Passkey Switch

Can we keep texted sign-in codes in Microsoft 365 after February 2027?

Microsoft's pages describe one way, a paid telephony provider, and say who it is for. Facts are from Microsoft's own pages, read October 30, 2026.

Updated 2026-10-30

Short answer. Microsoft's pages say yes, with conditions. The retirement page says "From February 1, 2027, Microsoft-provided telephony delivery for SMS and voice will be retired for all users except Global Administrators and external users" (July 1, 2027 for Global Administrators and external users). Its FAQ says organizations that still require SMS or voice "will continue to have that option through telephony providers when there is a legitimate business, regulatory, or technical need." The provider is a separate paid contract through Microsoft Security Store, and Microsoft says the configuration experience "becomes available beginning October 30, 2026". These Microsoft Learn pages give no price and point to the provider offers in Microsoft Security Store. We can't see your tenant, so we can't say whose sign-in this touches.

What changes, and when

If a tenant has users in scope for February 1 and has not configured a provider, the retirement page says "those users can no longer use SMS or voice to complete MFA and sign in as usual", and that users "whose only available MFA method is SMS or voice are required to register a passkey during sign-in to continue accessing their account". Can staff skip that prompt? has the details.

What the paid provider option is

Microsoft calls it Choose Your Own Telephony Provider. Its provider page says it "lets organizations continue using SMS or voice authentication with a supported telephony provider", and "You select a telephony provider through the Microsoft Security Store and manage the provider relationship for your organization."

Two providers are named: "Soprano and Telesign are the initial telephony providers available during the private preview. More providers will become available by general availability." The page links Soprano's per-user and per-transaction offers and Telesign's "Telesign Verify for Microsoft Entra", all in Microsoft Security Store. We haven't opened or compared those offers, and we don't recommend either provider.

Status when we read it, on October 30, 2026: the page said "Choose Your Own Telephony Provider isn't available to configure yet" and "The configuration experience becomes available beginning October 30, 2026." Check Microsoft's page for whether it has opened. None of the four retirement and provider pages we read gives a general-availability date, or says whether the October 30 opening is limited during the private preview.

What the firm has to do

The provider page says: "Your organization is responsible for selecting a telephony provider, reviewing its regional coverage and terms, completing the provider agreement, configuring the provider for Microsoft Entra ID, and monitoring the service." The telephony provider FAQ lists the steps migration "typically involves":

  1. "Select a supported telephony provider and establish an account with that provider."
  2. "Deploy a routing function in your Azure subscription."
  3. "Select the users or groups that will use the provider for SMS, voice, or both."
  4. "Evaluate the integration before it affects users."
  5. "Gradually enable the provider for production authentication traffic."

It adds: "Detailed configuration and deployment instructions will be available when the feature is released." For "provider or message delivery issues", it says to "contact your provider's support team". The retirement FAQ says to "Make sure that the provider is configured and that all affected users are migrated before their applicable retirement date", and that "Users who remain enabled for Microsoft-provided SMS or voice are still subject to the passkey registration requirement."

Limits the telephony FAQ lists: "The feature doesn't support SMS sign-in as a primary authentication method." It is "currently available only for Microsoft Entra ID", and "Microsoft Entra External ID and Azure AD B2C aren't included." You can configure "one telephony provider per channel", one for SMS and one for voice.

Codes from an app are a separate method. The retirement FAQ's answer on China says "TOTP remains supported for existing and new registrations after February 1, 2027, subject to your organization's policies", and that TOTP "isn't phishing-resistant".

The retirement FAQ describes a temporary opt-out from the automatic passkey enablement, for "the September 1, 2026 through February 1, 2027 changes", so a firm can "complete transition activities, such as configuring a telephony provider or migrating to other authentication methods". From February 1, 2027, "standard passkey migration and enforcement timelines will apply regardless of this setting" for users in scope of the February 1 retirement.

What it costs

None of the four retirement and provider pages gives a dollar figure. The retirement FAQ says: "Pricing varies by telephony provider and region. Costs depend on your usage, geographic distribution, selected provider, and offer." The telephony FAQ says: "The primary cost is what your selected telephony provider charges for SMS and voice messages, based on the provider's pricing and your usage." It adds that "Standard Azure consumption charges apply to the routing function, but these costs are expected to be minimal for most customers compared to telephony provider charges." For prices, it points to Microsoft Security Store: "Pricing and other commercial details for these providers are available in Microsoft Security Store." We haven't opened those offers, so we give no figure.

Who Microsoft says it is for

The provider page: "Use a telephony provider only for user populations that have a business, regulatory, or technical requirement for telephony-based authentication." The retirement FAQ calls the option one "for customers who have a regulated or operational requirement for a telephony channel". Before choosing, the provider page's planning list says to "Identify the users who have a documented requirement for SMS or voice authentication" and "Confirm that a phishing-resistant method doesn't meet the requirement." The last item in the retirement page's provider checklist: "For every other user segment in your tenant, default to passkeys."

In plain terms, Microsoft frames the provider as an exception for a documented need, with passkeys as the default for everyone else. We can't see your tenant or your reasons, and we don't judge whether a given reason fits Microsoft's wording.

The no-added-cost route

The retirement FAQ says "migrating Microsoft provided SMS and voice users to Passkeys incur no additional cost", and the retirement page says "Microsoft recommends passkeys as the primary migration path for all users where possible." That page names passkey in Microsoft Authenticator, Entra Passkey on Windows, a FIDO2 hardware security key, and synced passkeys in iCloud Keychain or Google Password Manager: what each one is. The no-extra-cost sentence is about the migration. Microsoft's passkey page says FIDO2 security keys "can increase costs for equipment, training, and helpdesk support". For staff without a smartphone, see what Microsoft's pages offer instead.

Next step

Passkey Switch writes the switch plan for your firm by email: US$249, nothing added, one time. Our plan covers the passkey route. It does not cover choosing, contracting or configuring a telephony provider. We never log in to your tenant or take passwords or codes. Full refund on request within 14 days of purchase if the work has not been delivered, or if you tell us it did not meet the offer (terms). This is IT how-to writing, not legal or compliance advice.

Order by email   See the pack and what it costs

Other questions: the full guide to Microsoft's retirement of texted codes and shared front-desk logins and computers.

Sources, all Microsoft Learn and all read October 30, 2026: Passkeys by default and retirement of Microsoft-provided SMS and voice authentication, dated 2026-09-23, and its FAQ, dated 2026-10-26; Choose a telephony provider for SMS and voice authentication, 2026-09-23; Frequently asked questions about telephony providers in Microsoft Entra ID, 2026-09-21; Passkeys (FIDO2) authentication method, 2026-04-06. Passkey Switch is not affiliated with Microsoft, Soprano or Telesign. Microsoft can change its dates and steps; check its pages before you act. Written by Ellis, an AI assistant.