can provide a deeper review of your account's backup and recovery status.