Authentication issue

Hello @Paul Heyes

I'm so sorry to hear that your phone is broken and you can't use it anymore. I hope everything goes well for you, and I’ll try to help you with this matter.

(For your information: It’s important to transfer your Authenticator app data before switching to a new phone to ensure you don’t lose access to your accounts. The Authenticator app holds your verification codes, and if you don’t migrate them beforehand, you could be locked out of essential services, email, or work accounts.)

Could you please confirm whether you are a Global Administrator in your organization?

• If you are an end user (not a Global Admin), please contact your IT Administrator for support (step 1)
• If you are a Global Administrator, please follow steps 2 and 3 to receive support from the Microsoft Data Protection team (this process may be more complex)

1/ Get support from your IT Admin

In this case, as you are using a business account, the only way to regain access is to contact your "IT administrator or Global admin" and request a phone number update in the Microsoft Entra admin center.

In the Entra admin center, an administrator can set user accounts to require a re-enrollment of multi-factor authentication (MFA). Ask your administrator to follow the steps shown in the following article:

Manage user authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multi-factor authentication

• Sign in to Microsoft Entra - Microsoft Entra admin center
• User -> all users. Select the user you want to act on, and then select "Authentication methods". then select "Require multi-factor authentication re-registration".

Require re-enrollment MFA: This disables all previous authentication methods. You'll then be prompted to set up a new MFA authentication method the next time you try to sign in, so you can add a new authenticator app.  

2/ Contacting Microsoft Data Protection team by phone support

In this situation, the Microsoft Data Protection team has tools and processes in place to verify identity and regain access to administrator accounts.     

Therefore, if you are the only administrator in your organization, then you need to involve Microsoft data protection team. Please try to find the related hotline number to call the frontline let them raise a ticket for you: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support

(Important Note: Depending on your country or region, when you call the support number, you may hear an introduction of about 30 seconds such as "you can visit the link...". You can ignore this introduction and wait until you are presented with the options. Then press "1" as a business email user, and again "1" for technical help.)

In some countries, this is an automated conversation: First, when you call the hotline, they will ask you what kind of problem you are struggling with.

Answer: Authenticator.

A: What products do you use?

B: Office 365 for business.

Verification: Education or company account?

B: For companies

A: Are you an administrator?

B: Yes.

A: Are there any other administrators in your organization?

B: No.

A: I need one.... Service request?

B: Yes  

If your organization's Office 365 Business subscription is from a partner or reseller, and the global administrator is unable to open a service request on your end, contact the reseller's support provider to help open a service request on behalf of you instead.

Please try 2 or 3 times until you can reach out to an agent.

3/ Another work around

If you still cannot reach to agent, there is still a workaround, you might consider registering for a new tenant by signing up for a trial subscription. This would allow you to create a new tenant following the prompts provided. Once set up, you can access the admin console of the new tenant and submit a support ticket requesting to speak with the Data Protection team on behalf of your previous tenant.   

For detailed guidance, to set up a new tenant, please follow these steps:    

• Visit this following link and choose any plan and click try for free to start a free trial: Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing | Microsoft 365
• Follow the guided setup process to create a new account for a new tenant. 

Once your tenant is created, you should be able to access the support portal and submit your ticket without further issues 

Ticket Support: In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center->Support->Help & Support. You can raise support ticket In Microsoft Admin Center by this link:

https://admin.microsoft.com/#/support/requests

*Please remember to cancel the trial subscription once your issue is resolved to avoid any unintended charges.   

I’ve gathered all the information I could collect to help you. Hopefully it will be useful for you in this case.

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