How to Move Microsoft Authenticator to Your New Phone

How to Backup Microsoft Authenticator Data on Your Old Phone

To move Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone, you first need to back up all your accounts on the old phone to the cloud. Here are the steps for the same.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Authenticator app, tap the three-dot menu icon at the top-right corner, and select Settings. If you use an iPhone, tap the hamburger icon at the top-left corner and then select Settings.

Step 2: Scroll down to the Backup section and enable the toggle next to Cloud Backup.

After you complete the above steps, your authenticator accounts will be backed up to your Microsoft (on Android) or iCloud (on iPhone) account. If you are using an iPhone, you will need to ensure that iCloud sync is enabled for Microsoft Authenticator. To do so, use these steps:

Step 1: Open the Settings app, tap on your name at the top, and select iCloud.

Step 2: Under Apps Using iCloud, tap the Show All option and enable the toggle next to Authenticator in the following menu.

How to Transfer Microsoft Authenticator Data to Your New Phone

After you’ve backed up your authenticator data to the cloud, you can restore it on your new phone. However, make sure you don’t remove your accounts from the old phone until you have transferred data to the new device.

Step 1: Download and install the Microsoft Authenticator app on your new phone from the Play Store or App Store.

Step 2: Open the Microsoft Authenticator app and tap the Begin recovery option at the bottom.

Step 3: Type in the email address linked with Microsoft Authenticator and tap Next. Then, note down the two-digit number shown on the following screen.

Step 4: Switch to your old device and tap the sign-in approval notification. Select the same two-digit number from the options and hit Approve.

Microsoft Authenticator will transfer all your accounts to the new device. Note that some of your accounts may require additional authentication once you transfer Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone. If that’s the case, you will see a message about the same.

How to Remove Microsoft Authenticator From Your Old Phone

Adding Microsoft Authenticator to your new device does not remove the app from your old device. Once you have successfully moved Microsoft Authenticator to your new phone, you can safely remove your authenticator accounts from the old phone.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone and select one of the accounts from the list.

Step 2: Tap the gear icon at the top-right corner and select Remove account.

Repeat the above steps to remove all of your accounts from the old device one by one.