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- Android devices, running version 6.6.0 and later
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The Microsoft Authenticator app backs up your account credentials and related app settings, such as the order of your accounts, to the cloud. After backup, you can also use the app to recover your information on a new device, potentially avoiding getting locked out or having to recreate accounts.
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Each backup storage location requires you to have one personal Microsoft account, while iOS also requires you to have an iCloud account. You can have multiple accounts stored in that single location. For example, you can have a personal account, a work or school account, and a personal, non-Microsoft account like for Facebook, Google, and so on.
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> [!IMPORTANT]
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> You need one personal Microsoft account and one iCloud account for each backup storage location. But within that storage location, you can back up several accounts. For example, you can have a personal account, a school account, and a third-party account like Facebook, Google, and so on.
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> Only your personal and 3rd-party account credentials are stored, which includes your user name and the account verification code that’s required to prove your identity. We don’t store any other information associated with your accounts, including emails or files. We also don’t associate or share your accounts in any way or with any other product or service. And finally, your IT admin won’t get any information about any of these accounts.
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> Only your personal and 3rd-party account credentials are stored, which includes your username and the account verification code that’s required to prove your identity. We don’t store any other information associated with your accounts, including emails or files. We also don’t associate or share your accounts in any way or with any other product or service. And finally, your IT admin won’t get any information about any of these accounts.
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## Back up your account credentials
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Before you can back up your credentials, must have both:
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Before you can back up your credentials, you must have:
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- A personal [Microsoft account](https://account.microsoft.com/account) to act as your recovery account.
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- An [iCloud account](https://www.icloud.com/) for the actual storage location.
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Requiring you to sign in to both accounts together provides stronger security for your backup information.
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-**For iOS only,** you must have an [iCloud account](https://www.icloud.com/) for the actual storage location.
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### To turn on Cloud backup
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### To turn on cloud backup for iOS devices
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- On your iOS device, select **Settings**, select **Backup**, and then turn on **iCloud backup**.
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Your account credentials are backed up to your iCloud account.
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### To turn on cloud backup for Android devices
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- On your Android device, select **Settings**, select **Backup**, and then turn on **Cloud backup**.
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Your account credentials are backed up to your cloud account.
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## Recover your account credentials on your new device
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You can recover your account credentials from your iCloud account, using the same Microsoft recovery account you set up when you backed up your information.
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You can recover your account credentials from your cloud account, but you must first make sure that the account you're recovering doesn't exist in the Microsoft Authenticator app. For example, if you're recovering your personal Microsoft account, you must make sure you don't have a personal Microsoft account already set up in the authenticator app. This check is important so we can be sure we're not overwriting or erasing an existing account by mistake.
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### To recover your information
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1. On your iOS device, open the Microsoft Authenticator app, and select **Begin recovery** from the bottom of the screen.
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1. On your mobile device, open the Microsoft Authenticator app, and select **Begin recovery** from the bottom of the screen.
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@@ -64,7 +72,7 @@ After you finish your recovery, you might notice that your personal Microsoft ac
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## Recover additional accounts requiring more verification
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If you use push notifications with your personal, work, or school accounts, you'll get an on-screen alert that says you must provide additional verification before you can recover your information. Because push notifications require using a credential that’s tied to your specific device and never sent over the network, you must prove your identity before the credential is created on your device.
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If you use push notifications with your personal or work or school accounts, you'll get an on-screen alert that says you must provide additional verification before you can recover your information. Because push notifications require using a credential that’s tied to your specific device and never sent over the network, you must prove your identity before the credential is created on your device.
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For personal Microsoft accounts, you can prove your identity by entering your password along with an alternate email or phone number. For work or school accounts, you must scan a QR code given to you by your account provider.
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@@ -89,27 +97,31 @@ For personal Microsoft accounts, you can prove your identity by entering your pa
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>[!NOTE]
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>If this is the first time you're setting up the Microsoft Authenticator app, you might receive a prompt asking whether to allow the app to access your camera (iOS) or to allow the app to take pictures and record video (Android). You must select **Allow** so the authenticator app can access your camera to take a picture of the QR code in the next step. If you don't allow the camera, you can still set up the authenticator app, but you'll need to add the code information manually. For information about how to add the code manually, see see [Manually add an account to the app](user-help-auth-app-add-account-manual.md).
