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MFA reset request on GA account

Damola Ojoniyi 0 Reputation points
2026-05-23T17:35:13.97+00:00

Hi Support
My device was wiped and lost all data without a backup
MFA for the only GA admin for my developer's tenant is on the device authenticator
Could you please help with the best course of action to get my GA MFA account reset from Microsoft support

Thanks

Moderator's note: Moved from Microsoft Security | Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft 365 and Office | Development | Microsoft 365 Developer Program
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  1. Teddie-D 16,370 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-24T00:17:45.7266667+00:00

    Hi @Damola Ojoniyi
    I’m sorry to hear you’re locked out of your Microsoft 365 Developer E5 account after resetting your phone.

    However, we're not Microsoft support, this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators here don’t have backend access to Microsoft systems, so we can only provide technical guidance based on the public resources. Unfortunately, this type of MFA issue can only be resolved by the Microsoft Support team. You might need to contact them via phone service number: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support. The agent will be able to create a ticket for you under the affected tenant and then transfer this ticket to Data Protection team who could help you to regain access.  

    For future prevention, we strongly recommend designating at least two Global Administrators to avoid similar issues.  When a call is made to support, the first step is to provide an automated voice response from AI. Be careful, you won't be able to speak to a support representative if you don't respond appropriately here.  

    Here's an example of a response that actually led to a support representative. Please refer to it. 

    Q. Can you tell me if you are calling as a home user who uses a product or service at home or a business user who uses it in your business to provide the best assistance? 
    A. I am a business user. 
    Q. Thank you. Can you give me the details of your inquiry? 
    A. Login technical support. 
    Q. First of all, can you tell me which products you are inquiring about today? 
    A. Microsoft 365 business Standard。 
    Q. Please wait a moment, I understand Microsoft 365. Are you calling about a new case or an existing one? 
    A. New. 
    Q. To receive phone support, your phone number must be associated with your Microsoft 365 admin profile. To do this, go to aka.ms/m365profile. Again, it aka.ms/m365profile . This can take 48 hours. In the meantime, you can go to aka.ms/m365profile and file a case online. If you prefer, you can also text the link to the phone number you are calling. What do you think? 
    A. The phone number is already linked to the link. 
    Q. Can you tell me about the products in your inquiry? 
    A. Microsoft 365 Business Standard. 
    Q. Are you a Global Administrator? 
    A. That's right. 
    Q. I'm sorry. I didn't understand. Are you a global administrator for your domain? 
    A. Yes, I am a global administrator for the domain. 
    Q. If you have any inquiries, you can contact a Microsoft representative. Are you sure? 
    A. Yes. Please. 
    Q. Yes, I understand. One moment. 
    

    Please note that this team is always overwhelmed, so you might need to wait for them to call you, this should take 3-10 working days. I know that this is not a convenient solution to hear but it seems to be the only way, and it's recommended that you should have a secondary/backup Global Administrator to fix this issue on your own.    

    If you’re unable to reach support by phone, another option is to create a temporary tenant using a trial license: Go to Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing and click Try for free to set up a temporary Microsoft 365 tenant with a trial license.    

    -Use this new account to sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and submit a support request on behalf of your primary (locked) account.   

    Note: This method doesn't require you to use your new account for your business. Instead, it allows you to create a temporary global administrator account so you can submit a support request, as your original global administrator account is locked out due to issues with multi-factor authentication. The trial account is free for one month. Be sure to delete it after submitting your support request to avoid any automatic renewals or charges from Microsoft.     

    For further instructions, you can follow this guide: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn   

    I appreciate your understanding and patience in this matter. While I truly want to assist you, this issue is beyond the scope of my role as a forum moderator. I do not have access to internal databases or the ability to escalate cases directly to Microsoft’s internal teams. Therefore, please kindly contact the Microsoft Support team for the most efficient help.   


    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

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  2. AI answer

    2026-05-23T17:35:25.0966667+00:00

    Because the only Global Administrator’s MFA is on a wiped device and there’s no backup or alternate method, the tenant is effectively locked out and the MFA must be reset by Microsoft support.

    Follow this path:

    1. Confirm there are no other Global Admins
      • If there is another Global Admin, that admin can sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center and use Require re-register multifactor authentication on the affected account so it can set up MFA again.
      • If you truly are the only Global Admin, proceed to step 2.
    2. Contact Microsoft support and request Data Protection team assistance
      • Call Microsoft’s global customer service using the numbers listed in Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support.
      • When prompted by the IVR/agent, clearly state:
        • The issue is with Microsoft Authenticator / MFA.
        • The product is Office 365 / Microsoft 365 for business.
        • It is a company/organization account.
        • You are the only Global Administrator and are locked out because the phone with Authenticator was wiped and there is no backup.
        • You need to open a service request with the Data Protection team to reset the Global Admin’s authentication methods.
      • The Data Protection team will verify identity (using business and tenant information) and then reset the MFA methods on the Global Admin account so it can be re-registered on a new device.
    3. If you cannot reach a live agent via your tenant
      • As an alternative, create a temporary trial tenant (e.g., a Microsoft 365 Business trial), sign in as that tenant’s admin, and open a support ticket from the new tenant’s admin center.
      • In the ticket, explain that the request is on behalf of the original tenant where the only Global Admin is locked out and ask to be connected to the Data Protection team to reset MFA on the original tenant’s GA account.

    Once Microsoft resets the MFA methods, sign in again with the Global Admin account; you will be prompted to configure MFA from scratch on the new device (Authenticator app, phone, etc.).


    References:

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