Is there another way to get in contact with the data protection team for a lockout scenario?

Question

Hello,

I have a 365 business account in which I got locked out of recently. I am the sole global administrator for the account. MS Authenticator is what's stopping me from logging in ultimately. I have my onmicrosoft.com email address and correct password, but I can't use authenticator anymore to finish logging in since I got a new phone. My old phone was never backed up before replacement, but the phone number is still the same. And because I don't have a phone number or alt email address on the account, I have no way of getting past MFA.

I have tried calling the general hep numbers 800-865-9408, and 800-642-7676 multiple times and only get caught up in an AI loop. Out of 8 tries, I got through to a human once, she was incredible garbled, and hung up on my or failed to transfer the call, so I got back in the AI loop again.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hello @james warren,

I understand that the Global Administrator is unable to login to the account due to changing MFA device and there is no alternative MFA such as Phone or Email. 

If you can't contact Microsoft Support by phone, you can try creating a new trial tenant using the link below: Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365 After you fill out and submit the sign-up form, you'll have access to the Microsoft 365 admin center. 

Once you've gained access, contact the Microsoft support team by following the guidance in the following document to create a support ticket: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

When submitting a ticket, be sure to make it clear that the issue is relevant to different tenants and Data Protection Team will first verify your ownership of the account and revoke your MFA once confirmed. After that, you can set up the Microsoft Authenticator app again on your new device. 

Please note that this is a user support forum. Only the data protection team can help you revoke a session and reset passwords, accounts, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and more. 

After the issue is successfully resolved, remember to cancel your trial subscription by following the instructions in the following document: Cancel your Microsoft business subscription in the Microsoft 365 admin center | Microsoft Learn 

If you have any further concern, please feel free to let me know.