Lost all MFA, even though back-up was enabled.

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Lost all MFA, even though back-up was enabled.

Norman Do 20

Hi. I lost all my MFA keys for my account. I made sure i created an account and back-up was checked. Is there any way to roll back on history and get my MFA back? It's a lot of MFA accounts...

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Answer 1

Austin-H 3,130 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Norman Do,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

We understand that you have backed up your account, but it does not reliably restore all accounts, which can lead to missing entries or invalid authentication codes.

For this reason, we suggest you contact your global admin to ask them to follow this article to proceed to reset your 2FA so that you could re-register again: Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn

If you are the only global administrator of the organization and you are locked out because of Authenticator, you might contact us via phone service number: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support. The agent will be able to create a ticket for you under the affected tenant and then transfer this ticket to DataProtection team who could help you to regain access.

Please note that this team is always overwhelmed, so you might need to wait for them to call you, this should take 3-10 working days. I know that this is not a convenient solution to hear but it seems to be the only way, and it's recommended that you should have a secondary/backup Global Administrator to fix this issue on your own.

Please feel free to reach out to me again if you have other queries.

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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Camila Th 1,915 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-23T08:50:37.9833333+00:00

Hi @Norman Do

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue.

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided?

Any update would be appreciated.
Norman Do 20 Reputation points

2025-05-23T13:05:24.9433333+00:00

Thank you that answers my question. It just sucks, bwcause this is not 1 MFA account. But i lost over 16 MFA accounts because there's no disclaimer that backups can be unsuccessful. I dont havs to just reach out to my IT team, but over 16 different companies now. Is there a way to prevent this in the future? Is there a way to physically back up my MFA account?
Camila Th 1,915 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-26T10:18:08.8366667+00:00
Hi @Norman Do

We understand how frustrating and time-consuming this process can be, especially with multiple accounts to recover. This limitation is intentional for added security, ensuring your authentication details cannot be restored without your direct involvement.

While it may seem inconvenient, this approach is crucial for maintaining the highest level of protection for your accounts. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

To avoid losing access in the future, we recommend adding a phone number as a backup authentication method. Here’s what you can do:

Sign in at https://mysignins.microsoft.com/

Go to Security info > Add method

Select Phone

Choose your country code and enter your phone number

Choose to receive a code via SMS or voice call

Enter the verification code and click Next

When using a phone number, authentication depends on access to that number (via SMS or call), not on a specific device. However, with the Authenticator app, it’s tied to your physical device — if you lose or replace the device, the authenticator codes are lost.

If you change devices, access your old account with the old device first, remove the old Authenticator, then set up the new phone. This ensures you won’t lose access during the transition.

This additional method can make account recovery much easier in the future.

Please let us know if you need any further help!
Norman Do 20 Reputation points

2025-05-26T13:08:11.4233333+00:00

Thank you, I will try this out next time.

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Lost all MFA, even though back-up was enabled.

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