How to recover Microsoft authenticator

Question

Can I recover Microsoft authenticator accounts if they weren’t backed up to the cloud? Had an issue where my phone was broken and had to get a new phone. Lost all my authenticator accounts

Answer 1

Microsoft is a large ecosystem and resides in an echo chamber. They won't hear your question but they may beg for an upvote.

I have not found a "restore" option within the app when the app contains any information. This is what worked for me:

• Go to settings, apps, and find the authenticator app.
• Go to storage and "clear cache" and "clear data". Note: This is designed to wipe out any information you may have already stored in Microsoft Authenticator.
• Launch the Microsoft Authenticator app. "Allow Authenticator to send notifications" and "Accept" the agreement. I did not "help improve the app" ("continue").
• At "Peace of Mind" screen, ignore the prompts in the middle. The restore button was so far at the bottom of the screen that I could only see the top of the letters. I could not read it, but I was able to click it and begin the restore process.
• I wanted to use the Microsoft Authenticator app on another device. No luck, it wanted me to change my screen lock. I used email. It forced me to change my password. After changing my password, I was able to send another email with a generated seven-digit code. Entering this code now worked.
• Remember how I created a new password? This act broke my authenticator applications on my other devices. On the other device authenticator apps, I reentered my new password and got in. But then the other authenticator prompted me to change my password again. This time, I forced the other device authenticators to close and then reopened the authenticator. This time, the authenticator worked fine.
• Is there a shorter workaround? Maybe. But I have not seen it published by Microsoft. Microsoft continues to publish one of my other resolutions without credit. It has only been 15 years. I'm astonished that such a legacy problem with my resolution still applies. I'm moving on. This answer is for you. Microsoft can copy it from me again or fix their broken app. I don't care.

Answer 2

You can restore from backup (assuming there was one) but make sure no accounts have been added to the newly install app. Then sign on with recovery account to do the restore.

You can recover your account credentials from your cloud account, but you must first make sure that the account you're recovering doesn't exist in the Microsoft Authenticator app. For example, if you're recovering your personal Microsoft account, you must make sure you don't have a personal Microsoft account already set up in the authenticator app. This check is important so we can be sure we're not overwriting or erasing an existing account by mistake.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/back-up-and-recover-account-credentials-in-the-authenticator-app-bb939936-7a8d-4e88-bc43-49bc1a700a40

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