SMS and Voice Call Already Disabled As MFA Option But Still Getting Asked To Setup A Phone Number

Question

SMS and Voice Call Already Disabled As MFA Option But Still Getting Asked To Setup A Phone Number

Daniel Needemyer 40

I have gone into Entra and disabled SMS and Voice Call as authentication methods, but every time I login, I am still asked to register a phone number. Did I miss a setting?

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5 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Daniel Needemyer 40

Can anyone help?

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Answer 2

Daniel Needemyer 40

I've found that the below settings are enabled and I can't find where to disable them.

Clipboard_01-08-2026_01

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Answer 3

Daniel Needemyer 115

The Authentication Methods Policy is done.

I'm having trouble finding the following:

To address this, first review the MFA Registration Policy. Go to Identity > Protection > MFA Registration Policy. If “Require users to register for MFA” is enabled, users will still be asked to add a method. If you only want Authenticator App or FIDO keys, configure Authentication Strength or Conditional Access to enforce those.

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Answer 4

John Oliver 11,675 Independent Advisor

Hello Daniel Needemyer, thanks for posting this in our community.

Disabling SMS and Voice Call in Authentication Methods only removes them as MFA options. However, users can still be prompted for a phone number because Security Defaults or Conditional Access policies may require MFA setup, and the combined registration experience (Security Info) still includes phone number as a default method.

To address this, first review the MFA Registration Policy. Go to Identity > Protection > MFA Registration Policy. If “Require users to register for MFA” is enabled, users will still be asked to add a method. If you only want Authenticator App or FIDO keys, configure Authentication Strength or Conditional Access to enforce those.

Next, check the Authentication Methods Policy. In Microsoft Entra Admin Center, go to Authentication Methods > Policies. Ensure SMS and Voice Call are disabled for all users and confirm that phone number is not required under registration settings.

Kind regards,

John Oli

Maximilian Deibert 0 Reputation points

2026-07-14T12:44:01.35+00:00
@John Oliver

We have already implemented the configuration as described:

ID Protection → Multifactor Authentication Registration Policy is disabled.

SMS and Voice Call are disabled in Authentication Methods Policies.

A Conditional Access policy with a custom Authentication Strength is enforced and only allows passwordless methods (Microsoft Authenticator, FIDO2, Windows Hello for Business, TAP).

SSPR is disabled.

Despite these settings, users are still prompted to register a phone number during the security information registration process. The registration is logged as "SMS" in the Authentication Methods registration events, even though SMS cannot be used for authentication afterwards.

Can you clarify whether this is expected behavior in the current Entra registration experience, or if there is an additional policy that controls phone number registration separately from SMS authentication?

Answer 5

If you have disabled SMS and Voice Call as authentication methods in Microsoft Entra ID but are still being prompted to register a phone number, it could be due to a few reasons:

Account Settings: Ensure that the settings for your account are fully updated and that there are no other policies in place that might require a phone number for authentication.
Policy Conflicts: Check if there are any other authentication policies that might still be enforcing the requirement for a phone number.
User Profile: Sometimes, the user profile may still have legacy settings that require a phone number. Review the user profile settings to confirm.
Global Admin Settings: If you are not the global admin, the settings might be overridden by a higher-level policy that requires phone registration.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, consider reaching out to your organization's IT support for further assistance.