Common problems with two-step verification for a work or school account

It happens. You left your mobile device at home, and now you can't use your phone to verify who you are. Maybe you previously added an alternative method to sign in to your account, such as through your office phone. If so, you can use this alternative method now. If you never added an alternative verification method, you can contact your organization's Help desk for assistance.

1. Sign in to your account but select the Sign in another way link on the Two-factor verification page.
   
   

2. If you don't see the Sign in another way link, it means that you haven't set up any other verification methods. You'll have to contact your administrator for help signing into your account.

3. Choose your alternative verification method, and continue with the two-step verification process.

• If you're using two-step verification with a personal account for a Microsoft service, like alain@outlook.com, you can turn the feature on and off.

• If you're using two-step verification with your work or school account, it most likely means that your organization has decided you must use this added security feature. There is no way for you to individually turn it off.

• If you can't turn off two-step verification, it could also be because of the security defaults that have been applied at the organization level. For more information about security defaults, see What are security defaults?

If you've lost or had your mobile device stolen, you can take either of the following actions:

• Sign in using a different method.

• Ask your organization's Help desk to clear your settings.

We strongly recommend letting your organization's Help desk know if your phone was lost or stolen. The Help desk can make the appropriate updates to your account. After your settings are cleared, you'll be prompted to register for two-factor verification the next time you sign in.

Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication detects unusual activity like repeated sign-in attempts, and may prevent additional attempts to counter security threats. If you've mistakenly made many sign-in attempts, wait until you can try again, or use a different MFA method for sign-in. If you suspect someone else is trying to access your account, contact your IT administrator. The error could be caused by malicious activity, misconfigured MFA settings, or other factors.  To investigate further, ask an IT administrator to look at the Microsoft Entra sign-in logs.

Not receiving your verification code is a common problem. The problem is typically related to your mobile device and its settings. Here are some suggestions that you can try.

You sign in to your work or school account by using your user name and password. Next you should be prompted for your additional security verification information. If you are not prompted, maybe you haven't yet set up your device. Your mobile device must be set up to work with your specific additional security verification method.

Maybe you haven't set up your device yet. Your mobile device has to be set up to work with your specific additional security verification method. For the steps to make your mobile device available to use with your verification method, see Manage your two-factor verification method settings. If you know that you haven't set up your device or your account yet, you can follow the steps in the Set up my account for two-step verification article.

If you have a new phone number, you'll need to update your security verification method details. This enables your verification prompts to go to the right location. To update your verification method, follow the steps in the Add or change your phone number section of the Manage your two-factor verification method settings article.

If you have a new mobile device, you'll need to set it up to work with two-factor verification. This is a multi-step solution:

1. Set up your device to work with your account by following the steps in the Set up my account for two-step verification article.

2. Update your account and device information in the Additional security verification page. Perform the update by deleting your old device and adding your new one. For more information, see the Manage your two-factor verification method settings article.

Optional steps:

1. Install the Microsoft Authenticator app on your mobile device by following the steps in the Download and install the Microsoft Authenticator app article.

2. Turn on two-factor verification for your trusted devices by following the steps in the Turn on two-factor verificationprompts on a trusted device section of the Manage your two-factor verification method settings article.

You might find it more difficult to use a mobile device-related verification method, like a text messaging, while you're in an international location. It's also possible that your mobile device can cause you to incur roaming charges. For this situation, we recommend you use the Microsoft Authenticator app, with the option to connect to a Wi-Fi hot spot. For more information about how to set up the Microsoft Authenticator app on your mobile device, see the Download and install the Microsoft Authenticator app article.

App passwords replace your normal password for older desktop applications that don't support two-factor verification. First, make sure you typed the password correctly. If that doesn't fix it, try creating a new app password for the app. Do this by creating the app passwords using the My Apps portal as described in Manage app passwords for two-step verification.

If you've tried these steps but are still running into problems, contact your organization's Help desk for assistance. If you're an admin for Microsoft Entra ID and need more support, contact global support phone numbers.