Completely locked out of my MS account and stuck in a MFA loop

Question

Completely locked out of my MS account and stuck in a MFA loop

NelM 0

Since yesterday (December 17, 2025), I have been completely locked out of my Microsoft account and therefore cannot access any Microsoft services, including my Surface Pro7 and OneDrive.

What happened:

I just wanted to change my email address in my Microsoft account and then create a new passkey/access with an updated email in the MS Authenticator app.

I added the new email address to my MS account and set it as the primary alias.
After that, I removed the old email address (but it is still listed, when I want to find out my username via the MS support website)
I removed the MS account from the authenticator app, but I couldn't remove the authenticator as a security method within my MS account.
(I do not have a backup of the MS Authenticator App, so I can not get the MS account back into the App.)

As a result, I am stuck in a MFA loop.

In order to log in anywhere, I have to verify myself, but:

The Authenticator approval does not arrive because the MS account has been removed from the app.
SMS verification does not work (I get an error message that this method is currently unavailable).
Email verification works in the 1st step, but in the 2nd a code must be requested via SMS, which does not work.

I have already tried:

Account recovery request (does not work because MFA is enabled)
Password reset
Login-Helper
Following the official support pages

All of these lead back to the same MFA verification that I cannot complete.

Due to repeated login attempts, I have now also reached the limit for receiving verification codes by email.

Since it is extremely difficult to obtain accurate information, I believe the only possible solution is a manual Security Info Reset performed by Microsoft Support after identity verification, as this appears to be a complete MFA lockout.

I would greatly appreciate guidance from a MS moderator or support agent on how to proceed with a Security Info Reset or further options, that are not the standard links to the support page, as those are not accessible when MFA is enabled and broken.

Thank you in advance for your help.

NelM 0 Reputation points

2025-12-18T14:28:27.8666667+00:00
I managed to get to talk to a real person on the phone via the Support Service for Surface devices with the steps descibred below and we could solve the varification problem.

How I got back into my account and device:
We tried to log in into my MS account together 2 or 3 times on https://account.microsoft.com/

I did eveything as before and all of a sudden, I could choose the option "I do not have access to these" when I was asked to put the last 4 digits of my phone number for SMS verification.

After that, I had to set a new password which I could use to log in into my MS sevices and my Surface.

PLEASE NOTE: I do indeed have a Surface and was having difficulties logging in due to the issue described above. Please do not abuse this method if you do not have a device, as this could block others who actually need the help.

Instructions to get phone support:

Go to the MS support website https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/contactus#!

Expand the list

Scroll down and click on the "Get help and support" link

Search for your problem (eg. I can not login because I can not verify my identity) and the click on Contact support. This is easily overlooked AND you have to search for your topic first!

Select you categories (in my case Surface Pro) and iin the next step you can choose to talk or to chat with a real person :)

then

Your answer

NelM 0 Reputation points

2025-12-18T14:28:27.8666667+00:00

I managed to get to talk to a real person on the phone via the Support Service for Surface devices with the steps descibred below and we could solve the varification problem.

How I got back into my account and device:
We tried to log in into my MS account together 2 or 3 times on https://account.microsoft.com/

I did eveything as before and all of a sudden, I could choose the option "I do not have access to these" when I was asked to put the last 4 digits of my phone number for SMS verification.

After that, I had to set a new password which I could use to log in into my MS sevices and my Surface.

PLEASE NOTE: I do indeed have a Surface and was having difficulties logging in due to the issue described above. Please do not abuse this method if you do not have a device, as this could block others who actually need the help.

Instructions to get phone support:

Go to the MS support website https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/contactus#!

Expand the list

Scroll down and click on the "Get help and support" link

Search for your problem (eg. I can not login because I can not verify my identity) and the click on Contact support. This is easily overlooked AND you have to search for your topic first!

Select you categories (in my case Surface Pro) and iin the next step you can choose to talk or to chat with a real person :)

then