Microsoft Authenticator backup on Android is changing in January 2027. Microsoft's support page on backing up one-time password codes now carries a note in its Android instructions that says you will no longer use your Microsoft personal account to turn on backup and will instead need to enable Microsoft Authenticator in Google One backup.

The page does not give a day in January.

What changed

The note on the Android section of the page reads: "Starting January 2027, you will no longer use your Microsoft personal account to enable backup. You will need to enable "Microsoft Authenticator" from Google One backup. Learn more about backup with Google One."

We read the page on Nov. 2, 2026. It does not name a day in January 2027. The app itself is not going away: the note concerns where Android backup is turned on, not whether Authenticator works.

Who is affected

Android users who turn on Cloud Backup in Authenticator and pick a Microsoft personal account to hold the backup. That is the Android setup the page describes today: open Authenticator, tap the menu, go to Settings, turn on the Cloud Backup toggle, and select a Microsoft personal account where the backup will be stored.

The January 2027 note appears in the Android instructions only. The page's iOS instructions, which rely on iCloud, carry no such note and say nothing about a change on iPhone.

What to do now

The page documents no migration step, so there is little to do yet beyond knowing the change is coming. Documented steps worth taking:

  • Check whether Cloud Backup is on. In Authenticator on Android, open the menu, tap Settings and look at the Cloud Backup toggle under Backup.
  • Know what a backup holds. Authenticator backs up one-time password codes for eligible Microsoft personal accounts and for third-party accounts such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Work or school account credentials are not backed up. For those accounts, and for a Microsoft account that uses passwordless sign-in, only the account name is saved, and you sign in and register the account again on a new device.
  • If you see "Something went wrong" when backing up, the page says you are not signed in. Go to Settings, then Backup, turn on Cloud Backup and choose Continue or Change account.
  • To delete a backup, go to Settings, turn off the Cloud Backup toggle under Backup and select OK.

After January 2027, the page says you will enable "Microsoft Authenticator" from Google One backup. We have not read Microsoft's linked Google One page, so we cannot list those steps. On an iPhone, the documented setup is to turn on iCloud Drive, iCloud Keychain and iCloud Backup for Authenticator, then switch on the Authenticator toggle in the Saved to iCloud list.

Moving to a new phone

If you are getting a new phone, backup is what carries your codes over, so it matters here. People searching for how to move Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone, or how to transfer Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone, will find that Microsoft's page ties the process to backup and restore. Back up on the old phone, then restore on the new one.

One rule is easy to miss. Microsoft says you can only back up and restore on the same device type, so accounts backed up on an iPhone cannot be restored on an Android phone, and the reverse. If you are switching between iPhone and Android, backup will not carry your accounts across.

Restoring, according to the page, brings back one-time password codes for Microsoft personal accounts that use a 30-second code and for third-party accounts. Accounts that were saved by name only need a fresh sign-in and registration. Microsoft's page links a separate restore article that we did not read, so we are not describing restore steps here.

For more on the app, see our story on the Authenticator for Android flaw fixed in version 6.2606.4246. For another way to sign in without one-time codes, see our guide to setting up passkeys on iPhone and Android.

What we don't know

Microsoft's page does not say which day in January 2027 the change takes effect. It does not say whether existing backups made to a Microsoft account will carry over, or what happens to a backup stored with a Microsoft account after the change. It does not describe the Google One steps beyond the instruction to enable Microsoft Authenticator there.

We checked one source, Microsoft's English (U.S.) support page, on Nov. 2, 2026. We did not test the backup flow on a phone.

Related: Microsoft Authenticator Android flaw fixed in 6.2606.4246.