Lost phone that had authenticator app

Question

Having problems trying to recover an authentication app for a rockstar account is it possible to restore to my new phone.

sorry for any inconvenience

Answer 1

Yes, it is possible to restore Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone, but there are important limits and prerequisites.

1. Backup and restore must be on the same platform
   • Accounts backed up from iOS can only be restored to another iOS device.
   • Accounts backed up from Android can only be restored to another Android device.
   • You cannot restore an Authenticator backup from Android to iOS or from iOS to Android.
2. Requirements for backup/restore
   • A personal Microsoft account is required as the recovery account.
   • On iOS, Authenticator uses iCloud (iCloud Drive/Keychain/Backup) to store the backup.
   • On Android, Authenticator uses Cloud Backup tied to the Microsoft account.
3. How to restore on a new phone (same platform)
   • Install Microsoft Authenticator on the new phone.
   • Sign in with the same personal Microsoft account that was used for backup.
   • In Authenticator, go to Settings → Backup and choose the option to restore from the cloud backup.
   • For Microsoft personal accounts that use passwordless sign-in and for work/school accounts, only the account name is restored; sign-in must be completed again to fully re-enable them.
   • For third-party accounts (such as Rockstar, Amazon, Facebook, Gmail), if they were configured as standard one-time password (OTP) accounts, the OTP configuration is restored from backup.
4. If no backup exists or restore fails
   • If the Authenticator backup was not enabled, or cannot be restored (for example, different platform, no access to the recovery account, or iCloud/Cloud Backup unavailable), the accounts must be re-added manually.
   • For the Rockstar account, follow Rockstar’s own account recovery or 2FA reset process (for example, signing in via email/password and then reconfiguring the authenticator/2FA from their security settings) and then add it again to Microsoft Authenticator.
5. iOS-specific restore troubleshooting
   • Ensure on the old iOS device (if still accessible) that:
     • iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain, and iCloud Backup were enabled.
     • Authenticator was allowed in the Saved to iCloud list.
     • Authenticator was updated to version 6.8.33 or later and opened at least once.
   • On the new iOS device, if the backup does not appear, uninstall and reinstall Authenticator; the backup should then show up for restore.

If the old phone is completely lost and no backup was configured, Microsoft Authenticator cannot reconstruct the old codes; recovery must be done through each service’s own account recovery/2FA reset process.

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References:

• Back up account credentials in Microsoft Authenticator
• Back up your accounts in Microsoft Authenticator
• Restore account credentials from Microsoft Authenticator
• Microsoft Authenticator FAQs
• Migrate to a new iPhone for work