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If Microsoft Authenticator asks you to approve a sign-in you did not start, deny it—do not tap Yes or enter a matching number. Then review your account’s sign-in activity and secure the account. An unexpected prompt can mean someone is trying to sign in, but the notification alone does not prove they got access.
First, decide whether you started the sign-in
The most important distinction is whether you were actively signing in at the time the request arrived. A prompt that you did not initiate is a security event to investigate, not a notification problem to fix. A prompt for a sign-in you did initiate but that is missing, silent, delayed, or failing is more likely to call for troubleshooting.
If you did not start it
- Reject the request. Do not approve it, enter its number, or accept a Yes/No prompt.
- Review recent account activity and follow the security steps for that account. A request notification by itself does not establish whether a sign-in succeeded.
- If it is a work or school account, contact your organization’s IT administrator or helpdesk. Do not change organization-managed authentication settings yourself.
- If it is a personal Microsoft account, review Microsoft’s current account security guidance. A Microsoft Q&A Independent Advisor has suggested creating a new sign-in alias, making it primary, and disabling sign-in through the old alias while keeping that address as an email alias. That is community-advisor guidance, not a formal Microsoft security guarantee; check Microsoft’s current alias instructions before changing account settings.
If you started it but the prompt is not working
Use the troubleshooting steps below for the delivery or authentication problem. They do not make an unexpected request safe to approve.
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Where to check sign-in activity
The Microsoft-hosted Q&A answer on repeated Authenticator requests directs work or school users to My Sign-ins and says administrators can investigate through Entra sign-in logs. The organization’s administrator can help interpret those events and determine what action is appropriate.
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For personal Microsoft accounts, review the available account activity and security information. The cited Q&A response does not establish that every denied Authenticator prompt appears in personal-account activity history, so an absent entry should not be treated as proof that no one tried to sign in.
Why number matching does not make an unexpected request safe
Microsoft’s standard push sign-in flow asks you to open Authenticator and tap or enter the number shown during the sign-in you are completing. Number matching is a security step that helps connect an approval to that flow; it is not proof that a request is legitimate. Match a number only when you initiated the sign-in.
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Microsoft says users cannot opt out of number matching for Authenticator push notifications. Some same-device Microsoft app flows may show a Yes/No prompt, while browser flows continue to require entering the number. In either case, the deciding question is whether you started the sign-in.
Microsoft has also described suppressing pop-up notifications for anomalous Authenticator requests, with the sign-in screen instead directing the user to open the app and enter the displayed number. That behavior does not mean every request is anomalous, nor does it make a request you did not initiate safe to approve.
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Support path by account type
| Account | What to do first | Who can investigate further |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Microsoft account | Reject unexpected requests and review account security. | Use Microsoft’s personal-account security and alias guidance. The cited community answer recommends changing the primary sign-in alias and disabling sign-in through the old alias, but does not establish that all denied prompts appear in activity history. |
| Work or school account | Reject unexpected requests and notify your IT administrator or helpdesk. | Your organization’s administrator can review Entra sign-in logs; the cited Q&A answer also points users to My Sign-ins. |
Fix a prompt that is missing, silent, delayed, or failing
Microsoft’s Authenticator troubleshooting guidance recommends checking connectivity, app updates, notification settings, device time, battery optimization, and VPN settings. Do these checks when you are trying to sign in and the expected notification is not arriving or completing.
- Check the connection. Confirm the phone is online. If the request is not arriving, try switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
- Update Authenticator. Install the available app update, then retry the sign-in you initiated.
- Enable notifications. Check that notifications for Authenticator are allowed in the phone’s settings. Do Not Disturb or Quiet mode can suppress alerts.
- Check date and time. Set the device to update its date and time automatically if possible. Incorrect manually set time can cause Authenticator requests to expire.
- Review battery and VPN settings. Battery optimization can interfere with notification delivery; Microsoft also recommends checking VPN settings when troubleshooting.
- Check whether the app is locked. Microsoft lists a locked app, silent or disabled notifications, an outdated app, network disruption, and incorrect device time among possible causes of authentication errors.
If authentication still fails, Microsoft recommends sending diagnostic logs through Authenticator’s Send feedback option and contacting support. For a work or school account, contact the organization’s IT administrator.
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What a normal Authenticator sign-in looks like
- Enter your username on the sign-in page.
- Select Send notification, or choose the Authenticator approval method under Other ways to sign in.
- Open Authenticator and check the request. Some work or school sign-ins may require you to unlock the app.
- Tap or enter the number displayed in the sign-in flow, then approve only if you initiated that sign-in.
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