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>For more info about QR codes and how to get one, see [Get started with the Microsoft Authenticator app](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/user-help/user-help-auth-app-download-install) or [Set up security info to use an authenticator app](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/user-help/security-info-setup-auth-app), based on whether your admin has turned on security info.
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>For more info about how to get a QR code, see [Get started with the Microsoft Authenticator app](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/user-help/user-help-auth-app-download-install) or [Set up security info to use an authenticator app](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/user-help/security-info-setup-auth-app), based on whether your admin has turned on security info.
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>If this is the first time you're setting up the Microsoft Authenticator app, you might receive a prompt asking whether to allow the app to access your camera (iOS) or to allow the app to take pictures and record video (Android). You must select **Allow** so the authenticator app can access your camera to take a picture of the QR code in the next step. If you don't allow the camera, you can still set up the authenticator app, but you'll need to add the code information manually. For information about how to add the code manually, see see [Manually add an account to the app](user-help-auth-app-add-account-manual.md).
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## Troubleshooting backup and recovery problems
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## Troubleshoot backup and recovery problems
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There are a few reasons why your backup might not be available:
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-**Changing operating systems.** Your backup is stored in the cloud storage option provided by your phone’s operating system, which means the backup is unavailable if you switch between Android and iOS. In this situation, you must manually recreate your account within the app.
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-**Changing operating systems.** Your backup is stored in the iCloud for iOS and in Microsoft's cloud storage provider for Android. This means that your backup is unavailable if you switch between Android and iOS devices. If you make the switch, you must manually recreate your accounts within the Microsoft Authenticator app.
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-**Network or password problems.** Make sure you’re connected to a network and signed into your iCloud account using the same AppleID you used on your last iPhone.
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-**Network problems.** If you're experiencing network-related problems, make sure you're connected to the network and properly signed in to your account.
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-**Account problems.** If you're experiencing account-related problems, make sure that you're properly signed in to your account. For iOS this means that you must be signed into iCloud using the same AppleID account as your iPhone.
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-**Accidental deletion.** It’s possible that you deleted your backup account from your previous device or while managing your cloud storage account. In this situation, you must manually recreate your account within the app.
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-**Existing Microsoft Authenticator accounts.** If you've already set up accounts in the Microsoft Authenticator app, the app won't be able to recover your backed-up accounts. Preventing recovery helps ensure that your account details aren't overwritten with out-of-date information. In this situation, you must remove any existing account information from the existing accounts set up in your Authenticator app before you can recover your backup.
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-**Backup is out-of-date.** If your backup information is out-of-date, you might be asked to refresh the information by signing in to your Microsoft Recovery account again. Your recovery account is the personal Microsoft account you used initially to store your backup. If a sign-in is required, you’ll see a red dot on your menu or action bar. After you select the red dot, you’ll be prompted to sign in again to update your information.
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## Next steps
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Now that you've backed up and recovered your account credentials to your new device, you can continue to use the Microsoft Authenticator app to verify your identity. For more information, see [Sign in to your accounts using the Microsoft Authenticator app](user-help-sign-in.md).
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## Related topics
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## Related articles
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-[What is the Microsoft Authenticator app?](user-help-auth-app-overview.md)
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| I only get notifications when the app is open. If the app is closed, I don't get notifications. | If you're getting notifications, but not an alert, even with your ringer on, you should check your app settings. Make sure the app is turned on to use sound or to vibrate for notifications. If you don't get notifications at all, you should check the following:<ul><li>Is your phone in Do Not Disturb or Quiet mode? These modes can prevent apps from sending notifications.</li><li>Can you get notifications from other apps? If not, it could be a problem with the network connections on your phone, or the notifications channel from Android or Apple. You can try to resolve your network connections through your phone settings, but you might need to talk to your service provider to help with the Android or Apple notifications channel.</li><li>Can you get notifications for some accounts on the app, but not others? If yes, remove the problematic account from your app, add it again allowing notifications, and see if that fixes the problem.</li></ul>If you tried all of these steps and are still having issues, we recommend sending your log files for diagnostics. Open the app, go to **Help**, and then select **Send logs**. After that, go to the [Microsoft Authenticator app forum](https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?forum=MicrosoftAuthenticatorApp) and let us know what problem you're seeing and what steps you've tried so far. |
