THE UNIVERSAL AUTHENTICATOR PROBLEM

Question

Hi...so im really frustrated...i had an old phone which had the working authenticator app that phone is now broken....in my new phone im trying to set up authenticator and i added two profiles too...but im still not receiving the authentication message. If I try to do anything else it asks me for an authentication from the authenticator app which was on my old phone that i cannot use....i want to get authenticator up and running on my new phone...help pls

Answer 1

To resolve the issue of not being able to set up the Microsoft Authenticator app on your new phone after losing access to the old one, you can follow these steps:

1. Access Your Security Settings: If you have access to your account through another method, go to your security settings. You can do this by visiting https://aka.ms/mysecurityinfo.
2. Delete Old Sign-in Methods: If you see the old authenticator app listed, you may need to delete it. If you have reached the limit of five devices, you will need to remove one of them to add your new phone.
3. Re-register MFA: If you are not the administrator, ask your admin to set the requirement for re-registering multifactor authentication (MFA). They can do this in the Azure portal by navigating to Microsoft Entra ID > Users > select your user > Authentication methods > Require re-register multifactor authentication.
4. Set Up Authenticator on New Phone: Once the old methods are removed, you can set up the Microsoft Authenticator app on your new phone. Make sure to follow the prompts to add your account again.

If you are unable to delete the old sign-in methods or if you are still facing issues, you may need to contact your administrator for further assistance or to reset your MFA settings.

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References:

• Can't set up MFA because five devices are already registered to use an authenticator app
• Authentication methods in Microsoft Entra ID - Voice call