15Five 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
On this page
15Five is the performance management tool many companies use for weekly Check-ins, 1-on-1s, reviews and High Fives. Your employer creates the account, so you don't sign up for it yourself. How you sign in depends on your company. If your organization uses Single Sign-On (SSO), two-step authentication isn't available in 15Five at all, and the Security tab options may be greyed out (15Five). In that case your company's own sign-in handles the second step, and this guide isn't for you.
If you sign in at my.15five.com with your email address and password, you can add a time-based code from an authenticator app. 15Five's help doesn't describe text-message codes or any other second method. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone in the steps below, but any authenticator app works the same way. 15Five itself names Google Authenticator and Duo Mobile as examples.
How we checked this guide: the 15Five steps come from 15Five's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026, through the help center's public article feed. We haven't tested them on a 15Five account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Two help pages, two sets of labels
15Five has two articles on this setting, and they don't match. The more recently edited one calls it Two-factor authentication, puts the Settings gear in the bottom-left corner, and has you click Enable (15Five). The other calls it Two-step authentication, puts the gear in the top-right corner, and has you click Setup (15Five). The steps below follow the newer page and add the details only the older one gives. Look for whichever label your screen shows.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
- Click the Settings gear in 15Five and choose My settings.
- Open the Security tab.
- Find the Two-factor authentication section and click Enable. (On the older page: Setup, next to Two-step authentication.)
- 15Five shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Click Next step and type the code Novaz shows.
- Follow the remaining prompts. When you're done, the row on the Security tab shows that the authenticator is active.
15Five's help doesn't say whether it offers a text key if the QR code won't scan. If it does, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz, type a name such as 15Five as the Service, and paste the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key? The help also doesn't say how many digits the codes have or how often they change, so scanning the QR code is the safer choice: it passes those settings to the app.
Signing in afterwards
At my.15five.com, enter your email and password and click Sign in. If 15Five asks for it, type the current Novaz code in the Authentication code field (15Five). The help doesn't say whether it asks on every sign-in or only on some, or whether signing in with Google (15Five) also asks for the code.
No backup codes in the help
Neither setup page mentions backup or recovery codes. If you see codes during setup, save them somewhere other than your phone. If you don't, plan around it: Novaz keeps its keys on your iPhone, and unless you've made a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or Export to file… in Settings › Backup), losing that phone leaves 15Five Support (below) as your way back in. More on how backup codes work in general in 2FA backup codes.
If 15Five rejects your code
15Five's own advice is about time: codes fail when the phone's clock drifts, so turn on automatic time and try a fresh code (15Five). On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. If the setup itself won't finish, 15Five points to the same fix (15Five). Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
If you lose your authenticator
15Five's documented route is to contact the Support Team with your account email and ask for manual recovery (15Five). Support is on live chat, through the ? icon in 15Five or the chat box in the help center, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern, or by email at support@15five.com (15Five). The help doesn't say what proof Support asks for beyond the email address, or how long recovery takes. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Changing phones
15Five doesn't describe moving the authenticator to a new phone, and its help doesn't cover turning two-step authentication off either. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the codes keep working. Without one, keep the old phone working until you've sorted out the new one. If the Security tab lets you set the authenticator up again, do that with the new phone; if not, ask Support. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
