Unable to log in to the Microsoft 365 E5 Developer Program primary account

Question

Hello, my Microsoft 365 E5 Developer Program primary account is linked to the Microsoft Authenticator app on my phone. However, I accidentally deleted all data from the Microsoft Authenticator app on my phone, and I don't have a backup, so I can't restore it. As a result, I can't log in to the account now, and there are only two login methods available: 1. Approving the requirements of my Microsoft Authenticator application

2. Using a verification code

However, I can't receive any notifications on my phone for either method. What should I do? Thank you!

Answer 1

To regain access to your Microsoft 365 E5 Developer Program account after losing access to the Microsoft Authenticator app, you can follow these steps:

1. Try Other Verification Options: If you have set up other options for security verification, select Other verification options on the sign-in page and try again using a different method.
2. Check Phone Number Settings: Ensure that your phone number is correctly set in your user account settings. You may need to ask another global admin to confirm this for you.
3. Contact Support: If you are unable to resolve the issue with the above steps, you should contact Microsoft support for further assistance. They can help you reset your account or provide alternative methods to verify your identity.
4. Consider Using the Microsoft Authenticator App Again: Once you regain access, you may want to reinstall the Microsoft Authenticator app and set it up again to prevent similar issues in the future.

If you often have problems with receiving notifications, consider using a different method for verification, such as a phone call or SMS, if available.

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References:

• You don't receive a text or voice call that contains the verification code for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication
• What should I tell my users to do if they don't receive a response on their phone?

Answer 2

Hi 晨輔 李

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum and providing details about your issue. 

I am sorry to hear you are having trouble logging into your Microsoft 365 E5 Developer Program account and cannot reset your own Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Please understand that account recovery cannot be handled directly through this public forum for your privacy. However, after reviewing community experience, you may consider following these recommended steps to regain access:  

• If there are other Global Administrators in your organization, ask them to follow this official guide to reset your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) settings
• You will need to contact Microsoft's Data Protection team directly by phone: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support 

In case this phone line is not supportive, you can consider directly submitting a support request as a helpful workaround:  

• Create a trial business account: Go to Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing and click Try for free to set up a temporary Microsoft 365 tenant with a trial license.  
• 
• Use this new account to sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and submit a support request on behalf of your primary (locked) account. For further instructions, you can follow this guide: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

Note: This method doesn't require you to use your new account for your business. Instead, it allows you to create a temporary global administrator account so you can submit a support request, as your original global administrator account is locked out due to issues with multi-factor authentication. The trial account is free for one month. Be sure to delete it after submitting your support request to avoid any automatic renewals or charges from Microsoft.   

Please note that this process will take more time than usual (7-14 working days) for your account to get access again as Microsoft's Data Protection team is always overwhelmed with the number of tickets. As a forum moderator, I do not have access to Microsoft internal system to assist or push this process to be quicker.

I hope my information is helpful. Please give me any updates once you get this resolved.

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