Unable to recover Microsoft Authenticator app on iOS

Question

After resetting my iPhone with iTunes and restoring it from iCloud backup following a failed iOS 17.4.1 update, I am unable to recover my Microsoft Authenticator app. The app detects my phone as a new/different device, and I receive the message "There is already a backup on your iCloud account on another device" when attempting to restore my account from the iCloud backup.

Adding my account using Mail/SMS fails with an "invalid code" error, even when using the iOS copy code from messages function.

I have a „passwordless“ account, and I am basically unable to log in to any Microsoft services without the Authenticator app.

Any ideas on how to access my account again?

Answer 1

Thanks for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

This article may help you:

Back up and recover account credentials in the Authenticator app

---

Please don't forget to close up the thread here by upvoting and accept it as an answer if it is helpful

Answer 2

no, because that's exactly the problem, the app recognizes my iPhone as a new device after the factory reset:

If I now try to register the Authenticator App again, I first have to log in to GitHub, then the two options for "I can't use Authenticator App right now" are SMS or email. However, both codes don't work:

E-Mail:

SMS:

As mentioned in my first post I'm even using the "From Messages" function and I still receive "The code didn't work" - So there is not typo in it

So I tried to recover my account to a different mail but since I'm using a passwordless account with Microsoft Authenticator app this won't work either:

Also trying to remove authenticator does not work:

Answer 3

After 3 days of trying and a lot of "yOu'Ve TrIeD tOo MaNy CoDeS tOdAy, CoMe BaCk ToMoRrOW" I finally got a solution to my issue:

1. Add a Password to Your Passwordless Account:
   1. Visit: https://account.live.com/ResetPassword.aspx?mkt=en-US
   2. Follow the instructions.
2. Configure Advanced Security Options:
   1. Log in to your Microsoft account: https://account.microsoft.com
   2. Navigate to Security => Click on Advanced security options (Get started) => Select Send sign-in notification and then click Remove. Note: If you were logged in to your Microsoft Account on Windows 11, you should be prompted for your logon PIN instead of an Authenticator Code when trying to access your account.
3. Resolve Authenticator App Issues:
   1. Delete your old iCloud backup.
   2. Once done, you’ll be able to add your account to the Authenticator app again. The entered correct code should no longer show as invalid.
4. Re-enable iCloud Backup:
   1. After successfully adding your account to the Authenticator app, enable iCloud backup again.
5. Enable Passwordless Account:
   1. Now you can re-enable the passwordless account.