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| I'm using the verification codes in the app, but how do I switch to the push notifications? | You can set this up for your work or school account (if turned on by your administrator) or for your personal Microsoft account, but notifications won't work for third-party accounts, like Google or Facebook.<br><br>To switch your personal account over to notifications you'll have to re-register your device with the account. Go to **Add Account**, select **Personal Microsoft Account**, and then sign in using your username and password.<br><br>Your organization decides whether to allow one-click notifications for your work or school account, so your organization might turn off this feature.|
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|Do notifications work for non-Microsoft accounts | No, notifications only work with Microsoft accounts and Azure Active Directory accounts. If your work or school uses Azure AD accounts, they might turn off this feature. |
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| I got a new device or restored my device from a backup. How do I set up my accounts in the Microsoft Authenticator app again? | If you’re running an iOS device, have turned on **iCloud Backup**, and have created a backup of your accounts on your old device; you can use that backup to recover your account credentials on your new device. For more info, see the [Backup and recover account credentials with the Microsoft Authenticator app](user-help-auth-app-backup-recovery.md) article. |
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| I got a new device or restored my device from a backup. How do I set up my accounts in the Microsoft Authenticator app again? | If you’re running an iOS or an Android device, and if you've turned on **Cloud Backup**on your old device, you can use your old backup to recover your account credentials on your new device. For more info, see the [Backup and recover account credentials with the Microsoft Authenticator app](user-help-auth-app-backup-recovery.md) article. |
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| I lost my device or moved on to a new device. How do I make sure notifications don't continue to go to my old device? | Adding the Microsoft Authenticator app to your new device won't automatically remove the app from your old device. Even deleting the app from your old device isn't enough. You must both delete the app from your old device and tell Microsoft or your organization to forget the old device and unregister it from your account.<ul><li>**To remove the app from a device using a personal Microsoft account.** Go to the two-step verification area of your [Account Security](https://account.microsoft.com/security) page and choose to turn off verification for your old device.</li><li>**To remove the app from a device using a work or school Microsoft account.** Go to the two-step verification area of your [MyApps](https://myapps.microsoft.com/) page or to your organization’s custom portal and choose to turn off verification for your old device.</li></ul> |
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| How do I remove an account from the app? | <ul><li>**iOS.** From the main screen, select the menu button, then select **Edit accounts**. Tap the red icon next to the account name, and tap **Remove Account**.</li><li>**Android.** From the main screen, select the menu button, then **Edit accounts**. Tap the **X** next to the account name.</li></ul>If you have a device that is registered with your organization, you may need to complete an extra step to remove your account. On these devices, the Microsoft Authenticator app is automatically registered as a device administrator. If you want to completely uninstall the app, you need to first unregister the app in the app settings. |
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| Why does the app request so many permissions? | Here's the full list of permissions that might be asked for, and how they're used by the app. The specific permissions you see will depend on the type of phone you have.<ul><li>**Camera.** Used to scan QR codes when you add a work, school, or non-Microsoft account.</li><li>**Contacts and phone.** The app requires this permission so it can search for existing work or school Microsoft accounts on your phone and add them to the app, helping to ensure your account works properly. This permission also helps save you time while adding your personal Microsoft accounts, by automatically filling in some of the info for you, like your first and last name.</li><li>**SMS.** Used to make sure your phone number matches the number on record. When you sign in with your personal Microsoft account for the first time. We send a text message to the phone where you downloaded the app that includes a 6-8 digit verification code. Instead of asking you to find this code and enter it in the app, it's found in the text message for you.</li><li>**Draw over other apps.** The notification you get that verifies your identity is also displayed on any other app that might be running.</li><li>**Receive data from the internet.** This permission is required for sending notifications.</li><li>**Prevent phone from sleeping.** If you register your device with your organization, your organization can change this policy on your phone.</li><li>**Control vibration.** You can choose whether you would like a vibration whenever you receive a notification to verify your identity.</li><li>**Use fingerprint hardware.** Some work and school accounts require an additional PIN whenever you verify your identity. To make the process easier, we allow you to use your fingerprint instead of entering the PIN.</li><li> **View network connections.** When you add a Microsoft account, the app requires network/internet connection.</li><li>**Read the contents of your storage**. This permission is only used when you report a technical problem through the app settings. Some information from your storage is collected to diagnose the issue.</li><li>**Full network access.** This permission is required for sending notifications to verify your identity.</li><li>**Run at startup.** If you restart your phone, this permission ensures that you continue you receive notifications to verify your identity.</li></ul> |
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