Authenticator app not working on new phone

Question

Switched to a new phone, one of my accounts sends codes to authenticator app the other two accounts dont. I can't log in. Customer support is the worst! Useless agents. Can someone help? I don't have an it department, I am just solo using the email accounts. I've spent 5 hours trying to speak to someone and no one can help.

Answer 1

Hi Dilan,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience. I understand how frustrating it must be to switch to a new phone and suddenly lose access to your accounts especially after spending hours trying to get help without success.

The reason you're receiving codes for only one account is likely because that account was backed up to the cloud and successfully restored while the others were not. Microsoft Authenticator relies on either iCloud (for iPhones) or cloud backup via a Microsoft account (for Android) to transfer account data. If backup wasn’t enabled on your old phone or if the accounts were added manually without backup they won’t appear on the new device automatically.

To resolve this you can try the following steps

For personal Microsoft accounts, go to account recovery and use an alternate method like a recovery email, phone number or saved recovery code to verify your identity. Once you're back in, you can disable two-step verification temporarily and reconfigure the Authenticator app on your new phone.

For work or school accounts, if applicable, you’ll need to re-register the Authenticator app by signing in at aka.ms/mysecurityinfo. If you don’t have access to backup methods, Microsoft offers a recovery form to help verify ownership.

If you saved backup codes during your initial setup those can be used to log in and reset your Authenticator settings.

May I ask if you still have access to any recovery methods like a backup email or phone number linked to those accounts? Also if you’re using a personal Microsoft account I can guide you through the recovery form process to regain access.

I hope this answer is helpful if you have further questions feel free to reply back

Regards,

Marcelo

Answer 2

Hi Dilan,

Thanks for the update, I understand how frustrating this situation is, especially when you're locked out of critical accounts and support isn't helping. Since you're dealing with Microsoft accounts tied to GoDaddy and the Authenticator app isn't working on your new phone here’s the next step you can try to regain access:

Since one of your accounts was set up via GoDaddy it's likely a Microsoft 365 account managed through GoDaddy. These accounts have a slightly different recovery path. Use GoDaddy's Account Recovery Portal

GoDaddy manages the identity for these accounts so you should: Go to https://sso.godaddy.com/account/reset

Enter your email and follow the password reset instructions.

If it redirects you to Microsoft login and asks for Authenticator stop there and try the next step.

Contact GoDaddy Support Directly since GoDaddy is the identity provider they can bypass or reset MFA (multi-factor authentication) for your account. You’ll need to call GoDaddy support: https://www.godaddy.com/contact-us

Ask specifically for help with Microsoft 365 account recovery and MFA reset.

Provide proof of identity and account ownership.

I hope this answer is helpful if you have further questions feel free to reply back

Regards,

Marcelo

Answer 3

Hello Dilan,

Thanks for the update and I’m really glad to hear the second GoDaddy option worked out after you contacted them.

As for your new issue with the Microsoft Office 365 account since you're already logged into the Outlook app and suspect it might be a personal account there are a few things you can try. First it’s helpful to confirm whether the account is a personal Microsoft account or a work/school account. You can do this by signing in at account.microsoft.com using the same email address the account type will be indicated once you're logged in.

If it’s a personal account head over to account.live.com/proofs/manage and check your security settings. If two-step verification is turned on Outlook may require an app password instead of your regular one. You can create this app password by going to the advanced security options at account.live.com, then scrolling to the app passwords section and generating a new one.

On the other hand if it turns out to be a work or school account you’ll want to visit mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info to manage your authentication methods. From there, you can add options like the Microsoft Authenticator app or request verification codes via SMS or email.

I hope this answer is helpful if you have further questions feel free to reply back

Regards,

Marcelo