Lost Access to Your Authenticator App

An authenticator app holds the second step for many accounts at once, so a new phone or a deleted app can lock you out of all of them. Reinstalling the app alone does not restore the codes, each account has to be recovered and re-enrolled on its own.

The recovery, in order

1. Check for a synced backup first. Install the authenticator app on the new phone and sign in with the same account the app used for sync. Google Authenticator syncs codes to a Google Account when signed in, and Microsoft Authenticator restores from its cloud backup. If the codes were never synced, they stayed on the old phone and cannot be recreated by reinstalling.
2. If you still have the old phone, transfer before wiping it. Google Authenticator has a transfer option that exports chosen accounts as a QR code, which the new phone scans to import them. Do this before resetting or trading in the old phone.
3. Use a backup code. At sign-in, choose Try another way or the equivalent alternate method option, and enter one of the backup codes saved when two-factor authentication was set up.
4. If no backup code works, use the service's official account recovery. For a Google account, sign in at accounts.google.com, choose Try another way, and use a prompt on another signed-in device, a text to a registered number, a passkey, or a security key. If none is available, use Google account recovery, which can take 3 to 5 business days. For a Microsoft account, use the account recovery form at account.live.com/acsr, giving a contact email and as much accurate account history as possible, and Microsoft usually replies within 24 hours. For an Apple Account, use iforgot.apple.com, or reset the password from a trusted device in Settings, and without a trusted device Apple account recovery can take several days.
5. Once back in, remove the old authenticator and enroll the new device. In each account security settings, remove the lost phone or old authenticator entry, add the new authenticator, and save a fresh set of backup codes.

If the usual reset doesn't work

If no backup code and no recovery method is available, the provider's recovery form and proof of identity is the only path, and recovery is not guaranteed. For a work or school Microsoft account, the organization's IT administrator has to reset the sign-in method, since support agents cannot bypass two-factor authentication by request. Start with the main email account first, since almost every other account sends its recovery links there, and work through the remaining accounts one at a time. Do not submit repeated recovery forms with changing details while waiting, since that can delay the review.

How to avoid getting locked out again

Turn on cloud backup or sync inside the authenticator app, and save backup codes in two places, such as a password manager and a printed copy kept somewhere safe. Add a second sign-in method where the service allows it, such as a security key or a backup phone number. Before switching phones, transfer the authenticator or confirm the cloud backup restored on the new phone, and only then wipe the old one.

Common questions

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