MS Authenticator- move to new device

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I am using MS Authenticator with a WORK account on an iPhone 11.  Is there a way to backup all the settings/users if I’m using a WORK account (I know it’s somewhat easy with a PERSONAL account)?  If not, can someone point me to the section in the Admin section to reset up the MS Authenticator app from scratch?  It’s been a long time since I set this one up on my current phone!

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Colorado_Hiker wrote:

I am using MS Authenticator with a WORK account on an iPhone 11.

What do you mean by that? Are you saying this is a company-issued phone on which you have installed MA for your own use? Or are you saying this is your own phone on which you have installed MA to use with 2FA logins for a company account?

TOTP (Time-based One-Time Passcode) authentication apps (like Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, Facebook Authenticator, et al) have no specific association with any “account”, so there’s really nothing that needs to be backed up other than the secret key (a random, super-long string of alphanumeric characters) for each token.

In the former case (where the tokens you’ve configured in MA would be for 2FA use with your own non-work accounts), you can simply remove 2FA on said account(s) and reconfigure them anew with a new secret key after reinstalling MA elsewhere. You’ll start fresh with a new key, but if you’re the only one using said account(s) there is no harm in that.

In the latter case (where the tokens configured in MA would be for 2FA use to login to a company’s account), the key has to remain unchanged or other employees would get locked out, so ask your company’s security manager to give you the same key if you want to add the token on a new phone.

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You have to back it up to a microsoft account. In https://www.askwoody.com/newsletter/our-world-is-not-very-s-m-a-r-t-about-ssds/#patch-watch the bottom section there is a link to a how to

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Thanks and I did see that splash top article.  But the popup says I need a ms PERSONAL account.  Mine is a “work/school”.  Will it work anyway or do I need to create a new “personal” ms account?

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See Back up and recover account credentials in the Authenticator app (microsoft.com). It appears you need a personal MS account for backup and recovery.

--Joe

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