Unable to complete MFA for Azure admin account, as the authenticator app is not working because the phone is changed.

Question

Unable to complete MFA for Azure admin account, as the authenticator app is not working because the phone is changed.

Ray, Avijeet 20

Hello Team,

I am unable to complete MFA for the only admin account of my Azure tenant because the authenticator app was initially registered on my previous phone, which is no longer functional. As a result, I cannot set up the authenticator app on my new device.

What alternative process can I follow to complete or reset MFA in this situation?

I am the sole administrator of my Azure tenant and I am not able to access it now.

Thanks,

Avijeet

Raja Pothuraju 17,410 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-02-18T13:51:49.26+00:00
Hello @Ray, Avijeet,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A.

Based on your description, it seems you are unable to log into the Azure Portal due to an incomplete MFA process. Since your registered device for MFA is no longer available, you are unable to authenticate.

In such cases, another Global Administrator can reset MFA for your account. However, since you are the sole Global Administrator in the tenant, this qualifies as a tenant lockout scenario. To resolve this, you will need to engage the Microsoft Data Protection team via a support ticket.

You can find the support contact numbers for your country here: Microsoft Global Customer Service Phone Numbers

Alternatively, you can submit a support request via this link: Get Help & Support

If you are unable to create a support ticket through these methods, I can assist in engaging the Data Protection team for you.

To proceed, I will need the following details from you. Since this includes Personally Identifiable Information (PII), please share them via private message:

Contact phone number

Contact email address

Global admin email address (affected account)

Country

Time Zone

Once received, we can connect offline to discuss further and assist you in regaining access to your Azure tenant.

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Raja Pothuraju 17,410 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-02-18T13:51:49.26+00:00

Hello @Ray, Avijeet,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A.

Based on your description, it seems you are unable to log into the Azure Portal due to an incomplete MFA process. Since your registered device for MFA is no longer available, you are unable to authenticate.

In such cases, another Global Administrator can reset MFA for your account. However, since you are the sole Global Administrator in the tenant, this qualifies as a tenant lockout scenario. To resolve this, you will need to engage the Microsoft Data Protection team via a support ticket.

You can find the support contact numbers for your country here: Microsoft Global Customer Service Phone Numbers

Alternatively, you can submit a support request via this link: Get Help & Support

If you are unable to create a support ticket through these methods, I can assist in engaging the Data Protection team for you.

To proceed, I will need the following details from you. Since this includes Personally Identifiable Information (PII), please share them via private message:

Contact phone number

Contact email address

Global admin email address (affected account)

Country

Time Zone

Once received, we can connect offline to discuss further and assist you in regaining access to your Azure tenant.

Answer 1

Hello @Ray, Avijeet,

Thank you for sharing required details via private message.

The issue relates to a tenant lockout situation where no other global admin in the tenant has the necessary admin rights to re-register MFA.

To resolve this, we engaged our Data Protection team through a support ticket. Please connect with our support team via the ticket, and they will assist you in resolving the issue.

I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Unable to complete MFA for Azure admin account, as the authenticator app is not working because the phone is changed.

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