Authenticator in new iPhone

Question

Made backup from the icloud to New iPhone but the verified accounts does not show up?

Answer 1

Hi Luiz Galvão

Backup in Microsoft Authenticator helps transfer your account list to a new device, but it does not fully restore your multi-factor authentication (MFA) settings. For security reasons, you'll need to manually reconfigure MFA for each account.

If you are using a work or school account:

Are you still have your old phone? If yes, here are steps to reconfigure MFA on a new phone: 

-Visit the My Sign-Ins | Security Info | Microsoft.com page to manage your verification methods   

-Sign in with your work account. 

-Select Add sign‑in method > Microsoft Authenticator. 

-Install Microsoft Authenticator on the new phone. 

-In the app, choose Work or school account, then scan the QR code shown on the Security Info page. 

-Approve the test notification sent to the new phone. 

-Once the new phone works, remove the old device from the Security Info page. 

If you no longer have access to your old phone and the Authenticator app isn’t set up on your new device, the best option is to contact your organization’s IT support team or administrator. They can reset your MFA settings and help you re‑register your account on the new phone. 

For reference, IT admins can follow the process outlined here: Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication - Microsoft Entra ID |… 

If you are using a personal Microsoft account (@outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com) 

Please try to sign in Additional security options

If you cannot sign in, please can try one of the following options: 

• Use the Microsoft Account Recovery Form: Help with the Microsoft account recovery form | Microsoft Support 
• Alternatively, contact Microsoft Support: Go to Contact - Microsoft Support, > type "Support" and click Get Help > click Sign in to contact support at the bottom of the > page under Products & Services, select Microsoft 365 & Office > under Subcategory, select Support > choose Chat with a support agent in your browser 

I hope this information helps. 

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Answer 2

On a new iPhone, this usually means the Authenticator backup was not restored, or only account names were restored.

Key points:

• Authenticator backup and restore only works on the same device type. An iPhone backup can be restored only to another iPhone.
• For work or school accounts, only the account name is backed up. After restore, each account must be opened and signed in again.
• For accounts that use one-time password codes, the codes are available after restore.
• If passwordless sign-in was used, only the account name is backed up, and sign-in is required again.

Troubleshooting on iPhone:

1. On the old iPhone, confirm these were enabled before the move:
   • iCloud Drive
   • iCloud Keychain
   • iCloud Backup
   • In Saved to iCloud, Authenticator is turned on
2. Make sure the old phone had Microsoft Authenticator 6.8.33 or later.
3. Opened Authenticator at least once on the old phone before switching.
4. On the new iPhone, uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Authenticator.
5. Restore using the same recovery account used for the backup.

If the restored entry shows “Sign in to add your account”, that is expected for work or school accounts. Open the account and sign in again to complete setup.

If no restore option appears, verify:

• backup was enabled on the old phone
• the same recovery account is being used
• restore is being done to the same device type

For a work iPhone migration, keep the old phone until sign-in works on the new phone. If the app still does not restore and the account is a work or school account, the account may need to be set up again after sign-in.

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References:

• Back up your accounts in Microsoft Authenticator
• Microsoft Authenticator FAQs
• Transfer Microsoft Authenticator account entries to a new phone
• Migrate to a new iPhone for work