Forum Discussion
An Authenticator initial login round-robin
Hello all.
In migrating from an older Android to a very new Android, I of course had to perform initial login on most app. In trying an initial login to Authenticator (an essential app for many other apps I use on the phone and on the desktop) I've been facing a maddening closed loop of actions: To perform initial login, I must use Authenticator to confirm access - even though I'm still trying to set it up on my Office 365 account login. Selecting "other ways" leads to a phone code, which when entered leads only to a "change your password" screen and I'm back where I started. (I've uninstalled/reinstalled the phone app; I've reset the p/w about a dozen times.)
Insights or suggestions most gratefully received! David
4 Replies
The loop occurs because the account is asking the old Authenticator registration to approve the new phone, while the SMS path appears to satisfy password reset but not the stronger sign-in requirement. Reinstalling the app or changing the password will not replace that registered authentication method. If the old phone still works, approve once there, open the account’s Security info page, add Authenticator on the new phone, test it, and only then remove the old device. If this is a personal Microsoft account and no old device is available, use another verification method from the account security page and remove the obsolete Authenticator entry before adding the new one. For a work or school account, contact the tenant administrator: they can delete the old Authenticator method, require re-registration, or issue a Temporary Access Pass so you can bootstrap the new app.
Very detailed, logical, clear! I'll give this a try.
You may need to reset or re-register your MFA methods in Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) or contact Microsoft support if you are the sole admin.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/authenticator/microsoft-authenticator-faqs
Great - I'll also check this out in my troubleshooting. Much obliged.
