Authenticator app

Question

I had a hit mail address but no longer use it. I got a new hotmail address and use that one. Now I need the Authenticator app to get started for a new job but since the old info is on file I can’t. I switched the email over but it says it will take 30 days before I can use why. I need this asap. All this money the company gets they can’t make this happen immediately why?

Answer 1

What does “Security info change is still pending” mean? | Microsoft Support

Italics and bolding are mine to indicate these are copied from the document or to make them stand out.

"It's because all the security info (such as alternate contact methods) that you previously added to your account was removed and replaced with new info. You need to wait 30-days for the changes to take effect."

"When all security info is removed from a Microsoft account, the account is put into a restricted state for 30-days.

While we understand this 30-day period might be frustrating, this is done to protect and alert you in case the security info was removed by someone who had unauthorized access to your account.

We'll send notifications during the 30-days to the original security info, which could be a phone number or email address. These notifications are sent to alert you that changes were made to your security info.

If you removed this security, you might have the option to cancel the request. See below."

See the document link above for more details including how to potentially cancel the request to expedite the process, then simply don't remove all the existing security information again, leaving at least some of the alternate verification items in place even if they are incorrect, at least until you've managed to both recover access to your account and added all of the corrected items you can, and then wait a few weeks before trying to remove the truly outdated items.

As the above clearly states, you triggered this 30-day lockout yourself by deleting all of the previous security items, which is why you always want to have at least one or more additional items saved in case some of them might have changed.

I have several verification methods myself, including alternate email address, legacy SMS (text/voice, that will be going away soon since Microsoft is dropping this method entirely), Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint and/or PIN with a Passkey stored in the Windows 10/11 device TPM, Microsoft Authenticator, and a Recovery Code printed out and put in a safe place since I created it in 2014. Most of these items have been around since at least 2014, including the password I forgot to mention, but may have been updated since due to changes or other reasons. like the fact that the Microsoft Surface Go tablet I'm typing this on was the first with Windows Hello support.

Rob