Authenticator/Verification Codes Inaccessible and Preventing Account Maintenance

Question

This is a problem I have seen posted about on several Microsoft forums over the last couple of years, but I have not seen any solutions that have actually worked for my situation.

For at least the past couple of months, I have been unable to access my account security settings or log into the Microsoft Authenticator app. I need to be able to access my account's security settings and a few Microsoft apps, which I will not name because I don't want to get referred to those apps' support forums again. Right now, if I try to log into the Microsoft Authenticator app, the app will tell me that my account does not exist. I know it exists because I have my email open in the desktop app and I am posting this question from my account; other community posts have said that the "account does not exist" error happens when an account has been deleted or deactivated, but I know for sure that this is not the case. I don't even get an actual error code, the login page just reads out that my account does not exist. If I try to use alternate login methods, like the "Authenticator Code" and "Verification Code," both available options require a code from the Authenticator app, which I can't log into because it thinks my account no longer exists.

I have no idea what the issue is here and none of the solutions I have seen on other forum posts have resolved my issue. I need access to every software that my job has access to, which means I need to be able to log into my Outlook account regularly. The fact that this is a known issue with no solid solutions or support despite being known and documented for years is ridiculous.

Answer 1

Replying to bump this as it is an ongoing issue on my account and is preventing me from accessing tools that my team needs me to have.

Answer 2

Hi Bertrand, thanks for responding. I can't disable MFA because it's actually not enabled, and I can't even access my security settings because accessing my security settings requires a login, which requires a code from the authenticator app, which shouldn't even be linked to my account at all. The alternate login options are to approve a request on the authenticator app or to get a verification code from the authenticator app. I have come across this solution before, and it has not worked for me because I can't get into the authenticator at all.

I just spoke with my administrator about this and she tried to disable MFA on my account, and this is when she discovered that MFA is actually not enabled on my account at all, which makes this even more confusing. I tried to attach a screenshot of our redacted user list with my name visible to show this, but for some reason the upload is failing.

After we realized I did not have MFA enabled, I uninstalled the authenticator app, my administrator enabled MFA for me (in addition to login verification by SMS and email), I reinstalled the app to set it up correctly under my account, and I was briefly locked out of the authenticator app, outlook, and teams, and when I tried to log into any of them, I got either the "That Microsoft account doesn't exist. Enter a different account or get a new one." error message or a prompt to approve a request on the authenticator/enter a verification code from the authenticator, depending on what I was trying to log into. My admin has removed MFA and the alternative verification methods again, but I still can't get into the security info because it will only let me access that page if I use an authenticator approval or verification code.

If there is some kind of direct intervention Microsoft can provide on this issue, that would be extremely helpful; even just a one-time password to my email to get into the authenticator on my phone seems like it would solve everything here.

Answer 3

Hello Tomás González2

We warmly welcome you to Microsoft community

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing issues with accessing your account security settings and unable log into the Microsoft

Authenticator app. Are you able to login-into your account when MFA authentication is disabled? while we wait for your valuable response, kindly

implement the step below.

1. Go to mysignins.microsoft.com and under security and info, manage login verification methods. Delete Microsoft Authenticator as an option and then re-add it

If the above step doesn’t work, you can contact your Microsoft 365 admin to help you disable Multi-factor authentication for your account. Then re-enable Multi-factor authentication for your account. You may need to reinstall the Authenticator app and then set up the Microsoft Authenticator app again Dont have acces to the Microsoft Authenticator app and not able to login with the email id and password also. - Microsoft Q&A

Please understand that our initial response may not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Feel free to post back if you need any further assistance from our side, we will be happy to help you further.

Sincerely,

Bertrand