How Do I Regain Access to My Account After Losing Access to Microsoft Authenticator?

Question

I have a Microsoft Office Business Basic account. I am the admin using <user>@<account>.onmicrosoft.com Recently, I switched to a new mobile phone and lost access to my Microsoft Authenticator app.

Now, every time I try to log in, Microsoft asks for a verification code from the Authenticator app, which I no longer have access to. I’m stuck in an endless MFA loop—I need the app to verify my identity, but I can’t access the app without verifying my identity first.

I’ve tried account recovery, and while it allows me to reset my password, I still can’t log into my account because I’m always prompted for the Authenticator code. I also can’t disable two-factor authentication (2FA) since I need to verify my identity using the same app I no longer have.

I urgently need help regaining full access to my account.

Answer 1

Dear Stewart Waudby

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

Based on your description, looks like you want to access to your account after losing access to Microsoft Authenticator, I’m happy to guide you through some way to get the access:  

1. If your organization has multiple global admins, another admin can quickly reset your multi-factor authentication (MFA) settings through the Microsoft Entra Admin Center (https://entra.microsoft.com). Just ask them to follow these simple steps: 

Sign in to Microsoft Entra Admin Center > Go to Users > Find your account > Click Authentication methods > Select “Require re-register MFA”  

This will force a reset and allow you to set up MFA again on your new phone. After they complete the reset, you’ll be able to set up the Authenticator app again on your new device. 

2. If you're the only Global Administrator in your organization, based on what you've described, it appears you're in this position and currently locked out of all administrative access 

In this situation, you'll need to contact Microsoft Support directly by phone (Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support) or reach out to your Microsoft 365 provider or reseller. Microsoft’s Data Protection team has special tools to confirm who you are and help you get back into your admin account when you're locked out. 

I hope this information helps. 

---

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.