4 comments on “I Lost My Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Device. How Do I Sign In?”

  1. On my device, I have Google and MIcrosoft authenticator. I have scanned the QR codes for a couple of different websites. If I need to replace my device and reinstall Authenticator, will it still have the QR codes for those different websites?
    – Genuine question- a little bit confused?

    Reply
    • No, you will not. You will need to:

      • sign in to those accounts without 2FA (as described in the article)
      • turn off 2FA
      • turn 2FA back on again – this will generate a new QR code

      In the past I’ve screen-shotted the QR code and kept that in a safe location so I didn’t have to jump through these hoops. Also QR codes are just a representation of a code, which some make visible as text (also, or optionally). Saving that text code works as well.

      Reply
  2. Hi Leo, thanks for this article, it is eye opening. I like to make an addition on the answer of the comments from Chris.
    I just have been given a new smart phone and I have a different experience with my Authy authenticator.
    I used Authy on my smart phone, tablet and PC; so plenty of recovery options. Now with my new Phone, I installed Authy App and logged in, with authy credentials. Then, Authy immediately picked up the codes and started working properly given correct 2FA codes. I guess this is the advantage of Authy!

    Reply

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