Microsoft Authenticator is asking me to authenticate using Microsoft Authenticator to use Microsoft Authenticator

Steve53756,

If you replaced an old phone with a new then that's likely what started the problem, which is why you always need both a phone number and alternate email as backups for 2FA if using that.

<<< Removed mention of account recovery form, forgot that doesn't work with 2FA enabled >>>, then go into the verification options section of Advanced security options and remove the existing Send sign-in notification item to allow setting up your new authenticator from scratch.

Of course, this can only work if you've got at least your password and one other form of verification available, which obviously can't be the authenticator.

There's typically a way around using the authenticator if you have enough other methods available, but I'm not aware of a way if you don't.

Rob

I used my own business domain to set up things in the Microsoft admin panel. Initially it suggested something along the lines of ...@businessname.onmicrosoft.com, but I changed it.

Okay that's good Lasse,

You've confirmed its most likely a true Microsoft Small Business account due to both the business domain and Admin panel, since those would be specific to an account running on Microsoft's Azure platform, rather than your personal account that's operating on the Outlook.com platform, regardless of which precise Microsoft domain that particular email account is using.

Based on that, it appears the following Support resources page for Small business would apply, with the most useful section likely the one partway down that page titled, For Admins.

Support resources - Microsoft Support

Note that on the bottom left of that section there's Online and Phone Support including a list of phone numbers by country, which if you're unable to login in order to use the normal Admin console to fix your issue, you'd need to try in order to see whether Microsoft Support can override and do this for you to regain access to your account.

Though I've got no experience with this myself, my assumption is they'll need some sort of proof that you're who you state you are, which if you have any records regarding either the account or other customer information like a customer number if any, or more likely things like when the original invoice or payment occurred, etc., these might help to improve your chances of being able to prove this more quickly.

Once you've regained control of your account, it might be best to set up a second admin account for the business to allow regaining access more easily, or if that costs additional to add, maybe using your personal account as an optional verification method for the business Admin account, if you can't use the phone number twice, once on each system.

I'd also take this opportunity to not only ask Support these specific questions, but also any others that have come to mind, since the bother of going through all of this will be more worth it if you learn better how to both protect and use this account in the future.

Also remember they've heard none of our discussion here, so laying out the basic situation that you have the 3 accounts for Personal, School and the Small Business one you're getting their help with for access via the authenticator could be very helpful to get your issues solved in a single call.

Rob

I used my own business domain to set up things in the Microsoft admin panel. Initially it suggested something along the lines of ...@businessname.onmicrosoft.com, but I changed it.

Thank you for your answer, Rob.

In the case of the small business account, it's all managed by me, but I can no longer access my account. Yes, I only have 1 phone number, and it's already in use in the 1 private account I've set up and got working. How can I recover my private small business account?

Lasse,

For the small business account, it sounds likely this may only be another personal account, though it's really not certain, since official business accounts are still more typically operating on Azure. Here the existence of something like a Microsoft email domain like Outlook.com, Live.com, MSN.com, Hotmail.com, etc. would indicate a personal account, while a business domain like MyDomainName.com you chose yourself typically implies Azure cloud as well.

You'd need to confirm this first, but rather than expose tat information here, just confirm whether it's one of the common personal domains or something completely different named for your company. That will help determine what options you might have to regain control.

Rob

Lasse,

Yes, the school the account is typically on Azure and managed by either the school's IT if they have it or some other sort of arrangement with a contractor possibly including Microsoft.

But that account won't typically be a personal account using Outlook.com for example, but instead running on Azure and possibly associated with Microsoft 365, though that latter set of apps can be associated with personal accounts as well, so it doesn't help determine which is in use there.

Calling the school for help makes the most sense.

Rob