AppFolio 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for the resident portal
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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This guide is for renters. If your landlord or property management company uses AppFolio, you pay rent, send maintenance requests and read your lease in FolioSpace, AppFolio's resident portal (AppFolio). FolioSpace lets you protect that account with two-factor authentication (2FA) from an authenticator app. AppFolio's other logins don't offer one. The AppFolio Property Manager login, used by management company staff, sends codes by text message or phone call (AppFolio), and so does the Owner Portal for property owners (AppFolio). The steps below use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the AppFolio steps come from AppFolio's own help pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on an AppFolio account, so a label may differ slightly. AppFolio updated its resident help page in September 2026, but the screenshot in its 2FA section dates from 2020, so the screen you see may look different. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Which AppFolio logins can use an authenticator app
- Residents (FolioSpace): yes. It's optional. AppFolio's resident help describes it as a setting you turn on yourself and doesn't say it's required (AppFolio).
- Owners (Owner Portal): no. 2FA is required, and the code comes by text message or phone call. AppFolio is also moving owners who still get codes by email over to phone codes (AppFolio).
- Property managers and their staff: no. AppFolio Property Manager sends codes by text message or phone call. Passkeys are an option, but only after text-message 2FA is set up (AppFolio).
If you're an owner or work for a management company, this guide doesn't apply to your login.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app in FolioSpace
AppFolio's resident help describes these steps (AppFolio):
- Sign in to FolioSpace in a web browser, on a computer if you can. AppFolio recommends Chrome or Firefox.
- Open the Account Profile tab.
- Find the 2FA section. In AppFolio's screenshot it's a box titled Two Factor Authentication. Check Enable Two Factor Authentication and select Save.
- FolioSpace shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- AppFolio says you can also add the account by typing it in, but its help doesn't show that option or say what the key is called. If FolioSpace gives you a key, tap + in Novaz, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into FolioSpace and select Activate.
AppFolio's help uses Authy as its example app, and the 2FA box in its screenshot also names Google Authenticator. Nothing on the page ties FolioSpace to one app.
The help says the codes have 6 digits but doesn't say how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, because it passes the code settings to your app. A key typed by hand gets the usual 30 seconds.
The steps and screenshot show the FolioSpace website. AppFolio's help doesn't say whether the FolioSpace app for iPhone and Android has the same setting.
No backup codes in AppFolio's help
AppFolio's resident help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes, or a second way to get a code. If you haven't turned on Novaz's iCloud backup or exported a backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone, and if that phone is gone, so are your codes.
Your way back in is your property manager (below). Before you turn 2FA on, check that your property manager can reach you: on the Account Profile tab, the Contact Information block holds the email address you sign in with and your phone number (AppFolio).
If FolioSpace rejects your code
AppFolio's help doesn't cover rejected codes. 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. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Lost phone, new phone, or turning it off
AppFolio's resident help has one instruction for this: "If you have trouble signing into your account, please contact your property manager." (AppFolio) That means the company that manages your rental, not AppFolio. The help doesn't describe a reset you can do yourself, a way to move 2FA to a new phone, or how to turn it off. It also doesn't say what your property manager will ask for to confirm it's you, or how long it takes.
If you're switching iPhones, keep the old one until FolioSpace is working with the new one, or until your property manager has reset your sign-in. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore FolioSpace on the new phone; without one, you'll add it again. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone and Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
