Adding a work account

Question

I am having a hard time adding my work account to my app after changing my phone

Answer 1

Hello @Glenis Ndukwe,

I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble adding your work account after changing phones.

To better understand your situation,could you let me know:

• Do you still have access to your old phone and the Microsoft Authenticator app on it?
• As you mentioned this is a work account, can you confirm if your account uses a public domain (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail,...) or uses an organization domain?
• If this is a work account, are you the end-user or IT admin of this organization? Are there any other IT admin from this organization that you can still contact?
• When you try to add the account, do you receive any error message? If so, what is the exact message?
• Are you able to sign in to your work account in a browser?
• Do you see a "Sign in another way" option?

In the meantime, if you still have access to the account (for example, if you previously signed in to a Microsoft service through a web browser), you may be able to use that existing session to access and manage your account settings. Try signing in to your organization's Security Info page and add a new Microsoft Authenticator method on the new phone by scanning a QR code.

If you no longer have access to the old phone and Authenticator is your only sign-in method, you will likely need to contact your organization's IT administrator. They can reset your multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods or provide a Temporary Access Pass so that you can register Microsoft Authenticator on your new device.

If you haven’t yet reached out, here’s a helpful guide to locate your Microsoft 365 administrator: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support  

Ask your administrator to follow these steps:    

• Go to Microsoft Entra Admin Center: https://entra.microsoft.com  
• Navigate to Entra ID > Users > All Users.  
• Select your user account.  
• Go to Authentication Methods.  
• Click "Require re-register multifactor authentication".  

If the issue persists, please provide the answers above so I can suggest the most appropriate next steps.

Thank you for your understanding and I'm looking forward to your response.

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Answer 2

Follow these steps depending on whether there is access to the old phone and whether backup or alternate sign-in methods exist.

1. If still signed in on another device (PC or old phone)
   • Sign in to the work account in a browser (for example via office.com) if possible.
   • Go to the account’s Security info page.
   • Select Add sign-in method.
   • Choose Authenticator app, then Add.
   • On the PC, select Next to show a QR code.
   • On the new phone, open Microsoft Authenticator, tap + → Work or school account, and scan the QR code.
   • Approve the test prompt (enter the 2‑digit code if requested), then select Done on the PC.
   • After this, the new phone will be the active Authenticator device and the work account can be added to Outlook/other apps.
2. If Authenticator was backed up on the old phone
   • On the new phone, install and open Microsoft Authenticator.
   • Sign in with the same personal Microsoft account that was used for Authenticator backup.
   • Use Begin recovery (or similar restore option) to restore the saved accounts from the cloud backup.
   • After restore, test sign-in to the work account; if needed, re-add the work account as in step 1 so the organization trusts the new device.
3. If there is no backup and no access to old Authenticator, but alternate MFA methods exist
   • On the sign-in screen for the work account, choose Sign in another way.
   • Use SMS, phone call, or backup email (if previously configured) to complete sign-in.
   • Once signed in, go to Security info and add the Authenticator app on the new phone as in step 1.
4. If locked out completely (no old phone, no backup, no alternate MFA)
   • Contact the organization’s IT admin or helpdesk and ask them to reset multi-factor authentication for the account.
   • The admin can follow the guidance in the Entra ID documentation (for example, “Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication”) to clear existing methods so the account can be re-registered on the new phone.
   • If the work account is the only Global Administrator and there is no other admin, a support ticket with Microsoft Support is required so the Data Protection team can help regain access.

Once Authenticator is working on the new phone and MFA is passing, add the work account to Outlook or other apps on the new device. If the device is company-managed, it may also need to be enrolled again via the Intune Company Portal before access to work email and apps is allowed.

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References:

• How do I make my authenticator app work on my new device? - Microsoft Q&A
• Log into Work Accounts with New iPhone. Authenticator Error. - Microsoft Q&A
• How to get back access to work company authenticator when I change to new phone - Microsoft Q&A
• Adding in email addresses to the Authenticator app after getting a new iphone - Microsoft Q&A
• Set up email in the Outlook for Android app
• Set up the Outlook app for iOS
• Migrate to a new iPhone for work
• Failed to add Microsoft 365 account or cannot sync new messages with your existing Microsoft 365 account?
• Can't add new working account for Teams App on Android - Microsoft Q&A
• Add Your Work or School Account to a Windows Device