I dont have access to the Authenticator

Question

My name is Ilija.
I have Teams on my PC, and on it I have account "[Moderator note: personal info removed]@betacnc.onmicrosoft.com"
I cant set up this account on my phone because it keeps sending a code to the Authenticator.
But I no longer have the phone where that Authenticator was.
Is there any way to remove the two-factor autentication so I can set up the Authenticator on a new phone?
Thank you

---

Moved from: Microsoft Security | Microsoft Authenticator

Answer 1

Hi @Ilija Marković

Welcome to Q&A forum!

I’m really sorry to hear that you no longer have access to the phone where your Authenticator app was set up.

In this situation, if there is still another global admin in your tenant, you can follow the step 1 to have their support to reset MFA for your account. If not, you are the only global admin of this tenant, you can try step 2 to get support from "Data Protection Team."

1. If you are not the only global admin:

Other admin accounts in tenant that can help reset MFA for this affected admin account. Please check to see if there are other IT admins in your organization who can help you with the reset. 

In the Entra admin center, an administrator can set user accounts to require a re-enrollment of multi-factor authentication (MFA). Ask your administrator to follow the steps shown in the following article:

Manage user authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multi-factor authentication

• Sign in to Microsoft Entra - Microsoft Entra admin center
• User -> all users. Select the user you want to act on, and then select "Authentication methods". then select "Require multi-factor authentication re-registration".

Require re-enrollment MFA: This disables all previous authentication methods. You'll then be prompted to set up a new MFA authentication method the next time you try to sign in, so you can add a new authenticator app. 

2. Contacting Microsoft Data Protection team by phone support

In this situation, the Microsoft Data Protection team has tools and processes in place to verify identity and regain access to administrator accounts.     

Therefore, if you are the only administrator in your organization, then you need to involve Microsoft data protection team. 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

(Important Note: Depending on your country or region, when you call the support number, you may hear an introduction of about 30 seconds such as "you can visit the link...". You can ignore this introduction and wait until you are presented with the options. Then press "1" as a business email user, and again "1" for technical help.)

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  

If your organization's Office 365 Business subscription is from a partner or reseller, and the global administrator is unable to open a service request on your end, contact the reseller's support provider to help open a service request on behalf of you instead.

Please try "2 or 3 times" until you can reach out to an agent.

-For your information:

It’s important to transfer your Authenticator app data before switching to a new phone to ensure you don’t lose access to your accounts. The Authenticator app holds your verification codes, and if you don’t migrate them beforehand, you could be locked out of essential services, email, or work accounts. Transferring the data in advance keeps your sign‑in methods intact and prevents any recovery issues later.

You can also refer to this thread for future phone changes to help avoid similar issues from happening again.

How do I transfer my Microsoft Authenticator data from my iPhone to a Samsung phone? - Microsoft Q&A

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in "our documentation" to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

For a work/school account like ******@betacnc.onmicrosoft.com, two‑factor authentication (MFA) cannot be removed directly if the Microsoft Authenticator on the old phone is the only method and that device is no longer available.

Use one of these options:

1. Sign in using an alternative method (if configured)
   When prompted for the Authenticator code on the PC or web:
   1. Choose “Sign in another way” (or similar link).
   2. Select another method (SMS, call, backup phone, office phone, email) if it appears, and complete sign‑in.
   3. After signing in, go to the Security info / Additional security verification page and remove the old phone/Auth app and add the new phone:
      • For work/school accounts, see the Security info page path described in: sign in to office.com → Account manager → View account → Update info.
      • Then add a new Phone method and re‑add Microsoft Authenticator on the new device.
2. If no alternative method works: contact the organization’s admin
   If there is an IT/admin for the betacnc.onmicrosoft.com tenant:
   • Ask the admin to go to Microsoft Entra admin center → Users → your user → Authentication methods → select Require re‑register multifactor authentication.
   • After this, the next sign‑in will prompt to set up MFA again on the new phone.
3. If this is a business tenant and this account is the only admin
   If this is the only administrator account and there is no other admin who can reset MFA, Microsoft’s Data Protection team must be involved. The process from similar cases is:
   • Call the regional Microsoft customer service phone number (see “Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support”).
   • In the automated flow, indicate the issue is with Authenticator, for Office 365 for business, that it is a company account, and that there are no other admins.
   • Ask to open a service request so the Data Protection team can verify identity and help regain admin access and reset MFA.

Once access is restored by any of the above methods, add the new phone as an MFA method and remove the old device so that future Authenticator prompts go only to the new phone.

---

References:

• Use a screen reader to set up and troubleshoot multifactor authentication
• Common problems with two-step verification for a work or school account
• Microsoft Authenticator FAQs
• I have a Micrsoft business account and I am the admin and the only user registered under this account. I can't log in because i have replaced my phone and the authenticator doesn't work. - Microsoft Q&A
• I need to reset my mfa methods - Microsoft Q&A
• Microsoft authenticator sending me into a spiral - Microsoft Q&A