I am deleted my authenticator app and are not receiving the OTP via my phone number.

If the Microsoft Authenticator app was deleted and OTP codes to the phone number are not being received, available options depend on whether this is a work/school (Microsoft Entra ID) account or a personal Microsoft account, and whether there is an administrator who can help.

1. Check why phone OTP is not arriving
   For work or school accounts using SMS/phone as a second factor:

• Avoid repeated requests for codes; excessive attempts can cause temporary blocking of code delivery.
• Confirm the phone number is a mobile number, not VOIP, and that SMS from unknown numbers are not blocked.
• Check that the phone’s SMS inbox is not full and that the messaging app is working correctly.
• If using email as a backup method, check the junk folder for messages from @accountprotection.microsoft.com.
• Verify that the phone number or email is correctly configured by signing in (if possible) to the Security info page and selecting Update info to choose a working method or I don't have any of these to replace security info.

2. If this is a work or school account and another admin exists
   If unable to sign in because MFA is required and the phone/authenticator are unavailable, another cloud services admin can reset MFA settings:
3. The other admin signs in to the cloud service portal.
4. Goes to https://account.activedirectory.windowsazure.com/usermanagement/multifactorverification.aspx.
5. Selects the checkbox for the affected account.
6. Selects Manage user settings.
7. Checks Require selected users to provide contact methods again and selects Save.
   After this, sign-in will prompt to reconfigure MFA, including adding the Authenticator app or a phone method again.
8. If you are the only admin and locked out of a work/school tenant
   When there is no other administrator and all sign-in methods (Authenticator and phone) fail or are blocked, self-service recovery is not possible. In this case, Microsoft’s Data Protection team must be involved via a support request:

• Call the regional Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support and follow the IVR prompts indicating:
  • Issue: Authenticator / MFA.
  • Product: Office 365 for business / company account.
  • Confirm you are the administrator and the only admin.
  • Request a service ticket and escalation to the Data Protection team to reset MFA for the admin account.
• If direct phone contact fails, create a temporary trial Microsoft 365 tenant, go to the new tenant’s admin center, and open a support ticket clearly stating you are locked out of a different tenant where you are the admin and need Data Protection to reset MFA.

4. If this is a personal Microsoft account
   For personal accounts where Authenticator was removed and codes cannot be restored:

• If unable to restore Authenticator credentials because the backup account cannot be accessed, support agents cannot reset Authenticator directly.
• Use the Microsoft account sign-in helper to regain access to the backup Microsoft account, then re-add accounts to Authenticator.
• If Authenticator shows Action required after restoring, open the account in Authenticator, choose to sign in to recover, enter the password, and confirm email or phone for additional verification.

5. Re-add Authenticator once access is restored
   After regaining access (via another admin, Data Protection, or sign-in helper):

• Go to the account’s Security info page (for work/school: https://aka.ms/mysecurityinfo or https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info).
• Remove the old Authenticator app registration.
• Add Authenticator app again and complete the setup.
• Optionally add a phone method (SMS or call) as a backup to avoid future lockouts.

If none of the above paths are available (no other admin, no phone/email working, and no way to reach Microsoft support), access cannot be restored via self-service.

References:

• Common problems with two-step verification for a work or school account
• Can't use Azure Multi-Factor Authentication to sign in to cloud services after you lose your phone or the phone number changes
• Set up a mobile device as a two-step verification method
• Restore account credentials from Microsoft Authenticator
• Troubleshoot problems with Microsoft Authenticator
• How Do I Regain Access to My Account After Losing Access to Microsoft Authenticator? (Urgent Request). - Microsoft Q&A
• I have a Micrsoft business account and I am the admin and the only user registered under this account. I can't log in because i have replaced my phone and the authenticator doesn't work. - Microsoft Q&A
• Authenticator locked and cannot access at all after replacing phone - Microsoft Q&A
• Microsoft Authenticator app doesn't show 6-digit OTP code - Microsoft Q&A
• Requesting a Tenant Admin MFA Reset - Microsoft Q&A