previous admin resigned and cannot recover password to login

Question

Hi,

I'm asking on behalf of my customer, we are their partner reseller. They cannot login with their admin account to their Microsoft 365 Admin Center, and the previous admin has been resigned and his account email deleted. Their new appointed admin wants to login but password recovery always pointing to the deleted account email. We don't have GDAP with them because it was expired and to set it up again also need customer admin approval (which unavailable because of the login issue). I'm looking for a solution here, since we cannot open any ticket in any channel available, our customer tried Microsoft business support through phone also directed to aka.ms/prosupport and they find it way too complicated back and forth. Hope someone can help us. Thank you.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to your customer's problem.

The customer does not have admin credentials

The person with admin credentials is no longer with the company

You do not have delegated admin access to the customer tenant

There are no other administrators

As far as I know there are only 3 options left.

First is if the customer knows someone in Microsoft's senior leadership team who can assist by internal escalation

Second is if the customer purchased the license from you, and you purchased it from a distributor who is willing to use a premium support ticket to assist in an account lockout situation. I hear that Pax8 has such a policy in place if you purchased it from them.

Third is have the customer call Microsoft Support line by phone. However the customer might need to have their proof of ownership information ready such as tenant ID, previous administrator details etc. Else they would appear to be a random stranger on the phone asking to unlock a Microsoft tenant.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/customer-service-phone-numbers-c0389ade-5640-e588-8b0e-28de8afeb3f2

These phone numbers have Interactive Voice Response agent (IVR). Due to phone connection quality, and also your accent, some people have feedback that they have difficulty talking to a person. So using a good phone line, speaking slowly and clearly, might be an important factor.

Others have feedback that following this script might be helpful

 

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 or For education

 

IVR: Are you an administrator? 

You: Yes. 

 

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

You: No. 

 

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

You: Yes 

 

Hope this helps

Answer 2

In this situation, since the previous admin's account has been deleted and the new admin cannot recover the password, you have a few options to consider:

1. Contact Microsoft Support: Since the customer is unable to log in, they need to reach out to Microsoft Support directly. They should explain the situation clearly, mentioning that the previous admin's account was deleted and that they cannot recover the password. This may require the customer to provide proof of ownership of the account.
2. Utilize Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR): If SSPR was enabled before the previous admin's account was deleted, the new admin might be able to use this feature to reset their password. They can access the SSPR tool at passwordreset.microsoftonline.com.
3. Engage a Global Administrator: If there are any other global admins in the organization, they can assist with the password reset. If the customer does not have any other global admins, they will need to work with Microsoft Support to regain access.
4. GDAP Relationship: Since you mentioned that the GDAP relationship has expired, it may be necessary to re-establish this relationship. However, this would require access to the admin account, which is currently not possible. Therefore, resolving the login issue with Microsoft Support is crucial.

Given the complexity of the situation, it may be beneficial for the customer to persistently follow up with Microsoft Support to find a resolution.

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References:

• Solve account access problems
• Get help with account access problems