add second account to Authenticator

Question

add second account to Authenticator

Huber Nicki (huberni7) 0

Hello, i‘m using the authenticator for my University but i need it for work also. When i try to add my work account i always get the notification that this device is already registered and its not possible to add another account. What can i do?

Carolyne Milgo 1,151 Reputation points

2025-10-07T18:49:07.7166667+00:00

Hello Huber!
What is the exact error message you are getting.
Typically if you already have 5 accounts this is when it would not allow you to add an account. The cause is quoted in the documentation as
"You previously set up five different phones or other devices to be registered for MFA by using an authenticator app. As a result, the maximum allowed number of device tokens (5) are already persisted in the StrongAuthenticationPhoneAppDetail property of your directory user object."

Otherwise this is how you should add a work/school account to the device-https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-add-your-accounts-to-microsoft-authenticator-92544b53-7706-4581-a142-30344a2a2a57#%3A%7E%3Atext=the+secret+code.-%2COpen+the+Authenticator+app%2C+select+Add+account+from+the+Customize%2C1%2C+and+then+select+Finish.&id0ebd=signinorgid

Your answer

Carolyne Milgo 1,151 Reputation points

2025-10-07T18:49:07.7166667+00:00

Hello Huber!
What is the exact error message you are getting.
Typically if you already have 5 accounts this is when it would not allow you to add an account. The cause is quoted in the documentation as
"You previously set up five different phones or other devices to be registered for MFA by using an authenticator app. As a result, the maximum allowed number of device tokens (5) are already persisted in the StrongAuthenticationPhoneAppDetail property of your directory user object."

Otherwise this is how you should add a work/school account to the device-https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-add-your-accounts-to-microsoft-authenticator-92544b53-7706-4581-a142-30344a2a2a57#%3A%7E%3Atext=the+secret+code.-%2COpen+the+Authenticator+app%2C+select+Add+account+from+the+Customize%2C1%2C+and+then+select+Finish.&id0ebd=signinorgid