Locked out of Microsoft Education Admin Account (Error 500121, Faculty Trial Expiring Jan 29)

Question

Hello, I am the director of Buluş Akademi (Removed PII). I may have accidentally created multiple Education tenants for the same domain. My Authenticator app shows this error:

Error Code 500121 – No valid MFA method configured

I cannot receive any verification codes or sign in to the admin portal. Because of this, I am unable to cancel or manage my Faculty Trial, which expires on January 29. I am concerned that automatic billing may occur while I’m locked out.

Please escalate this issue to the Account Recovery / Tenant Administration team or advise how to reset MFA manually.

Thank you, Removed PII

📧 Removed PII

Answer 1

Hi @Çağlayan Gökbulut, 

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on your description, you are locked out of your admin account because a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) issue is preventing you from receiving the necessary verification code. This lockout is blocking you from accessing the admin center to manage your subscription. 

A good first step, if possible, would be to see if there might be another administrator in your tenant. By doing so, they would be able to access the admin center and help reset your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) settings from their end.

If you do have another admin who can help, they could follow the guidance in this article. It would walk them through the process of resetting your MFA. This would clear the current error and let you set up your authentication methods again, which should resolve the lockout. Kindly refer to Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multi-factor authentication - Microsoft Entra ID …. 

If you are the sole admin of your tenant with no access, you will need involvement from Data Protection team.    

Please note that forum moderators do not have access to user account settings and cannot assist with logging in, resetting passwords, or changing access rights. While we do not have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend-related issues but we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.       

You can contact them via phone number to Microsoft Support:     

• Visit Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support 
• Select your country/region own phone number for support. 

Tips for navigating the IVR:   

In some countries, an automated voice system is used. Example of a dialogue:  

IVR: What kind of problem are you concerned about?        

You: Authenticator.        

IVR: What kind of product do you use?        

You: Office 365 for business.        

IVR confirmation: education or company account?        

You: For companies       

IVR: Are you an administrator?        

You: Yes.        

IVR: Do you have the other administrator in your organization?        

You: No. I am the only admin in my tenant        

IVR: Do you need a... Service request?        

You: Yes. I need to create a ticket. Please send me direct to the Data Protection Teams.     

Hopefully, this information will help you successfully contact the Microsoft Data Protection team and open a support request.   

If you still cannot reach to a live agent, there is still a workaround, you might consider registering for a new tenant by signing up for a trial subscription via this link Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365. This would allow you to create a new tenant following the prompts provided. Once set up, you can access the admin console of the new tenant and submit a support ticket requesting to speak with the Data Protection team on behalf of your previous tenant. 

After you regain access to the admin center, submit a support ticket for help with canceling or renewing your subscription. Your case will then be routed directly to the billing team. For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin. 

I sincerely hope that my answer came on time and you are doing well. If my information above is helpful, please mark it as an answer that will help others in the community who have similar questions find solutions to their problems faster.      

Wishing you a great day ahead.

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Answer 2

Hello

Thank you for your previous message and detailed guidance.

I have carefully followed your IVR (phone system) instructions several times over the past few days. However, after confirming that I am the only admin in my tenant, the system consistently redirects me to the website https://aka.ms/mac365.

I’ve accessed that page multiple times, but unfortunately it only provides general guidance for account management — there is no option to open a service request or reach the Data Protection Team directly.

As a result, I have not been able to make any progress in contacting the appropriate department or creating a support ticket.

I have also sent multiple emails to Microsoft Education Support ([microsoftedusupport@microsoft.com], [education@microsoft.com], etc.) and received only automated password reset responses, which do not address my issue.

Once again, this is not a password-related issue, but an MFA/tenant access conflict.

Error message:

Error Code 500121 – No valid MFA method configured

I am completely locked out of the admin portal and cannot manage or cancel my Faculty Trial, which expires on January 29. I am concerned that automatic billing will occur while I have no access.

Could you please advise how I can reach the Data Protection or Account Recovery team directly, or have my case manually escalated to them?

I have already followed all self-service instructions and IVR prompts without success. I simply need to reach a human contact who can assist in resetting my MFA or verifying my ownership.

Thank you again for your time and support — I would really appreciate any guidance on the fastest way to get connected to the correct team. Removed PII

Best regards, Removed PII

Answer 3

Thank you for your reply, but my issue is still not resolved.

I have already followed all the steps you suggested several times. Each time, the phone system redirects me to https://aka.ms/mac365, and there is no option to contact a live agent or open a service request.

My MFA lockout (Error 500121 – No valid MFA method configured) continues, and I still cannot access my tenant or admin portal.

Could you please escalate this case directly to the Data Protection Team or tell me the exact way to reach a human agent who can assist?

I’ve been stuck with this issue for a long time, and my Faculty Trial will expire soon. I really need this resolved as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding.

Removed PII