Lost access to the Global Admin role in Microsoft 365, and all admin roles have been removed

Question

We are currently unable to access the Global Administrator (Super Admin) role in Microsoft 365 for our Education tenant. All administrative roles, including the Global Administrator, appear to have been removed, leaving us without any privileged access.

As a result, we are also experiencing issues with email functionality in Microsoft Exchange Online, and users are unable to send emails.

We require urgent assistance to restore administrative access and resolve the email service disruption.

Answer 1

Hi Manoj,

Thank you for the question.

Self-recovery of Global Admin access in Microsoft 365 is not possible once all admin roles are removed. The only supported path is to initiate a Tenant Admin Recovery process with Microsoft Support, where you need to prove domain ownership and tenant identity.

Consider the following immediate troubleshooting steps:

1. Collect tenant information - Tenant ID (can be retrieved via PowerShell or login attempts), primary domain details (DNS records) and billing information tied to Microsoft 365 subscription.
2. Use the Microsoft 365 Admin Center support portal (if accessible) or contact Microsoft directly via support.microsoft.com and clearly state the issue.
3. Prepare verification evidence i.e., proof of domain ownership (TXT record in DNS), billing account details (invoice, subscription ID) and contact details of the organization tied to the tenant.

Microsoft typically restores access by creating a new Global Admin account after verification. This process can take 24-72 hours, depending on complexity and evidence provided. It is recommended to maintain at least two Global Admin accounts as with one, access loss again, is possible.

Hope this was helpful! Let me know if you have any further queries.