No longer have access to phone with Authenticator, and no idea who Global Admin is

Michael Rogers 0 Reputation points
2026-09-21T02:59:18.2633333+00:00

Two problems,

  1. No longer have access to phone with authenticator app to be able to confirm sign in to advanced security settings for a bunch of our work/organisation emails.
  2. Can't even access/login to 365 Admin Center as no email we have access to is the global admin email.
    This is all very concerning as it appears today we were hacked - mass phishing emails went out, thankfully some sort of automated Microsoft response stopped this from occurring and deleted/prevented these emails from continuing, but cant even change password of email when no access to Admin Center.
    Calling the AI support line does not help at all either!

Moved from: Microsoft Security | Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For business | Other
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  1. Jade Ng 15,855 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-21T06:17:59.84+00:00

    Dear Michael Rogers,

    I’m sorry to hear about this situation, and I completely understand your concern, particularly since you have also observed unexpected phishing emails being sent from your organization.

    Based on the information provided, there appear to be two separate but related issues:

    1. You no longer have access to the device that was registered with Microsoft Authenticator, so you are unable to complete the required MFA verification.
    2. You are also unable to access the Microsoft 365 Admin Center because you do not currently have access to an account with the necessary administrator permissions.

    If no administrator can access the tenant, this should be treated as a tenant lockout scenario. In this situation, Microsoft Support will need to verify your organization's ownership and assist with restoring administrative access.

    If you have difficulty reaching an agent by phone, there is a reliable workaround. This involves creating a new, temporary Microsoft 365 account to contact the support team online. 

    1.Visit the Microsoft 365 Enterprise Plans page: Go to Compare Office 365 Enterprise Pricing and Plans | Microsoft 365. 

    2.Choose a plan and start a free trial: Select any of the available plans and click "Try for free" to begin the trial setup process. 

    3.Follow the guided setup: Complete the steps to create a new Microsoft account and a new tenant. This will be a separate and independent Microsoft 365 environment. 

    4.Access the Microsoft 365 Admin Center: Once the new tenant is created, navigate to https://admin.microsoft.com/AdminPortal/Home#/homepage

    5.Go to Support: In the left-hand navigation menu, click on "Support" and then "Help & support." 

    6.Raise a support ticket: Describe your issue in detail. Crucially, you must clearly state that you are locked out of a different, pre-existing Microsoft 365 tenant where you are the administrator. Provide the following information about your locked account:  

    • Your administrator account email address for the tenant. 
    • The domain name of your tenant  
    • Any error messages you are receiving. 
    • Details about the issues you are experiencing
    • Confirmation that you are the administrator of the tenant. 

    7.Submit your ticket:

    Follow the prompts to submit your support request. You will likely receive a ticket number for tracking. 

    Important notes:  

    • This new trial tenant will not give you access to any of the data or settings in your original locked tenant. It is solely a temporary means to contact Microsoft support. 
    • Be prepared for Microsoft support to ask for verification of your identity and administrative rights for the locked tenant. 
    • The resolution time might be longer as you are contacting support from a different tenant. 
    • Remember to cancel the trial subscription for the new tenant once your issue with the original account is resolved to avoid any unintended charges. You can typically do this within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under "Billing" > "Your products." 

    I hope these steps will help resolve your issue. If you need further assistance, I am always here to help. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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