Teams Essential and Microsoft Authenticator

Dear Marie Eriksson,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on your description, you signed up for a Microsoft Teams Essentials trial, which created a business (work) account. However, you are unable to sign in to that account. You also mentioned that the trial license is visible in the Admin Portal.

To better understand where the issue is occurring, could you please confirm whether you are able to sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center using the business account that was created with the trial? 

If you do have access to the Admin Center, this would indicate that the tenant itself is accessible and that the issue may be specific to the original user account (for example, related to authentication or MFA registration). Please try login to My Account to see if you can remove the current MFA and start over.

If that does not work, you can try creating a new Global Admin user in the tenant, reassign the Teams Essentials license to the new account, and then attempt to sign in using that account instead. Since this is a business subscription, it can only be used with a business (work) account. 

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center using an admin account > Users > Active Users > Add a user.
   1. 
2. Follow the setup guide until you reach the Optional Settings section.
   1. 
3. Under Admin Center Access, select Global Administrator > Next 

If you are unable to access the Microsoft 365 Admin Center at all, this may indicate a tenant access or lockout issue. In that scenario, I recommend contacting Microsoft Support by phone to create a support ticket so they can assist with recovering access to the tenant.  

To raise a support ticket with the Data Protection Team, please try the below:

1/ Please locate the appropriate support phone number for your country or region and contact Microsoft Support so the frontline team can raise a service request on your behalf: Customer service phone numbers    

2/ When calling the support number, the experience may vary depending on your country or region:   

• In some regions, you may hear an automated message for approximately 30 seconds. You can ignore this message and wait for the prompt, then select “1” for Business email user and “1” again for technical support.   
• In other regions, you may be guided through an automated conversation similar to the following:
  • The system asks what issue you are experiencing → Authenticator   
  • Product in use → Microsoft Teams Essentials 
  • Account type → Company account   
  • Administrator status → Yes   
  • Are there other administrators in the organization? → No   
  • Proceed to create a service request → Yes   

I hope the above helps you start using your business account. If you need further assistance, do let me know.

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".     

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

It seems that you are facing issues with Microsoft Authenticator not generating codes for your work account linked to Teams Essential. Here are a few suggestions to help you resolve this issue:

1. Check Account Settings: Ensure that the account you are trying to log into with Microsoft Authenticator is correctly set up in the app. Sometimes, accounts can become misconfigured.
2. Re-register MFA: Since you mentioned that you have a personal account and a work account, it may be necessary to reset your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) settings. If you have access to your organization's admin, ask them to reset your MFA settings through the Microsoft Entra Admin Center. This will allow you to set up the Authenticator app again using a QR code.
3. Contact Support: If the above steps do not work, you may need to contact Microsoft support for assistance. They can help you with resetting your MFA settings and ensuring that your accounts are properly configured.
4. Use Alternative Sign-in Methods: If possible, try to sign in using an alternative method, such as a backup email or phone number, if these options are available.
5. Check for App Updates: Make sure that your Microsoft Authenticator app is updated to the latest version, as updates can resolve bugs and improve functionality.

If none of these steps work, reaching out to the Microsoft Data Protection team may be necessary for further assistance.

References:

• Microsoft Authenticator app doesn't show 6-digit OTP code - Microsoft Q&A
• Requesting a Tenant Admin MFA Reset - Microsoft Q&A