Cannot load backup in authenticator app

Question

Cannot load backup in authenticator app

Juli Be 0

Hello, I want to recover my back up for my authenticator app, however I backed up the information onto my email that is also connected to the authenticator. So now I am stuck in a loop and I cannot verify that I am me, as I either need to enter a code that's send to my email (that I cannot access) or my authenticator app (that I also cannot access yet). So then I tried to log in to my mircrosoft accoun on my computer and tried adding my phone number, as I though that maybe I could also get a code through my phone number. Now it only says that I have to wait 30 days to add this new security info to my account. And I cannot go past this in the authenticator app.
What can I do? As I do urgently need access to my email account.

Thanks so much in advance for your time and effort!

Best wishes,
Juli

Carolyne 1,151 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2026-03-18T14:26:39.28+00:00

If you’re stuck in the Authenticator recovery loop, Microsoft cannot bypass it immediately: you must use the Microsoft account recovery form (“I don’t have access to these”) to prove ownership and regain email access; this is the only supported way when both Authenticator and email are unavailable, and the 30‑day security info wait cannot be overridden.

Once email access is restored, reinstall Microsoft Authenticator and choose Restore from backup; if recovery is denied, you’ll need to re‑secure the account (new password + new MFA) and then re‑enroll Authenticator—there’s no faster manual unlock for this scenario

Your answer

Carolyne 1,151 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2026-03-18T14:26:39.28+00:00

If you’re stuck in the Authenticator recovery loop, Microsoft cannot bypass it immediately: you must use the Microsoft account recovery form (“I don’t have access to these”) to prove ownership and regain email access; this is the only supported way when both Authenticator and email are unavailable, and the 30‑day security info wait cannot be overridden.

Once email access is restored, reinstall Microsoft Authenticator and choose Restore from backup; if recovery is denied, you’ll need to re‑secure the account (new password + new MFA) and then re‑enroll Authenticator—there’s no faster manual unlock for this scenario