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

Anonymous
2023-01-28T00:02:56+00:00

So first of all... Why is "microsoft Authenticator" not an option in the "Products" dropdown when choosing where this post should go? I'm just going to choose "Windows"... Sorry not sorry.

Also, I can't take a screenshot on the microsoft Authenticator app without it capturing a black image (thanks,) so here is an extremely low resolution webcam picture of my phone screen.

When I click "Passwords" section on the microsoft authenticator app, I see a button that says "Sign In".

So, I click the button, to sign in. Then, it asks me to authenticate using microsoft authenticator, but I am not signed in, and this is a "sensitive" page, so I have to enter the code displayed into microsoft authenticator, BUT I AM ON MICROSOFT AUTHENTICATOR ALREADY!!! Who designed this terrible app??? Cheap labor resources then you expect us to prefer microsoft edge over Chrome? LOL

Also, when I search my own question in "Bing", it doesn't come up, even if I type the title word for word. Does it go through some sort of not-mentioned approval process before my post becomes actually visible to the public, or is Bing just extremely bad at updating its search results in a timely manner?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Security and privacy

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-06-24T10:55:38+00:00

    Thank you, life-saver!

    One specific case for some people (with Work/School account): your admins may have restricted your Microsoft Authenticator setup method to be by QR code, not sign in. If so, when setting up Authenticator on your mobile, select QR code as the option. Then go to the Security Info section in the Microsoft admin interface (https://aka.ms/mysecurity), select Add a sign-in method, then follow the onscreen instructions to sign in with a QR code.

    This avoided the endless authentication loop that I had been stuck in, like others in this thread.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-06-12T15:23:22+00:00

    I have always wondered the same thing. It's really crazy. They want you to authenticate something that needs to be set up to authenticate but you can't authenticate what you don't have access to because it won't let you authenticate without a code...

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-05-22T22:47:35+00:00

    So much justification and blame from the moderators. Wow. Not a good look.

    I went to open Mac Word and got stuck in this authenticator loop (switched phones---who the f would know that you have to back up the authenticator app: that's just a ridiculous expectation). I made so many attempts, now Word is locked out til tomorrow! I have work to do. Infuriating beyond belief. Somebody needs to lose their job for this horrific UX fail.

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