{"id":24253,"date":"2025-02-17T06:20:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T06:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/uncategorized\/fixing-the-authenticator-and-intune-managed-apps-login-loop\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T06:26:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T06:26:05","slug":"fixing-the-authenticator-and-intune-managed-apps-login-loop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/geek-speak\/modern-workplace\/fixing-the-authenticator-and-intune-managed-apps-login-loop\/","title":{"rendered":"Fixing the Microsoft Authenticator and\u00a0Managed App Login Loop in Intune (MDM)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A client was facing an issue where end users were stuck in a login loop when trying to access Intune-managed apps (such as Outlook and Teams) on their mobile devices using their corporate credentials. The apps would continuously switch between the managed app and Microsoft Authenticator, preventing a successful login.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re experiencing the same issue, I created this guide to help you troubleshoot and resolve the problem quickly. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Diagnosis and Troubleshooting Steps<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 1: Verify User Licensing<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first check was ensuring that the affected users had the necessary Microsoft 365 and Intune licenses assigned. However, I found out that licensing wasn\u2019t the issue\u2014users were properly assigned.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 2: Check Security Group Assignments<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, I verified that the users were in the correct security groups that were included in the App Protection Policy (APP) in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/resources\/ebooks-and-guides\/the-ultimate-guide-to-microsoft-intune-whitepaper\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/resources\/ebooks-and-guides\/the-ultimate-guide-to-microsoft-intune-whitepaper\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intune<\/a>. Again, everything was correctly assigned.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 3: Verify App Protection Policy (APP) Application<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Intune Monitor, I checked whether the App Protection Policy was correctly applied to the user and their device. The policy was showing as active, and the users were experiencing expected restrictions (e.g., copy\/paste restrictions on corporate data), confirming that the policy was in effect.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 4: Investigate Conditional Access (CA) Policies<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/geek-speak\/secure-workplace\/azure-conditional-access-finding-and-addressing-gaps-in-your-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/geek-speak\/secure-workplace\/azure-conditional-access-finding-and-addressing-gaps-in-your-policy\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conditional Access (CA) policy<\/a> was in place to enforce that all users logging in from an iOS or Android device must have an App Protection Policy applied.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To test whether the CA policy was causing the issue, I temporarily excluded a user from the policy. Surprisingly, this allowed them to log in without any issues, which didn\u2019t make sense since Intune confirmed that the App Protection Policy was already applied.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 5: Review Entra ID Sign-In Logs<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diving deeper, I checked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/geek-speak\/professional-services\/what-is-azure-active-directory\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/geek-speak\/professional-services\/what-is-azure-active-directory\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entra ID<\/a> &gt; Sign-in logs &gt; User sign-ins (Non-interactive) for the affected user.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I found failures related to the Microsoft Teams Mobile app&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The error message under Grant Controls stated that \u201cRequire app protection policy\u201d was failing&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, Intune showed the policy was correctly applied\u2014and I even confirmed this by verifying that the user had copy\/paste restrictions in effect&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, it was clear that something was out of sync between Intune, Conditional Access and Microsoft Authenticator.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Resolution<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After extensive testing, the appropriate fix is as follows:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Uninstall Microsoft Apps on Mobile (Including Authenticator)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The user had to uninstall all Microsoft apps, including Authenticator, from their mobile device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Revoke MFA Sessions and Force Re-Registration<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>In Entra ID &gt; Authentication Methods, I triggered:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Require re-register for MFA&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Revoke MFA sessions for the affected users&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Force MFA Re-Enrollment via <\/strong><strong>Office.com<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The user was asked to log in to Office.com on their PC with their corporate Microsoft 365 credentials. This triggered the MFA registration process again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The user reinstalled Microsoft Authenticator and added their account, ensuring any old accounts were deleted first.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reinstall Microsoft Apps and Log-In Again<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The user reinstalled Teams, Outlook and other Microsoft apps on their mobile device.&nbsp;They could now successfully sign in without getting stuck in the login loop. \ud83c\udf89&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This issue was a tricky one because everything appeared to be configured correctly, yet Conditional Access still failed with an &#8220;App Protection Policy&#8221; error. The root cause seemed to be an authentication mismatch between Entra ID, Conditional Access and Microsoft Authenticator.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Always <strong>check Entra Sign-in logs <\/strong>(especially Non-Interactive Sign-ins) for hidden authentication issues&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If a user is stuck in a login loop, <strong>force an MFA re-registration<\/strong> and have them <strong>reinstall Authenticator &amp; Microsoft apps<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When Conditional Access requires an App Protection Policy, but Intune already confirms it&#8217;s applied, a <strong>clean authentication reset may be necessary<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you experiencing a similar issue? Try out these steps yourself and let us know if they work! If not, feel free to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/contact\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reach out to us<\/a> for assistance. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to learn more about Microsoft Intune, check out our eBook \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/resources\/ebooks-and-guides\/the-ultimate-guide-to-microsoft-intune-whitepaper\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/insights\/resources\/ebooks-and-guides\/the-ultimate-guide-to-microsoft-intune-whitepaper\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Ultimate Guide to Microsoft Intune<\/a>\u201d!&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stuck in a Microsoft Authenticator login loop with Intune-managed apps? Follow this step-by-step guide to fix the issue and regain access. Read now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":24254,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modern-workplace","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24253"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24257,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24253\/revisions\/24257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}