Authenticator won't show codes and keeps going in circles

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Authenticator won't show codes and keeps going in circles

Lena Nikolic 0

The authenticator app does not provide codes or verification of identity. I am able to log into the device, make changes to the account but it won't display codes or give and authentication code. It does give an 8 digit number for no password signing, but doesn't display the other codes. I have tried everything I can think of, but the app keeps sending me in circles. It wants a code from the app to use another method and so forth. It is extremely frustrating.

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Rayyan Fawad 0

It looks like you are stuck in an incredibly frustrating authentication loop! This headache usually happens when the app gets confused between a standard 6-digit verification code and an 8-digit passwordless sign-in code.

If this is a work or school account, your quickest fix is contacting your company's IT admin to have them reset your multifactor authentication (MFA) settings from their dashboard, which wipes out the glitch. If it is a personal account, try logging into your security settings on a web browser using an alternate method—like a text message or email—so you can delete and re-add the app connection.

Lena Nikolic 0 Reputation points

2026-06-04T22:34:30.9433333+00:00

We are a small not-for-profit and don't have an IT department. There may be a school and work account under the same email. I think we have tried so many things that everything is now becoming blocked. It now often says we are having trouble verifying your account.
Rayyan Fawad 0 Reputation points

2026-06-04T22:43:39.5333333+00:00

Hi Lena, because your small non-profit has both a personal and a work profile tied to the exact same email address, Microsoft’s identity server is choking on conflicting security protocols. To break this loop before an automated security lock triggers, open a completely fresh Incognito / InPrivate browser window to strip away corrupt session cookies. Next, instead of your usual login page, go directly to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with the credentials of whoever originally registered your organization's Microsoft domain; from this central admin dashboard, navigate to Users > Active Users, click your account, and choose Manage multifactor authentication to forcefully reset or turn off the broken app connection. If you don't have admin access, go to login.live.com in your private window, enter your email, and explicitly select the Personal account option to see if you can bypass the block using an alternate SMS or email backup code; stripping the app from the personal side of a dual-identity email address usually breaks the verification loop for the work profile immediately.

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Authenticator won't show codes and keeps going in circles

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