Unable to access Microsoft 365 Admin Center – MFA/SSO issue with Google Workspace federation

Question

Subject: Unable to access Microsoft 365 Admin Center – MFA/SSO issue with Google Workspace federation

Hello,

I am the administrator of our Microsoft 365 Education tenant.

Our domain is federated with Google Workspace (SAML SSO). I can successfully access:

• Google Admin Console (admin.google.com)
• Microsoft 365 Portal (portal.office.com)
• Exchange Admin Center (admin.exchange.microsoft.com)

However, I cannot access Microsoft 365 Admin Center (admin.microsoft.com).

When I try to sign in, Microsoft prompts me to use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). After authentication, I receive the following error:

"We couldn't sign you in. Please try again."

I am also unable to access:

• https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info
• https://myaccount.microsoft.com/security-info

The issue appears to occur only for Microsoft 365 Admin Center and MFA registration.

Tenant information:

• Administrator account: [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]
• Licensing: Microsoft 365 Education A1 and A3
• Federated identity provider: Google Workspace (SAML SSO)

Could you please check:

1. MFA registration status for the administrator account.
2. Any Conditional Access or Security Defaults policies affecting admin sign-in.
3. The federation/SAML configuration between Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
4. Any sign-in errors in Entra ID sign-in logs related to this account.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi admin admin,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for providing detailed information.

Based on your description, I understand that you can still access the Exchange Admin Center; however, the issue occurs when you try to access the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

In this situation, you need to reset the MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) method for your account. The next time you sign in, you will be prompted to set up MFA again, which may resolve the issue.

If there is another administrator in your tenant who can still access entra.microsoft.com, you can contact that administrator and ask them to help reset MFA for your account by following the guidance in the documentation below:

Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication - Microsoft Entra ID |…

If there are no other administrators remaining in your tenant, I recommend creating a support ticket with Microsoft Technical Support to request assistance with resetting MFA.

Since you can still access the Exchange Admin Center, you can click there to create a support ticket.

Please use the following subject line to ensure your request is routed to the appropriate team:

"Need to Contact the Data Protection Team"

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.   

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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