Authenticator not backing up

Question

When I attempt to restore from backup, it gives me nothing. I cannot sign in to an account I had connected to the authenticator.

Answer 1

Hey there, Jill Stingray

I cannot restore the authenticator because I am on Android rather than iOS.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to restore your Microsoft Authenticator backup because you’ve moved from Android to iOS. Backups can only be restored on the same type of device they were created on. Since your original backup was made on Android, it won’t appear on your iPhone.

This means you’ll need to re‑add your accounts manually which will require access to your old phone so you can open Authenticator and scan each QR code again.

If you no longer have your old device, or it has been wiped, you’ll need to use the account recovery options for each service to regain access and set up Authenticator again.

To learn more about this, please check this article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/authenticator/back-up-your-accounts-in-microsoft-authenticator

Hopefully you still have your old phone available which will make the process much easier.

Hope this helps,
Nathan