Cannot access account with Authenticator because it wants me to use Authenticator to authenticate

I hear your pain..... if ONLY you could SPEAK with someone @ MS - wouldn't that be novel? I tried and tried and tried to get around the AI and standardised answers (because they were useless). Finally, I made an online enquiry to purchase 50+ licences and lo' & behold - I had a REAL person contact me! Of course THEY couldn't help and promised to pass on the enquiry to an un-named boffin - NOTHING came of it. SO - we cancelled the credit card where the direct debit was coming from and went to google workspace. Good luck with dealing with MS _ I dont like your chances

This information is unhelpful because going to mysignins.microsoft.com requires 2FA via authenticator, so I am locked out of changing any authenticator settings. I have other accounts set up in authenticator, but this one does not work. When it says to approve on my authenticator app, nothing shows up.

When I go to authenticator app and delete that problem account and try to set it up again, it asks to approve on my authenticator app, but im in the authenticator app already, so that does no good. I have also tried reinstalling the authenticator app. no joy there either.

The only other option is to contact the administrator, but guess what? I am the administrator locked out of my administrator account, so that doesn't help either.

There is no text message option, I suspect because I didn't register my number with that microsoft account.

I think this may have happened because I had my previous phone fall in the water and was unable to recover it and shut down things like authenticator, so maybe the authentication is still connected to the hardware address of that device, which doesn't exist anymore, but authenticator hasn't gotten the memo.

Please help!

I tried that link and it says I cannot use my personal account. I can log into my email just fine, it's my xbox account that's giving me the problem. my hotmail won't let me change my phone number because it wants me to enter a code from the auth. app. it's not on the auth app so it's circling forver. Live chat was not a help at all, they made me fill out a form-which forced me to change my password to get into my email which wasn't the problem..my email was working just fine. but alas I changed the password after completing some online form for verification. I just want my xbox account to not show blocked...I want my phone number updated...these aren't complex things but the 40 min chat with repeat info made me feel like it was a bot and not even listening! it kept telling me to fill out the online form which I said I did twice and after the 3rd time I finally disconnected the chat.

Hi William,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community

I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble accessing your account. Based on my search results, it seems like you’re stuck in a loop where the Authenticator app is asking you to authenticate using the app itself.  This can happen if you’ve removed your account from the app after adding it previously. Here are some steps you can try to resolve this issue:

1. Go to mysignins.microsoft.com and under security and info, manage login verification methods. Delete Microsoft Authenticator as an option and then re-add it ^2^.
2. Make sure you’re running the latest version of the Authenticator app. Tap Settings and make sure App updates is turned on. Make sure the device requires a PIN or biometric to unlock (lock screen). Try to re-enable faceID or fingerprint in the device settings and restart the device ^3^.
3. If the above steps don’t work, you may need to contact your Microsoft 365 admin to help you disable Multi-factor authentication for your account. Then re-enable Multi-factor authentication for your account. You may need to reinstall the Authenticator app and then set up the Microsoft Authenticator app again

I hope this helps you regain access to your account. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Regards,

Roderick L

Microsoft Moderator

I AM the admin. How do I recover my account? I didn't set up 2FA in the first place. I want to talk to MS direct - NOT the bot!

Roderick L,

Hope you are doing well.

It looks like more and more people are trying to fix the issue in 2024: "Authenticator app is asking you to authenticate using the app itself."

Is there any official support from Microsoft for this free app which is hindering productivity in Microsoft software like Teams? We can't even sign in to submit a support ticket.

I'm one of the affected users and have been unable to use Teams for a week.

Can we find a suitable solution?

Thanks for going the extra mile.

Guillaume