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Forum Discussion
Locked out of my account because I don't have access to the authenticator app
I have been locked out of my account, my phone died and while the number is the same, I don't have access to the 2 Factor Authentication app, I was using Microsoft Authenticator. However, I was never...
Rich
Super User II
Super User IIDropbox Support has told me there is no way to access my data now, and that's unacceptable.
Unfortunately, that's very likely to be accurate. You've enabled a system that prevents access to your account without a second verification, and now you're trying to access your account without that second verification. The system is working.
I was never prompted to setup a backup code, which support told me should have been emailed to me.
To my knowledge, the backup codes are not emailed. Mine never were, and in my opinion they shouldn't be for security reasons. Instead they're provided when you first activate two-step verification. The process of activating it tells you to save the codes. It looks similar to this:
I have seen other posts in this community and other sites about this exact same problem that were resolved.
A lot of the posts here are referring to one-time security codes, which are sent through email, and not the more secure two-step verification. One-time codes are sent when Dropbox doesn't recognize the sign-in attempt. In some cases Dropbox may bypass a one-time code if you can answer very specific questions about your account, but even that's not a guarantee.
In the case of two-step verification issues like you're having, I've never known Dropbox to allow access to the account. If they did, it would be a major security issue, being able to bypass two-step verification.
... I was told by Dropbox Support that I would still have access to my own files that were on my desktop, but I have been locked out of access to MY OWN FILES.
If you were syncing all of your files to your computer and they were set to Available Offline (i.e. they weren't Online-only and you weren't using Selective Sync), then those files are still on your computer and should be accessible. When files are Available Offline, Dropbox can't prevent you from accessing them. They're just files, in a regular folder like any other.
... I don't have access to the 2 Factor Authentication app, I was using Microsoft Authenticator.
For future reference, Microsoft Authenticator has the ability to backup your accounts so you can restore them to a new device. Refer to this article for more information.
