personal Microsoft Authenticator Restore

Question

Hi Team. How you can assist

My phone recently died and I have purchased a new phone. I am unable to restore from backup.

I have previously restored from backup in the past but now I'm receiving this error

Unable to recover

Your backup is not stored with (My 365 account). Try signing in to a different personal Microsoft account.

I only have the one Microsoft account. I previously reset my phone a few months ago and successfully restored my MFA codes. Please help

Answer 1

The error indicates that the backup being searched for is not associated with the Microsoft account currently signed in as the recovery account in Authenticator. Recovery is only possible if:

• The same personal Microsoft account is used as the recovery account that was used when backup was originally enabled.
• Backup was actually turned on in Authenticator on the old device.
• Restore is being done on the same device type (iOS→iOS or Android→Android).

Use these checks and options:

1. Confirm same device type
   • Backups created on iOS cannot be restored on Android, and vice versa.
   • If the old phone was iOS, the new phone must also be iOS; if old was Android, new must be Android.
2. Verify the correct recovery account
   • On the new phone, open Authenticator → Settings → under Backup, check which personal Microsoft account is shown.
   • The error message means the backup is not stored under that account. If there is any chance another personal Microsoft account was used previously (for example an old Outlook/Hotmail/Live address), sign out in Authenticator and sign in with that other account, then try restore again.
3. Ensure backup was enabled on the old device
   • For iOS, backup requires iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, and iCloud Backup to have been enabled, and Authenticator must have been toggled on in the Saved to iCloud list, with backup enabled inside the app.
   • For Android, Cloud Backup must have been enabled in Authenticator with a personal Microsoft account.
   • If backup was not enabled or was disabled before the phone died, there is no stored backup to restore and the accounts must be added again manually.
4. If using iOS and backup does not appear
   • On the old device (if it ever becomes usable again):
     • Enable iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, and iCloud Backup.
     • In Saved to iCloud, ensure Authenticator is toggled on.
     • Update Authenticator to version 6.8.33 or later and open it once.
   • On the new device:
     • Uninstall and reinstall Authenticator.
     • Open it and sign in with the same personal Microsoft account used as the recovery account; the backup should then appear.
5. If still unable to restore
   • If access to the backup account (the personal Microsoft account used for backup) is lost, support cannot restore the Authenticator backup. Use the Microsoft account sign-in helper to regain access to that backup account, then try restore again.
   • If the backup account is accessible but restore still fails, each MFA-protected account must be re-added manually using its own recovery or reset process (for example, contacting the organization’s help desk for work/school accounts, or using each site’s 2FA reset flow).

If none of the above conditions are met (same device type, same recovery account, backup actually enabled), the previous backup cannot be recovered and the MFA methods must be reconfigured on each account.

---

References:

• Restore account credentials from Microsoft Authenticator
• Back up account credentials in Microsoft Authenticator
• Back up your accounts in Microsoft Authenticator
• Microsoft Authenticator FAQs
• Unable to restore Authenticator account credentials