Activision 2FA: how to add an authenticator app to your Call of Duty account

Your Activision account is the one Call of Duty uses: it holds your cross-progression and your linked PlayStation, Xbox, Steam or Battle.net accounts (Activision). It offers three kinds of two-factor authentication (2FA): an authenticator app, text message (SMS) and email. Activision recommends the authenticator app (Activision).

Activision names four supported apps: Authy, Duo Mobile, Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, which isn't on that list but makes the same kind of standard codes Activision describes: 6 digits, new every 30 seconds. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Activision steps come from Activision's own support articles, linked below, which we read on October 19, 2026. We haven't tested them on an Activision account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

You may already have email 2FA

Accounts created after August 18, 2026 must have 2FA and start with email 2FA. Older accounts get it the first time you verify your email address to change something (Activision, Activision). Email 2FA can't be turned off, but you can add an authenticator app and make it your primary method.

There's a practical reason to add it: before you can change the email address on your account, Activision requires authenticator app or SMS 2FA to be on (Activision).

Free-to-play PC players must also turn on SMS 2FA on any PC platform where they don't own a Call of Duty game from the last two years, and can't turn it off in their profile. The authenticator app can still be the primary method (Activision).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

From Activision's 2FA article (Activision):

1. Sign in to your Activision account at profile.activision.com (Activision).
2. Open the Privacy & Security tab and go to the Two-Factor Authentication section.
3. Select Enable in the Authenticator App row.
4. If Activision asks you to verify the account, select Send Code, enter the six-character code it emails you, and select Verify.
5. Add the account to Novaz. Activision's help only says to follow the on-screen instructions, without saying whether you'll see a QR code, a key you can type, or both.
   • For a QR code: in Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
   • For a typed key: tap +, then Enter key manually. Type Activision as the Service and the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Back on the Activision page, enter the 6-digit code from Novaz and your password, then select Activate.

If you have more than one method, pick the one Activision uses by default: select the three dots in the Authenticator App row, then Set As Primary Method.

Keep the ten backup codes

After setup, Activision gives you ten backup codes, each good once, and also emails them with the subject Two-Factor Authentication Enabled. Activision suggests keeping them off the phone that has your authenticator app (Activision).

Keep them even if you use Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file: they get you in if the phone is gone and your Novaz backup is missing or out of date. Store the codes in a password manager or on paper. More in 2FA backup codes.

When Activision asks for a code

Every time you sign in, on a second screen after your email address and password. It asks for your primary method first; Use Different Method switches to another one you've turned on (Activision).

If Activision rejects your code

Activision says the code may have expired: wait for a new one and try again, then contact Support if it keeps failing (Activision). Also check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Activision's way is to turn the method off and on again with the app on your new phone: select the three dots in the Authenticator App row, then Disable Method, then Enable in the same row, and repeat the setup. You get ten new backup codes (Activision).

Do it while the old phone still works. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore the account on the new iPhone instead and keep your current codes working. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

1. Type a backup code where you'd normally type the app's code. Can't find them? Look for the email Activision sent when you turned on 2FA.
2. Or select Use Different Method to get a code by email or text, if either is on.
3. Once you're in, reset the app method with the steps above.

With no backup codes and no other method, contact Activision Support (Activision, Activision). On Support Options, pick your game, platform and the Activision Account topic. The issues include I'm having an issue with two-factor authentication and I can't find my authenticator app backup codes. Activision's help doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long this takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning the authenticator app off

Select the three dots in the Authenticator App row, then Disable Method, enter your password and select Confirm (Activision). This removes only the app method: email 2FA can't be turned off, and SMS 2FA can't be turned off in your profile. In Novaz, open the account and tap Remove account.

Official Activision help

• Using Two-Factor Authentication with an Activision Account
• Managing Your Activision Account
• Activision Account Email Verification
• Hacked Account Recovery
• Support Options