How do I make my authenticator app work on my new device?

Question

How do I make my authenticator app work on my new device?

Peyton Renfro 0

I am in my Microsoft Authenticator app, on my new phone, and have added an account I first used on my old phone. But when it seems to only show that it's there but isn't actually activated, or something, as it won't try to "authenticate" on the new phone and will only do so on my old phone. I was thinking that it may have something to do with it only being allowed on 1 device, so I removed the account on my old phone and now nothing works. I need it quick because I'm starting college next week.

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Ruby-N 1,405 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Peyton Renfro,

Welcome to the Q&A Community.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. Regarding the issue you're experiencing, may I kindly ask for a bit more information?

Could you please confirm whether your account is a Education (This is an organizational account provided by an educational institution) or a Personal account?
Are you still able to sign in at office.com ?

In the meantime, if you're able to access your account, I recommend navigating to login in your account to office.com then click onto "View Account"
User's image

Go to Security Info and click "Add sign-in method"

User's image

Choose Authenticator App, and click "Add" to verify your device

User's image

Click "Next"

User's image

Open Microsoft Authenticator app, click the Plus Button (it's on the top of the app) >> select "Work or school account"

And scan the QR code. User's image

After you done scanning the QR code, click "Next" on computer screen.

Then, the system will send you 2-digit code to test, when you finish, click Done.

After adding the new device, please check if you're now able to authenticate using your new phone. If everything works correctly, you can safely remove the Authenticator app from your old phone.

User's image

If you're unable to use the Authenticator app, try selecting “Sign in another way” on the login screen. You may see options like SMS, phone call, or backup email, if previously configured.

If no alternate method is available and the account was locked to Authenticator only, you’ll need help from your IT administrator or Microsoft Support to regain access.

You can try these workarounds and update us. If the issue still appears please feel free to let us know and we will keep assisting you. Please know that we truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to support you. We are here to help. Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Peyton Renfro 0 Reputation points

2025-08-12T22:33:29.4166667+00:00

It is an education account and I didn't use the Microsoft 365 app/website but I'll check it out and see if it works.
Peyton Renfro 0 Reputation points

2025-08-12T22:38:07.3933333+00:00

I tried but I got stuck on "Security Info" because it requires me to verify my identity through the authenticator app, which I am unable to do.
Peyton Renfro 0 Reputation points

2025-08-12T22:51:16.7533333+00:00

Thank you for your assistance, sadly I could not get my problem fixed. I have already sent a ticket to my IT administrator and am now waiting for a response. Again, thank you for your time and assistance.
Bruce (SqlWork.com) 79,106 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-12T22:52:04.95+00:00

you were supposed to authorize your new phone with your old phone. once you deleted the account on the old phone, the old phone will not work until its been authorized. if you backed up the old phone a restore to the old phone may work, and you can use it to authorize the new phone.

if this doesn't work, and you did not setup an alternate verification, you need to have your account reset, so that the QR code will appear.

reseting the account depends on the system the account is tied to. try to login and follow the forgot password flow.
Ruby-N 1,405 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-12T23:03:02.6933333+00:00
Dear @Peyton Renfro,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for providing such detailed context about the issue you're experiencing. We're sorry to hear that you're experiencing this issue. Once your IT administrator has assisted you, feel free to share my information with them if needed to help expedite the reset of your Authenticator setup.

MFA Reset: The admin can reset your multi-factor authentication configuration on your account. This means the next time you log in, it will treat it as if you never set up MFA, prompting you to set up a new authentication method. At that point, you can scan a new QR code and reconnect your Authenticator app from scratch.

Your IT Admin may refer to the steps in the link below for guidance: Manage authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn

Remove Old Device Registration: In some cases, especially if push notifications still don’t arrive on the new phone, the admin should ensure your old phone’s instance of Authenticator is removed or unregistered from your account in the backend. Simply deleting the app on your side isn’t always enough; the admin may need to clear the old authenticator device record in Azure and Microsoft 365 admin center. This allows your new device to become the target of active authenticators.

Your IT Admin may refer to the steps in the link below for guidance: Wipe a mobile device in Basic Mobility and Security - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn

You can provide feedback on my answer via the option below or if you find our suggestions helpful, you can also use the feedback tool below our answer to submit your feedback for us (see image below), which will definitely help others in the community who have similar queries to find solutions to their problems faster.

If there are any issues related to the Office applications in the future, feel free to post in this Q&A forum.

We will be here to help you.

Have a nice day and stay healthy.

Share via

How do I make my authenticator app work on my new device?

1 answer

Your answer