Usingtwo-factor authentication (2FA)apps ensures your account is safe behind two layers of security. 2FA apps make it difficult for hackers to access your web accounts. Google Authenticator and Authy are two popular options. However, a turn-off to Google’s solution is how the codes are stored on your device. They are encrypted using a key that’s specific to that phone. You can’t access the codes anywhere else.
This isn’t a problem unless your phone is stolen or broken, in which case you may be locked out of your online accounts. Google introduced the option to transfer your accounts in 2020, allowing you to import and export authentication codes between devices. But the process was still manual. Google made it easier with the April 2023 update by introducing code synchronization across multiple devices using your Google account.
This article walks you through synchronizing your codes between devices, whether you use an iPhone or aninexpensive Android phone. If you need to use the manual method, we also cover that.
Automatically sync Google Authenticator codes to a new phone
To get started with automatic 2FA syncing across your iOS or Android devices, follow these steps to sign in to your account:
When syncing is set up on your old device, download the authenticator app on your new iPhone or Android from the App Store, Google Play Store, or Samsung Store and sign in with the same Google account. Your codes automatically appear on the new phone.
The main advantage of this feature is that if you lose your phone or it is damaged, you’re able to retrieve your verification codes on your new phone without a hassle, as long as you signed in previously. Despite the update, the old manual methods of transferring your 2FA codes still work. Let’s see them next.
Manually transfer Google Authenticator codes to a new phone
If you want to transfer your Google Authenticator account to another device, follow these steps on your old device:
Then, follow these steps on your new device:
The codes automatically transfer to your new device after the scan is complete. you’re able to now use Authenticator on both phones or delete it from your old device.
Reset the Authenticator app
The previous methods should get your Authenticator app issues sorted. However, say you lost your phone without syncing your codes to your Google account, and you can’t transfer the codes to a new phone. When this happens, reset two-step verification on each website where you previously installed it.
This method requires you to be logged in and able to access the platform. For your Google account, you can reset the app from the security settings by deleting it and installing it using the new phone. To do this:
Before now, the Authenticator setting had aChange phoneoption that allowed you to switch to a new device. That was replaced with aChange authenticator appbutton that doesn’t work similarly. In testing, we found that the new button seamlessly changes authentication apps on the same mobile device. However, to change the phone entirely, deleting the old setup and creating a new one yields the best results.
If you’re asked to enter your 2FA while logging in to your Google account, use one of the ten backup codes to get access. These codes are automatically generated when you set up 2FA for your Google account. They’re stored within the account, but you must copy them to an external location before you’re locked out of your account without your 2FA app.
Do the same for all services you use with Google Authenticator, be it Facebook, Amazon, Apple, or Dropbox. You may not be able to access apps that require you to input your 2FA while logging in unless you have your old phone.
Transferring your Google Authenticator has never been this easy
Transferring your Google Authenticator to a new phone is more seamless than ever, thanks to the tech giant’s introduction of the user-friendly sync feature. If concerns about the transfer process keep you from setting up Google Authenticator 2FA for your apps, you can protect your account without worry. See our guide on setting uptwo-step verification on Facebook to get started. We also have detailed guides to set up 2FA onAmazon,Discord, andTwitter (now X).
