New phone, locked out of MFA work admin account

Question

I recently got a new phone (old phone was damaged). I had iCloud backups turned on in Microsoft Authenticator. I successfully restored most of the accounts in Authenticator, but my work account wants me to scan the QR code to finish the account recovery. However, without MFA I cannot login to get the QR code. I have a recovery email and phone number setup for other MFA options, but I am never prompted to use them.

This is a small organization and my account is the only administrator account, so I cannot access the user admin console and reset MFA. How can I turn off MFA so I can get this working again and regain access to my account? I understand there is a process that requires a 30 day waiting period; I am ok with that if it will solve the problem.

Best,
Paul

Answer 1

Hi @Dave Patrick - thanks for the additional link. That talks about what to do during the 30-day waiting period. How do I initiate the 30-day waiting period?

Answer 2

Try filling out the recovery form.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/help-with-the-microsoft-account-recovery-form-b19c02d1-a782-dee6-93c3-dc8113b20c42

--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

Answer 3

Thanks @Dave Patrick . That form works for Live accounts, but not Work/School accounts. Do you have a link to a recovery form for Work/School? I was unable to find one.

Answer 4

If a work account, you can be able to sign in to your account but select the Sign in another way link on the Two-factor verification page (note: this assumes another way was previously set up)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/common-problems-with-two-step-verification-for-a-work-or-school-account-63acbb9b-16a1-47b9-8619-6a865e8071a5

--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--