How to Switch Microsoft Authenticator to a New Phone

Microsoft Authenticator is one of the best Google Authenticator alternatives. It helps protect your online accounts from unauthorized access through multifactor authentication, and you wouldn’t want to lose that when switching to another. This guide shows how to transfer Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone.

Before You Switch Microsoft Authenticator to a New Phone

There are a few important things you need to know. The most important one is that you shouldn’t get rid of your old phone, as you need it to create a backup. Without one, you won’t be able to restore your authenticator accounts automatically on another phone.

If you’ve already created a backup on Microsoft Authenticator before giving away your old phone, then you have everything you need to restore it on a new phone. To do that, skip ahead to the “Restore the Backup on Your New Phone” section.

Another important thing to know is that you can’t transfer a backup created on an iPhone to an Android phone and vice versa, as Microsoft Authenticator stores the backup you created on iPhone on iCloud, making it incompatible with Android devices. You have to re-add all the authenticator accounts manually.

Tip: learn how to view and manage saved passwords in Microsoft Edge on PC and mobile.

Create a Cloud Backup on Your Old Phone

To create a backup, first add your Microsoft account to Microsoft Authenticator.

Start by launching the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone and tapping Authenticator in the bottom menu. Tap on the plus icon (+) in the top-right corner.

Select Personal account or Work or school account, then follow the prompts to log in to your Microsoft account.

To create the backup, tap on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner on Android or the hamburger menu in the top-left corner on iPhone.

In the menu on the left, select Settings.

In the Backup section, tap the toggle next to Cloud Backup on Android or iCloud Backup on iPhone.

Note: if the backup creation process fails on your iPhone, go to Settings -> Apple ID -> iCloud, and ensure that the toggle next to Authenticator is enabled. If it’s already on, but you still can’t create a backup, make sure you have enough storage space on iCloud.

To view the backup, go to Settings again in the Microsoft Authenticator app, and tap on Details in the Backup section. You will be able to see which device created the backup, as well as when it was created and updated. You can also delete the backup by tapping Delete backup.

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Restore the Backup on Your New Phone

If you’re moving to a new iPhone, make sure to log in with the same Apple ID you used on the old device.

Open the Microsoft Authenticator app on the new phone, and tap Restore from backup on the setup screen. If you skipped the setup screen, tap on Authenticator in the bottom menu, then tap Begin Recovery.

Follow the prompts to sign in with the Microsoft email address linked to your Microsoft Authenticator backup. Afterward, Microsoft Authenticator will take a few moments to retrieve your information from the backup. When it’s done, you should see a message that says, “Account successfully recovered.”

Due to security reasons, Microsoft Authenticator may need to verify some of your authenticator accounts on the new phone. You will have to sign in to them again to complete the process.

Remove Microsoft Authenticator From Your Old Phone

Now that you’ve successfully switched Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone, you should remove the old accounts from the old phone for security purposes. To do that, select the authenticator account you want to remove, then tap on the gear icon in the top-right corner.

Tap Remove account, and confirm that you want to remove the account in the prompt.

Alternatively, uninstall Microsoft Authenticator from your old phone to remove it completely. If you’re going to wipe your old phone because you’re selling or giving it away, you don’t need to worry about doing any of the above.

Tip: if Microsoft Edge is not responding, check out our list of solutions to get it to work again.

Pick Up Where You Left Off With Microsoft Authenticator

When switching to a new phone, there’s no need to start over, even when it comes to Microsoft Authenticator. Make sure you have a backup from your old phone so that you can restore it on the new one. The process shouldn’t take long, and you should be back to using Microsoft Authenticator on the other device without skipping a beat.

Authenticator apps an extra layer of security for your digital life, but you can’t lean on them completely. We recommend learning more ways to protect your privacy and security on Android, as well as on iOS.

Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Chifundo Kasiya.