Unable to Recover Authenticator Backup

Question

Encountering an error when trying to recover an authenticator backup: "Your Backup is not stored with account." What steps can be taken to resolve this issue?

Answer 1

Dear @seifadin

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum.  

We understand you're experiencing issues recovering your Authenticator backup. This could be due to several factors. Please review the following steps to help identify and resolve the problem: 

1. Backup May Not Have Completed Successfully 

To verify if your credentials were backed up: 

On iOS: 

• Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud 
• Tap Manage Storage > Backups 
• Select your device to view the latest backup details 

On Android: 

• Go to Settings > System > Backup 
• Check the status and date of your last backup 

2. Remove Old Device from Security Info 

If you still have access to your old device and want to set up MFA on a new one: 

• Visit My Sign-Ins | Security Info My Account 
• Click Security Info 
• Remove the old device 
• Add your new device to set up MFA 

If you're blocked by MFA when trying to access this page, proceed to the next step. 

3. Backup account Mismatch During Backup 

If there was a mismatch between the accounts during the backup process, the account list may not sync properly. And if the backup was successful, it will only provide the list of accounts, and you will be required to set up Authenticator again. 

To manage Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), use an account with Global Admin access to the Microsoft Entra Admin Center. Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn 

---

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

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.