How to Recover Microsoft Authenticator in the Event of a Lost Phone

 Nearly everyone has heard of Microsoft for its famous Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office productivity suite, products in which the company is a leader in its IT sector. However, Microsoft also has an excellent range of services online, which can easily rival Google; however, the company still has the top search engine on the planet and other offerings that rank among the top preference of users. Apart from the internet and computer software, Microsoft has also decided to offer computer software. Redmond company has also decided to establish a presence on mobile platforms, thus taking part in the transformation of mobile devices instead of sticking to computers. Many of the apps developed by Microsoft are free on Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, so users who have decided to base their digital lives within the Microsoft ecosystem can enjoy the experience using devices that do not come with a Microsoft operating system (in the past, the Redmond company was offering Windows Phone as an alternative to Android and iOS but the operating system is no longer in use and thus Microsoft can maintain its presence on the market for mobile devices by creating apps for both of the major mobile platforms). Applications like Outlook are definitely among the top options for mobile users since they're mobile versions of the famous software installed on the vast majority of PCs. However, other less well-known programs are still of immense value, for instance, Microsoft Authenticator.

Microsoft Authenticator Is a Security App That Does It All

    Image by Firmbee from Pixabay 

Microsoft Authenticator is an app that allows people to authenticate access to their Microsoft Account protected with multi-factor authentication, which is a security measure in addition to username and password that involves entering a temporary OTP code sent via SMS or generated by specific apps. The Authenticator app lets you accept or deny a Microsoft account's login requests. Even if a hacker obtains login credentials to access it, they won't be able to complete the authentication without consent given through the app.

Authenticator, in addition to being a must-have security app for those who want to enforce the highest level of security on their Microsoft Account, also allows you to generate OTP codes for any other service that supports multi-factor authentication, including Google and Facebook, making it a viable alternative to Authy, Google Authenticator, and other similar apps. 

Finally, there is the option to keep passwords in encrypted form and use the Microsoft Authenticator app to global login to all services. The credentials are saved, making the app a solid password manager that works on all browsers installed on the Android or iOS device.

What Should You Do If Your Phone Is Stolen or Lost While Using the Microsoft Authenticator App?

Microsoft Authenticator, like Google Authenticator, can store tokens to generate OTP codes on physical devices. Still, there's an important distinction between the application developed by Microsoft in Redmond in the US and its Google version: the latter is completely cloud-free. Therefore, there is no option to backup your cloud for tokens. If an iPhone is stolen or lost, users must reset all tokens on each account and then create new credentials. If they fail to do this, they could make backups manually of their tokens and even keep them in Google Drive (even if this is a non-official technique, however, since Google Authenticator isn't yet offering any cloud backup options for tokens, to ensure a greater level of security). For Microsoft Authenticator, there is an integrated cloud backup feature, meaning when you install the application on a brand new device will mean that all tokens can be restored with a few clicks.

On iOS and Android devices, the Microsoft Authenticator backup and restore capability works differently:

- Suppose Microsoft Authenticator is installed when using any iOS device. In that case, the backup is encrypted and saved to iCloud if there are security breaches or security breaches in violation of Apple ID. Who can't use backup without pairing it with the Microsoft Authenticator;

- Suppose Microsoft Authenticator is used on an Android device, which will directly save a backup to Microsoft Account. Microsoft Account, so without the need for external cloud services.

In the event of the phone being stolen or lost or device, restoring Microsoft Authenticator will occur immediately if you have access to the identical Apple ID (in the case of iOS devices) or Microsoft Account (that should also rely on an authentication backup system such as OTP codes sent by SMS, as logging into with a brand new device and not being able to connect to the old phone with Authenticator application means you will be locked out).

Share :