Lost my authenticator data

Question

My android phone's data got wiped and now I have lost access to my authenticator data also and i don't have a backup of the same..What should I do now, is there a way to recover the account's that where connect to authenticator

Answer 1

If the Android phone was wiped and there was no cloud backup configured in Microsoft Authenticator, the app data itself cannot be recovered. What can be done now depends on each connected account type:

1. Check if a cloud backup exists (Android)
   If Authenticator cloud backup was enabled before the wipe:

• Install Microsoft Authenticator on the new Android device.
• Open the app, go to Settings → under Backup, turn on Cloud Backup and sign in with the same personal Microsoft account that was used as the recovery account.
• Then use Restore from backup / Begin recovery to recover the saved credentials.
  • Microsoft personal and 3rd‑party accounts that used only one‑time password codes will have their codes restored.
  • For Microsoft work/school and passwordless accounts, only the account names are restored; each account must be signed in again to re‑enable MFA.

If Restore from backup or Begin recovery is not visible, remove or sign out of all accounts in Authenticator first, then try again.

2. If no backup was configured
   If there was no backup (or the backup account cannot be accessed), Authenticator data cannot be recovered. In that case:

• For each service (Microsoft account, work/school account, or 3rd‑party services like Amazon, Google, etc.), use its own account recovery or security page to regain access (e.g., via email, SMS, or recovery codes) and then
• Re‑add the account to Microsoft Authenticator following that service’s MFA setup process.

If access to the Microsoft backup account or iCloud/Google account used for backup is lost, support agents cannot restore Authenticator data. Use the Microsoft account sign‑in helper or the platform’s account recovery to regain access to the backup account first, then attempt restore.

3. When restore shows “Sign in to restore your account” or “Action required”
   After a successful restore:

• If an account shows “Sign in to restore your account”, tap Sign in on that account in Authenticator and complete password + email/phone verification.
• If an account shows “Action required”, tap the account tile, choose the option to sign in to recover, and complete the additional verification.

4. If still unable to restore
   If restore is not possible for any reason other than backup access (for example, backup not enabled before the wipe), the only option is to manually add each account again using the MFA setup process for each service.

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References:

• Restore account credentials from Microsoft Authenticator
• Unable to restore Authenticator account credentials
• Back up account credentials in Microsoft Authenticator
• Back up your accounts in Microsoft Authenticator
• How Do I Regain Access to My Account After Losing Access to Microsoft Authenticator? (Urgent Request). - Microsoft Q&A
• Microsoft Authenticator app doesn't show 6-digit OTP code - Microsoft Q&A
• Requesting a Tenant Admin MFA Reset - Microsoft Q&A
• Severity A Situation - Locked out of global admin account (MFA) - business down - Microsoft Q&A