Cannot login Azure account and can't log a ticket

Question

Cannot login Azure account and can't log a ticket

Daniel Y 15

Hi Team,

I am new to Azure, and I created a personal account for learning purposes. But I accidentally blocked myself entirely from Azure and cannot log in anymore due to some authentication issue. I cannot log a ticket because the Azure support ticket requires login first. I tried to call 1800 support number but the robot only asks me to reset password. Some online post recommend to reach to Data Protection Team, but cannot find out any contact email or phone number. Can anyone please advise?

Thanks and appreciate

Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-31T02:35:05.4566667+00:00
Hello Daniel Y

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Platform

I understand that you're having trouble logging into the Azure portal because of Authentication issue

In this case, if there is another global administrator from your tenant, they can help you to reregister your MFA.

Admin has to perform below steps to reset your MFA so that you can re-register for authenticator app.

Admin has to login to Azure portal and access Microsoft Entra ID.

Once done they have to go to user's blade on the left.

Click on the user account which is unable to login to Azure portal.

Click on Authentication methods and click on “Require re-register multifactor authentication”.

Now when you try to login to Azure, it will prompt you to register for MFA again.

If you are not aware of another global administrator or you are the only global admin in your tenant, please let us know. We will guide you further.

Thanks
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-03-31T06:13:41.9633333+00:00

Hi Shubham Sharma,

Thanks for your update. Unfortunately, I am the only global administrator.

I ask the same question to Copilot, and it directs me to here, with below issue description:

I am locked out of my personal Azure tenant.

I created an Azure Free account using a personal Microsoft account.

I accidentally invited the same email as a guest user, accepted the invite, and later converted the guest back to a member.

After this, Azure Portal sign-in fails immediately with:

AADSTS50020 – account needs to be added as an external user.

My Microsoft account works, but Azure Portal auto-locks me out.

I am the original owner and the only Global Administrator.

I cannot open a support ticket because all flows redirect to Azure Portal.

This is a tenant lockout / corrupted user object scenario.

I am ready to provide tenant ID, subscription ID, and billing proof via private message for Data Protection / Tenant Recovery.

Can you please help?

Thanks
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-03-31T11:27:07.06+00:00

Hi Shubham Sharma,

I’ve tried the recommended steps (incognito, tenant-specific URLs, sign-out/sign-in), but the issue persists.

Any sign-in that reaches Azure Portal immediately fails with AADSTS50020 (“account needs to be added as an external user”).

This occurred after I invited my own email as a guest, accepted it, and later converted the guest back to a member. I am the original owner and the only Global Administrator, and I cannot access Azure Portal or open a support ticket. This appears to be a tenant lockout / corrupted user object.

I’m ready to provide tenant and billing details via private message if needed.

Thanks
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-01T13:03:21.6133333+00:00

Hi Shubham Sharma,

I have created a support ticket via another external user, and support team is working on it.

Thanks for your help in the last post.
Achim Danda 0 Reputation points

2026-04-01T13:36:45.6333333+00:00

The microsoft authenticator is not sending code. Can it possible to reset the authenticator such that code can be send to the email. Is it possible to see the priducts that email is linked to
Achim Danda 0 Reputation points

2026-04-01T13:38:03.41+00:00

I can not log in to global azure for the business and I am the only administrator
Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-07T10:40:21.4133333+00:00

Daniel Y

Thank you for your reply.

Let us know if you need any further assistance from our end

Thank you,
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-09T13:08:43.1533333+00:00

Hi Shubham,

There is no positive progress no my ticket. Can you please help check and speed up the resolution of this issue?

Ticket #: 2603310030006511

Thank you.
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-10T12:18:01.8666667+00:00

Hi Shubham,

This issue has blocked my Azure access for 10 days, and I am frustrated now.

I cannot believe this issue will take such long time to resolve.

Can you or someone from the Microsoft team help check and speed up ticket resolution?

Thanks and appreciate.
Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-10T12:37:01.74+00:00
Daniel Y

Thank you for your reply and i apologize for a late response

Based on your description, it appears that you are trying to login with Microsoft personal account, not an Azure work or school account. This is why you’re encountering errors when trying to access the Azure Portal.

Issue: When users try to login to Azure portal using their personal Microsoft Account (Outlook, Hotmail..) they are getting AADSTS160021 or AADSTS16000 or AADSTS50020 errors.

Reason: When signing in to the Azure portal with a personal Microsoft account, you are automatically connected to the Microsoft Services tenant (Tenant ID: f8cdef31-a31e-4b4a-93e4-5f571e91255a).

You can verify this by navigating to Microsoft Entra ID > Overview, where you’ll see this Tenant ID.

