unable to authenticate 365 admin center account

Question

unable to authenticate 365 admin center account, I have the password but unable to authenticate because i have changed device.

Answer 1

Hi @Sharawan Thapa

Based on the information you provided, I understand that you are unable to sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center even though your password is correct, because the authentication process fails after switching to a new device.

Here are the three methods you can use to regain access:

Method 1: Contact another Global Admin

If there is another Global Administrator in your tenant, I recommend contacting them immediately. They can reset your MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) settings, which will allow you to re-register your new device cleanly next time you log in. Please refer the following document:
Manage user authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication

Method 2: If you are the sole administrator on the account, you must contact the Data Protection Team via phone. They are the only department authorized to handle admin lockouts. Please visit the following page and reach out to phone number via: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support

From what I know, you will need to get past the initial AI system to reach the live support team. You can refer to the guide below for tips on how to get through more easily:

Method 3: If method 2 is not working, please follow this link to create a trial tenant: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic?msockid=3eb6980b5c6860e63a588d0c5d1761d6 - after that you will be able to access to Microsoft 365 Admin Center to raise the ticket

Assuming that you have already created an account after registering a free trial and you can go to Microsoft 365 admin center and click "Help & support" icon to raise your ticket. The agent will be able to create a ticket for you under the affected tenant and then transfer this ticket to Data Protection team who could help you to regain access.     

Please mention that you are raising ticket on behalf of the affected tenant that you do not have access to. The support team will help you to create ticket on the affected tenant then later on the Microsoft Data Protection team will assist you.

Note: This process will take more time than usual (7-14 working days) for your account to get access again as Data Protection is always overwhelmed with the number of tickets. As I am forum moderator, I do not have access to Microsoft internal system to assist or push this process to be quicker.

On the other hand, if you do create the trial and it resolves the issue, please remember to cancel the subscription afterward to avoid any related charges. 

I hope my information is helpful. Please give me any updates once you get this resolved.

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Answer 2

Because the password is known but sign-in fails after changing device, the issue is most likely with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or another second-factor method tied to the old device.

Use the appropriate path based on the type of account and role:

1. If this is a work/school account and you are an end user (not an admin)

• Contact the organization’s Microsoft 365 administrator and ask them to reset MFA and/or your password in the Microsoft Entra admin center.
• They can follow guidance similar to resetting MFA settings so that, on next sign-in, a fresh registration of the Microsoft Authenticator app or other method is required on the new device.

2. If this is a work/school account and you are an admin but not the only admin

• Ask another global admin to:
  • Reset your password if needed, and
  • Reset your MFA settings so you can re-register the Authenticator app on the new device.

3. If you are the only global admin on the tenant

• This is a lockout scenario where self-service is not sufficient.
• Contact Microsoft support by phone using the regional number listed under Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support and clearly state:
  • This is a business (company) Microsoft 365 tenant.
  • You are the only global administrator.
  • You changed device and can no longer complete MFA to access the Microsoft 365 admin center.
  • You need the Microsoft Data Protection team to help reset your authentication/MFA so you can regain access.
• If reaching the correct support queue is difficult, an alternative is:
  1. Create a new temporary Microsoft 365 trial tenant (e.g., from the Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise trial page).
  2. Sign in to the new tenant’s Microsoft 365 admin center.
  3. Open Support → Help & support and raise a ticket explicitly for the locked original tenant, providing:
     • The locked tenant’s domain and admin UPN.
     • Error messages seen at sign-in.
     • Confirmation that you are the only admin.
  4. Work with support/Data Protection to verify identity and reset MFA for the original tenant.
  5. After recovery, cancel the trial tenant to avoid charges.

4. If this is a personal Microsoft account (Outlook.com, Hotmail, etc.)

• Use the standard account recovery and password/MFA reset flows at https://account.microsoft.com/security or the password reset page referenced in the context.
• If recovery fails, contact Microsoft Support as an end user; forum moderators and tools cannot directly change authentication settings.

If sign-in errors mention unrecognized user ID or password instead of MFA, verify the user ID format and, if necessary, use the “Forgot password” or self-service password reset flow as documented.

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References:

• Forgot password to sign in to Microsoft 365, Intune, or Azure
• "We don't recognize this user ID or password" error when a user tries to sign in to the Microsoft 365 portal
• Can't use Azure Multi-Factor Authentication to sign in to cloud services after you lose your phone or the phone number changes
• 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
• Microsoft authenticator sending me into a spiral - Microsoft Q&A
• Requesting a Tenant Admin MFA Reset - Microsoft Q&A