No admin access

Question

Please help. I am a co-founder in a small business, the CTO left the company and didn't pass any account information. He was the only administrator. I need to make myself administrator, but I cannot find any way to talk to microsoft to make this happen. We can't even set-up a new microsoft instance, as it is linked to our domain. I am stuck. Please help. There is no phone number or online support route that works.

Answer 1

Dear @Jonty Potts, 

Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum! 

Based on your description, I understand that you’re unable to gain administrator access to your Microsoft account after your CTO left without sharing credentials, and you’ve tried reaching out to Microsoft but couldn’t find any phone number or online support option that works. You also mentioned that setting up a new Microsoft instance isn’t possible because it’s linked to your domain, leaving you stuck without a way forward.

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by this issue.

If the lost account was the only admin, in this situation, the Microsoft Data Protection Team has tools and processes in place to verify identity and regain access to administrator accounts.

Please try to find the related hotline number to call the frontline let them raise a ticket for you: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support (Scroll down for Business users and look for your region)  

In some countries, this is an automated conversation: First, when you call the hotline, they will ask you what kind of problem you are struggling with.  

Answer: Authenticator.  

A: What products do you use?  

B: Office 365 for business.  

Verification: Education or company account?  

B: For companies  

A: Are you an administrator?  

B: Yes.  

A: Are there any other administrators in your organization?  

B: No.  

A: I need one.... Service request?  

B: Yes  

(Note: Sometimes, you would hear the computer-generated voice at first, please kindly wait for it to end, and if an agent is available, you would be directed to them and get your support. During peak hours, there might be high call volumes, so we kindly ask for your patience as we work to assist everyone as quickly as possible) 

As an alternative, you can create a new tenant account and submit your request from there.    

To set up a new tenant, please follow these steps: 

• Visit Compare Office 365 Enterprise Pricing and Plans | Microsoft 365, choose any plan and click try for free to start a free trial.    
• Follow the guided setup process to create a new account for a new tenant. 

Once your tenant is created, you should be able to access the support portal and submit your ticket referencing the locked admin account without further issues.

In the ticket's description, you could refer to this message "Hello,

I’m currently unable to gain administrator access to our Microsoft 365 tenant because the CTO, who was the only global administrator, left the company without sharing any account credentials. As a result, I cannot access the Microsoft 365 Admin Center or manage our domain, and we’re unable to set up a new instance since it’s linked to our existing domain.

I would like to be connected with the Data Protection Team to verify my identity and recover access to the tenant. I’m available to provide any necessary documentation or verification to support this process."

Ticket Support: Log in using the newly created trial admin account in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Support > Help & Support (bottom right). You can raise support ticket at: https://admin.microsoft.com/#/support/requests   

Please remember to cancel the trial subscription once your issue is resolved to avoid any unintended charges.

Note: After creating the support ticket, please kindly let me know the ticket number so I could also track its process to help you regain access to your account/tenant.

Kindly let me know when there are updates or if you need further assistance. Any updates you’re able to share would be really helpful.

I'm here and happy to help! Thank you for your kindness and patience!

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Answer 2

If you are the only person left in the organization and the previous administrator has left without passing on the necessary account information, you will need to contact Microsoft support for assistance. Here are the steps you can take:

1. Contact the Microsoft 365 Data Protection team: Since you are unable to access the account, you should reach out to the Data Protection team. You can do this by calling their support number, which is typically available for your region. If you are unsure of the number, you can find it on the Microsoft support website.
2. Provide necessary information: When you contact support, be prepared to provide information about your organization and your situation. This may include details about the previous administrator and your role within the company.
3. Follow the Administrator Takeover process: If you are completely locked out, you may need to follow the Administrator Takeover steps outlined by Microsoft, which allows you to regain access to an unmanaged directory as a Microsoft Entra administrator.
4. Consider creating a new tenant: If all else fails and you cannot recover access, you might consider creating a new Microsoft 365 tenant. However, this would mean that you would need to set up everything from scratch, including linking to your domain again.
5. Check for any Global admins: If there are any other users in your organization who might have Global admin access, reach out to them for assistance in regaining access.

These steps should help you in regaining administrative access to your Microsoft 365 account.

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References:

• What to do if your only admin has left the company
• Troubleshoot sign-in issues and account access problems