This default tenant does not have a directory associated with it, which you can confirm by going to the Settings blade. As a result, you cannot perform administrative actions such as:

Creating users or groups

Registering enterprise applications

Managing resources

In short, it’s a system tenant with restricted capabilities, and administrative access is not granted by default.

Solution: To fully utilize the Azure portal, you need to create your own tenant instead of relying on the Microsoft Services tenant.

Follow these steps:

Open an in-private/incognito browser window (to avoid automatic sign-in via SSO).

Navigate to https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/ to sign up for a free Azure account.

During the setup, you’ll be prompted to create a new directory (tenant). Once completed, you will become the Global Administrator of this new tenant, giving you full access to manage Azure resources.

Let me know the above steps helps

Thanks
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-11T13:24:50.2166667+00:00

Hi Shubham,

I tried your steps, but it says "You're not eligible for an Azure free account

Don't worry—you can still use Azure by paying as you go, with no upfront commitments. Cancel anytime."

Is that because my personal email and credit card are being used when I created my existing account last time?

Also, when I try to create new free account in incognito mode, it asks me to add an email address, and some personal info + credit card info. All the steps are exactly same as last time, but I didn't see the option to create a new tenant.

so I have below questions:

1). Due to this issue I had now, can I still create a new tenant with my current email address? Or, can I still create a new Azure Free account with current email address and credit card?

2). If I have to use a new email account/credit card to register a new tenant, then what happened to my existing account? (the account I have this issue now)

3). If I still want to use my existing email address to register (the email address which I have the issue now), is that "Pay-as-you-go" as the only option for me? so I won't be able to use the $200 credit anymore.

4). Can I get my existing account back?

Thank you.
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-15T13:32:46.54+00:00

Hi Shubham,

Just fyi, I have got my account back. Still don't know how and what was changed, but it is working now.

Thank you and appreciate all your support.
Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-15T13:36:30.0966667+00:00

Hello Daniel Y

Thank you for the confirmation.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

1 answer

Your answer

Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-31T02:35:05.4566667+00:00

Hello Daniel Y

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Platform

I understand that you're having trouble logging into the Azure portal because of Authentication issue

In this case, if there is another global administrator from your tenant, they can help you to reregister your MFA.

Admin has to perform below steps to reset your MFA so that you can re-register for authenticator app.

Admin has to login to Azure portal and access Microsoft Entra ID.

Once done they have to go to user's blade on the left.

Click on the user account which is unable to login to Azure portal.

Click on Authentication methods and click on “Require re-register multifactor authentication”.

Now when you try to login to Azure, it will prompt you to register for MFA again.

If you are not aware of another global administrator or you are the only global admin in your tenant, please let us know. We will guide you further.

Thanks
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-03-31T06:13:41.9633333+00:00

Hi Shubham Sharma,

Thanks for your update. Unfortunately, I am the only global administrator.

I ask the same question to Copilot, and it directs me to here, with below issue description:

I am locked out of my personal Azure tenant.

I created an Azure Free account using a personal Microsoft account.

I accidentally invited the same email as a guest user, accepted the invite, and later converted the guest back to a member.

After this, Azure Portal sign-in fails immediately with:

AADSTS50020 – account needs to be added as an external user.

My Microsoft account works, but Azure Portal auto-locks me out.

I am the original owner and the only Global Administrator.

I cannot open a support ticket because all flows redirect to Azure Portal.

This is a tenant lockout / corrupted user object scenario.

I am ready to provide tenant ID, subscription ID, and billing proof via private message for Data Protection / Tenant Recovery.

Can you please help?

Thanks
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-03-31T11:27:07.06+00:00

Hi Shubham Sharma,

I’ve tried the recommended steps (incognito, tenant-specific URLs, sign-out/sign-in), but the issue persists.

Any sign-in that reaches Azure Portal immediately fails with AADSTS50020 (“account needs to be added as an external user”).

This occurred after I invited my own email as a guest, accepted it, and later converted the guest back to a member. I am the original owner and the only Global Administrator, and I cannot access Azure Portal or open a support ticket. This appears to be a tenant lockout / corrupted user object.

I’m ready to provide tenant and billing details via private message if needed.

Thanks
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-01T13:03:21.6133333+00:00

Hi Shubham Sharma,

I have created a support ticket via another external user, and support team is working on it.

Thanks for your help in the last post.
Achim Danda 0 Reputation points

2026-04-01T13:36:45.6333333+00:00

The microsoft authenticator is not sending code. Can it possible to reset the authenticator such that code can be send to the email. Is it possible to see the priducts that email is linked to
Achim Danda 0 Reputation points

2026-04-01T13:38:03.41+00:00

I can not log in to global azure for the business and I am the only administrator
Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-07T10:40:21.4133333+00:00

Daniel Y

Thank you for your reply.

