Migrate Authenticator from a Dead Phone

Question

Migrate Authenticator from a Dead Phone

Bridget McCann 0

My Windows Phone finally gave up the ghost. Everything is on that phone so I need the miscellaneous data on that phone so I can migrate it to my new phone. Authenticator is paramount in the migration. What can I do?

Carolyne 1,151 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2026-06-23T08:40:22.3666667+00:00

Hello Bridget! If cloud backup was enabled before the phone died: Install Authenticator on your new phone, sign in with the same Microsoft account used for backup, and tap "Begin recovery." Note: Windows Phone backups can only be restored on another Windows device — they cannot be restored on Android or iOS. If your new phone is Android/iOS, you'll need to re-add accounts manually.

If no backup existed (or cross-platform): There's no way to extract Authenticator data from a dead phone. You'll need to contact each service provider individually to regain access using backup/recovery codes, or by verifying your identity to have 2FA reset on each account. For your Microsoft account specifically, use https://account.live.com/acsr to recover access without 2FA.

Your answer

Carolyne 1,151 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2026-06-23T08:40:22.3666667+00:00

Hello Bridget! If cloud backup was enabled before the phone died: Install Authenticator on your new phone, sign in with the same Microsoft account used for backup, and tap "Begin recovery." Note: Windows Phone backups can only be restored on another Windows device — they cannot be restored on Android or iOS. If your new phone is Android/iOS, you'll need to re-add accounts manually.

If no backup existed (or cross-platform): There's no way to extract Authenticator data from a dead phone. You'll need to contact each service provider individually to regain access using backup/recovery codes, or by verifying your identity to have 2FA reset on each account. For your Microsoft account specifically, use https://account.live.com/acsr to recover access without 2FA.