migrating Microsoft Authenticator from one device to another does not work

Question

migrating Microsoft Authenticator from one device to another does not work

Rita Rita 115

Hello

Please i need your help on this issue.

Migrating Microsoft Authenticator from one device to another does not work - when employees have migrated their authenticator accounts to a new device they receive the message "something went wrong. Try again later"

What are the troubleshooting questions to ask?

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Answer 1

Demi-N 9,190 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello @Rita Rita

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

This issue can sometimes occur when the Authenticator app fails to restore properly from backup, or when the MFA configuration tied to the user account becomes outdated or corrupted during the migration process.

In this case, the recommended approach is to reset the user’s multi-factor authentication settings from the Microsoft Entra Admin Center. You can do this by:

Navigating to the affected user’s profile in Entra Admin Center.
Selecting Authentication methods.
Choosing the option to Revoke MFA sessions

Screenshot of manage authentication methods from the Microsoft Entra admin center.

For your reference: Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication - Microsoft Entra ID |…

Once this is done, the user can sign in again and re-add their Authenticator app on the new device. This will allow them to set up MFA from scratch and avoid the restore-related error.

Let me know if you need help locating these settings or walking through the process. I hope this helps, and I’ll be happy to assist further if needed.

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Rita Rita 115 Reputation points

2025-10-01T15:39:55.4833333+00:00

Hello Demi-N

Thank you.

The user in question has several accounts in his authenticator - does that not defeat the purpose of migrating the authenticator to another device if we rewoke the MFA methods.

i can confirm that iCloud backup is turned on for the Microsoft Authenticator app on the old device.

The user logs into the authenticator app - the apps states "checking company settings" or something to that effect, then the app states "let us secure your account", the user presses "continue" the app then states "something went wrong, try again later"

We have restarted both devices - I also tried this with my own account the issues persists there as well.

We have reinstalled the app as well.

The type of devices involved in the migration is iPhone to iPhone in both users case.

We tried both with wifi+mobile data and only mobile data

The type of account we are trying to migrate is Work/School account.

After the verification from the old device - the app then states that the account was added but it also states that "MFA was not added (there was a problem at our end. Try again later) and "onetime password (there was a problem at our end - try again later)
Demi-N 9,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-02T15:26:12.84+00:00

Hi @Rita Rita

Thank you for the detailed information, I really appreciate it.

Based on what I’ve researched and observed, the backup process in Microsoft Authenticator is device-dependent, meaning it relies heavily on the integrity and stability of the original device. If there’s any interruption such as a system-level process, connectivity issue, or app-level glitch, it can cause the backup to become stuck or corrupted, even if iCloud backup is enabled.

Because of this, I would still recommend revoking the MFA methods for each affected account and re-registering them manually on the new device. I understand this may seem counterintuitive, especially when multiple accounts are involved, but it’s currently the most reliable way to ensure proper MFA setup and avoid lingering issues.

Let me know if there’s anything else I can assist with.

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migrating Microsoft Authenticator from one device to another does not work

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