Problems accessing the tenant

Question

Good morning everyone,

I’ve recently changed my phone because the other one broke.

Unfortunately, since the change, every time I try to log in to my Azure tenant, it sends the MFA code to the authenticator app that was installed on my old phone.

I’m currently stuck and don’t know how to sort this out – do you have any suggestions or guidance on how to resolve this issue?

Many thanks to everyone

Answer 1

Hello @dino.torraco

As I can see, you have changed your phone and are encountering an issue with the code that sent to the old device. This issue is possibly related to transferring data to the new device in a way that did not fully preserve the authentication setup, which can cause codes not to generate as expected.

I understand this situation may have happened due to an unexpected circumstance that prevented access to your old phone, so I will try to check and see if I can suggest anything to help you.

To address your issue better, might I confirm a few points first?

• Are you the global admin (@onmicrosoft.com) of this tenant, or just a user?
• Can you use other verification methods, such as SMS or email?

1/ If there is another global admin in your tenant:

The only way to regain access is to contact your "IT administrator or Global admin" and request a phone number update in the "Microsoft Entra admin center".

In the Entra admin center, an administrator can set user accounts to require a re-enrollment of multi-factor authentication (MFA). Ask your administrator to follow the steps shown in the following article: 

Manage user authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multi-factor authentication 

• Sign in to Microsoft Entra - Microsoft Entra admin center 
• User -> all users. Select the user you want to act on, and then select "Authentication methods". then select "Require multi-factor authentication re-registration". 

Require re-enrollment MFA: This disables all previous authentication methods. You'll then be prompted to set up a new MFA authentication method the next time you try to sign in, so you can add a new authenticator app.  

2/ Contacting Microsoft Data Protection team by phone support

In this situation, the Microsoft Data Protection team has tools and processes in place to verify identity and regain access to administrator accounts.     

Therefore, if you are the only administrator in your organization, then you need to involve Microsoft data protection team. Please try to find the related hotline number to call the frontline let them raise a ticket for you: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support

If you can use English, you may prefer these numbers:

(Important Note: Depending on your country or region, when you call the support number, you may hear an introduction of about 30 seconds such as "you can visit the link...". You can ignore this introduction and wait until you are presented with the options. Then press "1" as a business email user, and again "1" for technical help.)

In some countries, this is an automated conversation: First, when you call the hotline, they will ask you what kind of problem you are struggling with.

Answer: Authenticator.

A: What products do you use?

B: Office 365 for business.

Verification: Education or company account?

B: For companies

A: Are you an administrator?

B: Yes.

A: Are there any other administrators in your organization?

B: No.

A: I need one.... Service request?

B: Yes  

If your organization's Office 365 Business subscription is from a partner or reseller, and the global administrator is unable to open a service request on your end, contact the reseller's support provider to help open a service request on behalf of you instead.

Please try "2 or 3"times until you can reach out to an agent.

If you still need my assistance, please come back with screenshots or any additional details so I can review it again and see if there’s anything more I can help you with.  

Have a nice day!  

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes". If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

Note: Please follow the steps in "our documentation" to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.