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

Since the original owner of this thread never selected an answer and it's grown into a mess, I'm modifying my initial post to include a general answer for new readers. It doesn't answer all possible questions as you'll see but does indicate the general problem and solution for Microsoft Personal account users.

Every post in this thread that mentions a solution that works says exactly the same thing.

To solve the problem, you need to log into the account using another method other than the authenticator (password or Windows Hello (biometric), or text/email a code, etc.), then delete the authenticator option titled 'Send sign-in notification' from the list of verification methods in the account security section.

Once you've removed the old, invalid authenticator selection from your account the problem goes away, because it's no longer there to be used and you can set up the new phone's authenticator.

The reason it happens is simple, you got a new phone and didn't take the time to find out first how to properly switch from one phone to another or couldn't because you lost the old phone.

For an individual Microsoft Personal account user, the process to fix is as I described above.

For anyone with either a Work or School account, the answer is similar, but varies depending on the way their account is managed.  The authenticator option, possibly titled; MFA, must either be deleted or disabled. Once this is done it will allow setting up a new authenticator to take its place.

The problem with Work or School is really who needs to do this, since typically it's the administrator of the organization, who may be an IT department, but for small firms may be the account owner himself, which means they might need Microsoft Support's help if they can't get into the account without the old authenticator to fix it.

I won't try to explain the Work or School possibilities here, since the answer is 'it depends'.  There's simply too many possible people and/or management interfaces involved and no one but you could possibly have that information, so it's pointless to try and answer in a single post.

My only recommendation is simple, see your Administrator.  If you're the Admin, contact Microsoft Support. If you prefer, read through the other posts in this thread to see if someone else's situation sounds similar to yours.

Rob

All text below this point was from my initial post before we understood the above, which I'm leaving only to provide the history that supports some of the posts that follow. There's no reason to read it for most, since it's didn't truly fix the problem.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Original text of post >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Do you have a biometric login option set on your phone like your image or fingerprint reader?

With that method enabled on my phone, I'm always prompted for my fingerprint each time I reopen the app, even if I just minimize it, but I can move between selections on the bottom bar without a new challenge while it's open. Been a couple years since I set mine up, but don't ever recall seeing an option to sign-in displayed.

Also in Settings (3 vertical dots at top right of app) is a selection under Security called Screen Capture that allows apps to do that, I assume that would work for your purpose, though it's a security risk during normal operation.

Don't know how fast the new threads are indexed, but typically they'll be on the top page for the better portion of a day, and you can always click the login option near the upper right of this screen and select 'My Profile' from the drop-down that appears to see a list of the threads you've posted to, including your own, as you scroll down that page. Few ever get here by search, so your questions will typically be answered by volunteers like me or contract workers with a Microsoft tag, so visibility via search is unimportant anyway.

Rob

< EDIT > Now that I think about it, you don't have your initial Microsoft account setup in Authenticator yet, which is why you're getting that prompt. If you're setting up a personal account like mine, here's the simple page for one of those.

How to use the Microsoft Authenticator app - Microsoft Support

Dear Rob Koch,

Can you answer the original question from asdf? When we are trying to log into a Microsoft App including Microsoft Authenticator the app asks us to verify our account with Microsoft Authenticator. We are not able to log into Microsoft Authenticator because Microsoft Authenticator is asking us to authenticate through Microsoft Authenticator. Looks like we have tried to set up Authenticator but something is not correct.

Can't say since I've never been stuck in that loop, but I'd guess that the initial installation has somehow been corrupted.

In that case the first thing I'd probably try is to completely uninstall the Authenticator app from the phone, restart the phone to insure it's fully removed and then start over following the instructions to the letter. Can't say what went wrong initially for you, but it must be rare, or we'd see more of these complaints here already.

Remember, we're volunteers here, so don't have the full resources that Microsoft Support might at our disposal, meaning our responses are our best effort based on personal knowledge and your description of the problem.

Rob

Same issue. Ongoing. We have emails we can't access because of this. Threads everywhere, apparently no solutions.

Dean and any of the others in this thread.

Were you trying to set up the Authenticator app for the first time when this problem occurred, or had you already been using it for a while when the issue appeared for some unknown reason?

If the former, what instructions did you follow to set it up (URL) and at what point in those steps did this situation first appear?

As I inferred in my last post, the fact the image shows the 'Authenticator' selection on the bottom left grayed out means the actual authenticator portion of the app was never set up properly, while the Passwords section is a password manager for other 3rd-party sites.

In your case Dean you're clear that you can't access email, so does that mean you're totally locked out of your account, or do you still have some access, just not to certain apps?

The reason I ask is that if you can access your Microsoft Account profile at the following URL, then you might be able to Remove the 'Send sign-in notification' selection from the 'Ways to prove who you are' section of the Security, Advanced Security page.

Microsoft account | Home

This is the selection that enables the Authenticator and should revert to using the other available items like password, Email or Text a code instead.

Otherwise, I'd probably contact Microsoft Support directly for their suggestions, since no one here can directly aid with account issues.

Rob