With the modern internet being a hunting ground for cybercriminals, protecting your accounts with multi-factor authentication is now more important than ever. Thanks to a host of MFA authenticator apps, it’s also rather easy to setup an MFA account these days. However, a lot can go wrong if your MFA app stops working.
In this article, we’re talking about the Microsoft Authenticator app not working, its causes and what you can do to fix the problem.
What causes this error?
Problems where the authenticator app just stops working can be caused by a number of factors. Some common causes include:
- Outdated app version.
- The account isn’t linked properly.
- Internet connectivity issues.
- TFA/MFA isn’t set up correctly.
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How to fix these problems?
Here are five fixes you can try out.
Check your internet
If you’re experiencing this issue when adding a new account to the authenticator app, there’s a chance that your device doesn’t have internet connectivity. Check to see if your device has an active internet connection. If you’re connected to a WiFi network, ensure you have enough signal strength and speed. If you’re on mobile data, check to make sure that you’ve got good network coverage and that it’s actually enabled.
Force restart the app
Force closing an app and restarting it again terminates any active processes that might be impeding functionality. Here’s how.
- Open your phone settings and tap on Apps.
- Tap Show all apps.
- Find Microsoft Authenticator in the list and tap it to proceed.
- Tap the Force stop button.
Now restart the authenticator app and it should work just fine.
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Clear the app cache
A corrupt cache or app data can often cause function-impeding errors. Here’s how to clear the app’s cache.
- Tap on Apps and notifications.
- Tap on Show all apps and find Microsoft Authenticator from the list. If you’ve recently used Microsoft Authenticator, it’ll show up in the recent apps as well.
- Tap on Instagram.
- Then tap on Storage & cache.
- Then tap on the Clear Cache button.
Look for updates
Another thing you should do is look for any updates available for the Microsoft authenticator app. In most cases, developers are aware that the app is facing any bugs or glitches and will push out an update to patch the issue. If an update is available for the app, install it right away and try using the app again.
Reinstall
If updating the app didn’t work, your best bet is to reinstall the app from scratch. Keep in mind that this will wipe out any data you had stored in the app, meaning you’re going to have to link all your connected accounts to the Microsoft authenticator app again.
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