im locked out of my business account because of my limited mfa which i didnt backp

Question

I created a website - email - logged into microsoft and set up mfa on my admin account. ive since factory reset the phone with the mfa to this account - i need to regain access to the account somehow. Cannot seem to find any information about how to do this.

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Moved from: Microsoft 365 and Office | Other

Answer 1

Dear @Matt Davis, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.   

As a moderator, I don't have the tools to investigate your specific account directly because this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas. However, I will try my best to guide you as clearly as possible.    

Because you are the sole Global Administrator, there is no other user in your organization who can reset this for you. At this stage, your recovery must be handled by Microsoft’s Data Protection Team. They are the only team with the necessary tools and authority to verify your tenant permissions; once verified, they will assist you in reconfiguring MFA for your account. 

To reach the Data Protection Team, you have two options: 

• Contact Customer Service by phone. 
• Create a trial tenant to submit a support ticket directly through the Admin Center. 

Option 1: You might need to contact Data Protection Team via phone service number via this link: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support.  

The biggest goal is to get past the IVR (automated system) to a live agent and emphasize this critically important security factor. Please help me try this script as below, this is a script commonly used for authentication issues to bypass the IVR. Please help me speak loudly, only keywords, clearly, and patiently waiting for the machine to respond. 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  

When you reach out to real agent, they will be able to create a ticket for you under the affected tenant and then transfer this ticket to Data Protection team.   

Option 2: Create a new tenant with trial subscription to access and submit a ticket in Admin Center. 

If you still can't get through to a real person for help, help me try this: 

Register for a free trial (new tenant with trial subscription) of Microsoft 365 at this link: Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans | Microsoft. The goal is to create a temporary tenant with Global Admin account so you can log in to the Microsoft Admin Center. Once you're in, you can submit a support ticket directly to Microsoft. Please remember to cancel the trial subscription once your issue is resolved to avoid any unintended charges.   

How to Submit the Support Ticket in Admin Center: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

Once you have successfully reached the Data Protection Team, please prepare any documentation that can verify your permissions; they will assist you in reconfiguring MFA. Then you can log in to your account and set up MFA from scratch. 

I am standing by to assist with any information. If you have any questions or require further clarification, do not hesitate to reach out. 

Looking forward to your response!  

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