Cannot remove Microsoft Authenticator as authentication method on personal Microsoft account

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Cannot remove Microsoft Authenticator as authentication method on personal Microsoft account

Brett 25

I've added passkeys and turned on passwordless authentication in my Microsoft account (at https://account.microsoft.com/security). However, when I go to remove the Authenticator method, I get " Microsoft Authenticator app could not be removed. We could not remove the Microsoft Authenticator app at this time."

I've tried a new browser, different wi-fi, log out/in, etc. It just won't let me remove it, and I don't see any other settings which would impact this. I've removed/signed-out of the Microsoft account in question from Microsoft Authenticator on my phone, just in case that was locking it, but that hasn't helped either.

How do I remove this Microsoft Authenticator sign-in method now I've gone passwordless and setup passkeys?

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Answer 1

MUSTAFA SALAH 1,630

Check if Authenticator is still "default sign-in method": https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info
Make sure you have at least two other methods
Turn off passwordless temporarily --> removing it
Check for hidden "Authenticator registration": https://account.microsoft.com/devices

Even if your goal is “passkey-only,” Microsoft accounts currently do not fully allow removing all app-based recovery methods in many configurations

My Recommendation is to have 2 Methods not just 1

Brett 25 Reputation points

2026-06-10T22:00:18.81+00:00

Hi Mustafa. Thank you for trying to assist. This is a personal Microsoft account, so the "mysignins.microsoft.com" link you gave did not work. That is only for work/school accounts. Personal accounts do now have a "default sign-in method" in the settings. I have 5 different authentication methods, including 3 passkeys, and it was just the Microsoft Authenticator method I wished to remove.

However, what did work is that I turned off passwordless temporarily, and then it allowed me to remove Microsoft Authenticator. The very generic error message it gave me when I attempted to remove Authenticator was useless – it could have easily said "you must turn off passwordless before you can remove this". I doubt this will ever make it to the eyes of the development team that oversee this part of the online experience, but I'm noting this here for others in the future.

Thank you for your help!

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Cannot remove Microsoft Authenticator as authentication method on personal Microsoft account

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