Authenticator No Longer Working

Question

I have used Authenticator for quite a while now. I have about 5 accounts that require this as the MFA, including my main work account. It worked great until Friday. It would send the push notification to my phone but when I would approve it, it wouldn't communicate back to the site that it was approved and would not log me in. I have full wi-fi signal. I do not get standard cell signal at my house so have to use the wi-fi. I was able to set up authenticator on my boyfriend's phone and get logged in to work. But I cannot continue to use his phone. My daughter's tablet connected to the wi-fi won't work either. I get the same issue. I've cleared the cache, cleared the data, uninstalled, reinstalled, there are no updates needed. Now all my accounts require the QR code scan to recover them but it just continues to circle dance saying it's "Approving" but won't continue on. I don't know what to do anymore and my work IT couldn't help me. They're the ones who just had me set it up on my boyfriend's phone.

Answer 1

Hi @Alicia Williams,

Thank you for reaching out and for providing detailed information about the issue you are experiencing with the Microsoft Authenticator app.

Based on your description, the app is successfully receiving the push notification, but the approval is not being communicated back to complete the sign-in process. Since this behavior is occurring across multiple devices (your phone and your daughter’s tablet) but works on a different phone, it suggests that the issue is likely related to network conditions rather than the Authenticator app itself.

To help resolve this, please follow the steps below:

1/ Verify Date and Time settings

Ensure your device is set to automatically sync date and time: 

Go to Settings > Date & Time Enable Automatic date & time and Automatic time zone.

2/ Test with a different network

This is a key step to identify the root cause:

• Try connecting to a different Wi-Fi network (e.g., a friend's home or office), or use a mobile hotspot (from another phone)
• If authentication works on another network, it indicates that your current Wi-Fi network may be blocking or interfering with the request.

3/ Use verification code as a workaround

While troubleshooting, if the sign-in page offers “Use a verification code instead”, you may still be able to access the account:

• On the sign-in page, choose “Use a verification code instead”
• Open the Microsoft Authenticator app and enter the verification code shown for that work or school account.

4/ Contact your IT administrator

If none of the steps above resolve the issue, the best next step is to contact your IT admin for the work account. They can help directly in this type of case by reviewing the user’s authentication methods and, if needed, requiring the account to re-register MFA or revoking sessions so the user can set Authenticator up again cleanly. Admin in your tenant can manage a user’s authentication methods, require re-registration for MFA, and revoke sessions. 

 

For your IT admin to refer to, ask them to refer for the article: Manage user authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication 

 

I hope this helps point you in the right direction. If this is your work or school account and the issue continues after the above checks, your IT admin is the correct team to reset the MFA registration and help you regain access. 

Please feel free to reach out if you have any further concerns or questions.

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Answer 2

Based on the described behavior, the issue is with Microsoft Authenticator push approvals not completing, even though notifications arrive and Wi‑Fi is available. The relevant guidance focuses on troubleshooting incomplete authentications and push-notification issues rather than reinstalling the app (which has already been tried).

Try the following in order on the device that will be used going forward (not the borrowed phone):

1. Ensure the Authenticator app can complete the sign-in
   • Make sure the Microsoft Authenticator app is unlocked when approving. If the app is locked, the entry box or approval flow might not appear correctly and the sign-in can fail with an “Authentication did not complete” type of behavior.
   • After tapping Approve, keep the app open for a few seconds to allow it to finish the round trip.
2. Check notification and sound settings on the device
   • Confirm push notifications are enabled for Microsoft Authenticator in the device’s Settings.
   • Ensure the device is not in Do Not Disturb/Quiet mode, which can interfere with prompts.
   • If notifications are silent or disabled, the app might not surface the prompt correctly, causing the sign-in to stall.
3. Verify network connectivity and try switching networks
   • Even with full Wi‑Fi signal, there can be network disruptions that prevent the approval from reaching Microsoft.
   • On the device, toggle between Wi‑Fi and mobile data (if available) or briefly disconnect/reconnect Wi‑Fi, then retry the sign-in.
   • This aligns with guidance that network issues can cause “Authentication did not complete” behavior.
4. Update Microsoft Authenticator to the latest version
   • Ensure the app is fully up to date. An outdated version can cause authentication to fail even when notifications arrive.
5. Check device date and time settings
   • Set the device’s date and time to automatic. Incorrect time can cause approvals and codes to fail or appear to “spin” without completing.
6. If push still fails, use or add another verification method
   • When signing in, if the page offers “Sign in another way” or similar, choose an alternate method (for example, SMS or a phone call) if it is available for the account.
   • For work or school accounts, if no alternative method is configured and push continues to fail, the organization’s IT or admin must reset the MFA registration or add another method for the account. This is consistent with general MFA troubleshooting guidance: when the primary device/method cannot be used, an alternative method or admin reset is required.
7. If none of the above resolves it and IT cannot fix it
   • For work/school accounts where the user is not the admin, the organization’s IT team must escalate to Microsoft support to reset the MFA configuration on the back end.
   • For personal Microsoft accounts, follow the guidance in the linked MFA troubleshooting articles (for example, using alternative verification methods or resetting the password) if available.

These steps address the known causes of “Authentication did not complete” and missing/ineffective push notifications: locked app, silent or blocked notifications, outdated app, network issues, and incorrect device time.

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References:

• Troubleshoot problems with Microsoft Authenticator
• Authentication did not complete
• Use a screen reader to set up and troubleshoot multifactor authentication
• Microsoft Authenticator FAQs