Let us know if you need any further assistance from our end

Thank you,
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-09T13:08:43.1533333+00:00

Hi Shubham,

There is no positive progress no my ticket. Can you please help check and speed up the resolution of this issue?

Ticket #: 2603310030006511

Thank you.
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-10T12:18:01.8666667+00:00

Hi Shubham,

This issue has blocked my Azure access for 10 days, and I am frustrated now.

I cannot believe this issue will take such long time to resolve.

Can you or someone from the Microsoft team help check and speed up ticket resolution?

Thanks and appreciate.
Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-10T12:37:01.74+00:00

Daniel Y

Thank you for your reply and i apologize for a late response

Based on your description, it appears that you are trying to login with Microsoft personal account, not an Azure work or school account. This is why you’re encountering errors when trying to access the Azure Portal.

Issue: When users try to login to Azure portal using their personal Microsoft Account (Outlook, Hotmail..) they are getting AADSTS160021 or AADSTS16000 or AADSTS50020 errors.

Reason: When signing in to the Azure portal with a personal Microsoft account, you are automatically connected to the Microsoft Services tenant (Tenant ID: f8cdef31-a31e-4b4a-93e4-5f571e91255a).

You can verify this by navigating to Microsoft Entra ID > Overview, where you’ll see this Tenant ID.

This default tenant does not have a directory associated with it, which you can confirm by going to the Settings blade. As a result, you cannot perform administrative actions such as:

Creating users or groups

Registering enterprise applications

Managing resources

In short, it’s a system tenant with restricted capabilities, and administrative access is not granted by default.

Solution: To fully utilize the Azure portal, you need to create your own tenant instead of relying on the Microsoft Services tenant.

Follow these steps:

Open an in-private/incognito browser window (to avoid automatic sign-in via SSO).

Navigate to https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/ to sign up for a free Azure account.

During the setup, you’ll be prompted to create a new directory (tenant). Once completed, you will become the Global Administrator of this new tenant, giving you full access to manage Azure resources.

Let me know the above steps helps

Thanks
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-11T13:24:50.2166667+00:00

Hi Shubham,

I tried your steps, but it says "You're not eligible for an Azure free account

Don't worry—you can still use Azure by paying as you go, with no upfront commitments. Cancel anytime."

Is that because my personal email and credit card are being used when I created my existing account last time?

Also, when I try to create new free account in incognito mode, it asks me to add an email address, and some personal info + credit card info. All the steps are exactly same as last time, but I didn't see the option to create a new tenant.

so I have below questions:

1). Due to this issue I had now, can I still create a new tenant with my current email address? Or, can I still create a new Azure Free account with current email address and credit card?

2). If I have to use a new email account/credit card to register a new tenant, then what happened to my existing account? (the account I have this issue now)

3). If I still want to use my existing email address to register (the email address which I have the issue now), is that "Pay-as-you-go" as the only option for me? so I won't be able to use the $200 credit anymore.

4). Can I get my existing account back?

Thank you.
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-15T13:32:46.54+00:00

Hi Shubham,

Just fyi, I have got my account back. Still don't know how and what was changed, but it is working now.

Thank you and appreciate all your support.
Shubham Sharma 13,415 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-15T13:36:30.0966667+00:00

Hello Daniel Y

Thank you for the confirmation.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

Answer 1

Matthews Msawenkosi Mhlwazi 16

Hi Shubham. I experienced the same issue with my global account on a personal Azure tenant. I had to log a ticket with the Data Team using a different account and provide the affected tenant ID. To resolve it, they asked me a few security verification questions and then reset the account.

Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-03-31T11:41:19.79+00:00

Hi Matthews,

Thanks for update. If you use other account to log a ticket with Data Team, does it need to be the Azure account or can be just a normal Microsoft account without Azure? Thanks.
Matthews Msawenkosi Mhlwazi 16 Reputation points

2026-04-01T07:18:51.62+00:00

Hi Daniel. I used an Azure account for a different tenant.
Daniel Y 15 Reputation points

2026-04-01T13:01:44.4433333+00:00

Hi Matthews,

Thanks for your suggestion. I also created a support ticket via another external user account. The support team is working on now.

Thanks again.
Isuru Heendeniya 70 Reputation points

2026-04-10T16:16:35.38+00:00

Hi guys I heard some one asked that whether you can change Microsoft Authentivator app to email or some other method.You absolutely can.at least you can add another method like email,passkey,sms etc. as a fallback method if not completely replace MSA but remember MSA is a very strong athentication method and will work standalone as well compared to email and sms which is highly suseptible to phishing attacks.If you want to add it you go to your microsoft account ---->Security.----->Manage how I sgin in---->and then register your preffered method.Snapps attached

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Cannot login Azure account and can't log a ticket

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