Adafruit 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

One Adafruit account covers the shop, the Adafruit Learning System and the forums (Adafruit), including your order history. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is off by default and optional, though Adafruit asks its community to turn it on (Adafruit).

The thing to know before you start: when you finish setup, Adafruit shows you one emergency code, and its guide says that code works one time. There's no list of backup codes to fall back on. Text-message codes are no longer offered, so an authenticator app is the method to set up, and you can add a hardware security key once it's on. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Adafruit steps come from Adafruit's own Learning System guide and its account pages, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on an Adafruit account, so a label may differ slightly. The guide's pages were last edited in March 2024, and its screenshots don't all use the same menu names. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Adafruit's guide shows these steps with Google Authenticator, but any app that scans a QR code follows the same path (Adafruit):

1. Sign in to your Adafruit account and open My Account. Some screenshots in the guide call it Account Settings or just Account.
2. Select Security and Privacy. The 2FA status shows disabled in red.
3. Select Edit two-factor authentication settings, then Click here to Enable.
4. Adafruit shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the page is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. Type the current code from Novaz into the AUTHENTICATION CODE box, digits only with no spaces, and continue.
6. Adafruit shows your emergency code. Save it, then select I have copied the code to finish.

Back on Security and Privacy, the status should now read enabled in green.

Adafruit's guide doesn't mention a text version of the key that you could type instead of scanning. If you can't scan the QR code, its pages don't say what to do, so plan to scan it with your iPhone camera or from a screenshot. The guide does say the codes change every 30 seconds, which matches what Novaz uses.

Keep the emergency code safe

The emergency code is meant for a lost phone: Adafruit says you can use it once to get into your account (Adafruit). Its guide doesn't say whether you can get a new one later or what happens after you use it.

Novaz keeps its keys on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, so if that phone is gone without a Novaz backup, the emergency code is what gets you back in. Store it in a password manager or on paper, away from the phone. See 2FA backup codes.

When Adafruit asks for a code

Once 2FA is on, Adafruit asks for a code from your app each time you sign in, after your password (Adafruit). Its guide doesn't mention a "remember this device" option.

Adding a security key

The same guide covers adding a hardware security key, which needs 2FA to be on first. Under Edit two-factor authentication settings, you give the key a nickname, select add credential, and touch the key when your browser asks. Adafruit's guide says the key is then required each time you sign in (Adafruit). It doesn't say whether your authenticator app still works as an alternative.

While you're on Security and Privacy, you can also opt in to an email each time someone signs in to your account. The email shows the time and the public IP address of the device.

If Adafruit rejects your code

Adafruit's guide only says to type the digits without spaces. Beyond that, the usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Adafruit's guide doesn't describe how to move 2FA to a new phone or how to turn it off. The settings live under Edit two-factor authentication settings, so look there while you can still sign in with your old phone, before you reset or give it away.

With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you restore your accounts on the new iPhone and Adafruit's codes keep working. Without one, you'll set up Adafruit again on the new phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Sign in with your emergency code. If you don't have it, Adafruit's pages don't describe a recovery process for 2FA. Its support page sends account and other non-technical questions to its customer support team, through the contact form or support@adafruit.com (Adafruit). It doesn't say what proof of ownership the team asks for or how long it takes.

More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Adafruit help

• How to Set Up 2-Factor Authentication on Adafruit (Adafruit Learning System, all pages)
• Accounts sign-in page
• Support