Microsoft Authenticator generating invalid Instagram codes after switching phones

Question

I recently switched phones and restored my Microsoft Authenticator app using a previous backup.

Since then, the app has been generating invalid six-digit authentication codes for my Instagram accounts. The codes refresh every 30 seconds as normal, but Instagram consistently rejects them as incorrect.

Interestingly, this issue only affects my Instagram codes. All my other authentication codes appear to be working normally.

I suspect something went wrong when restoring the app during the phone switch, and that the original authentication credentials for Instagram may not have been restored correctly.

I have already contacted Instagram support, but they have been unable to help me resolve the issue. I am therefore hoping Microsoft can help me determine whether the Instagram authentication entries were restored correctly and whether there is a way to recover the original credentials from my old phone.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue, or knows how to resolve this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

What can be confirmed from the available guidance is:

• Third-party accounts such as Instagram use one-time password codes, and those codes are backed up and restored in Microsoft Authenticator.
• If a restored code for only one third-party account is consistently rejected while other accounts work, the practical recovery path in the documented guidance is to verify that backup and restore completed correctly, then recreate the affected entry if needed.

Recommended checks:

1. On the old iPhone, confirm backup prerequisites were enabled before the switch:
   • iCloud Drive
   • iCloud Keychain
   • iCloud Backup
   • In Saved to iCloud, make sure Authenticator is turned on
   • Authenticator version is 6.8.33 or later
   • The app was opened at least once before switching phones
2. On the new iPhone, uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Authenticator, then restore again. The documented troubleshooting step for a missing or incomplete restore on iOS is to reinstall the app so the backup appears again.
3. Confirm the restore used the same recovery account and the same device type. Restore from backup is only available when backup was enabled on the old phone, the same recovery account is used, and the restore is to the same device type.
4. If the Instagram entry still produces invalid codes after a clean restore, remove and re-add that Instagram account in Authenticator using a new setup from Instagram. The available guidance confirms third-party one-time password entries are what gets restored, but it does not provide a way to inspect or recover the original secret from Authenticator after restore.
5. If the issue continues after reinstallation and restore checks, send logs from Authenticator for diagnostics:
   • Open Authenticator
   • Open the app’s top-level menu
   • Select Send feedback

What is not supported in the available guidance:

• There is no documented method here to validate whether a specific Instagram secret was restored correctly.
• There is no documented method here to extract or recover the original third-party authenticator credential from the old phone through Microsoft Authenticator.

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• Microsoft Authenticator FAQs | Microsoft Support
• Transfer Microsoft Authenticator account entries to a new phone
• [Android](https://support.microsoft.com/authenticator/back-up-your-accounts-in-microsoft-authenticator#more-help-with-authenticator-backup)
• Troubleshoot problems with Microsoft Authenticator | Microsoft Support