HPE Networking Instant On 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

HPE Networking Instant On, formerly Aruba Instant On, is the account behind the Instant On mobile app and web application, where you manage Instant On access points, gateways and other network devices. The same email and password also sign you in to the Instant On community and support sites (Instant On).

Two-factor authentication (Instant On's help calls it TFA) is optional and off by default. Each administrator turns it on for their own account, and only verified administrator accounts get the option, so confirm the email Instant On sent when you signed up first. The only second step the help documents is an authenticator app, backed by a recovery email you choose during setup (Instant On). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Instant On steps come from Instant On's own help center, linked below. Its site turned away our automated reader, so on October 20, 2026 we read the pages as archived copies on web.archive.org. The mobile app's Security page was saved on May 12, 2026. The newest copy of the web application's Security page dates from May 30, 2023, so its labels are the most likely to have changed. We haven't tested the steps on an Instant On account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA in the web application

The web route is easier with an iPhone, because the page shows a QR code. These steps come from the archived web help (Instant On):

1. Sign in on a computer, click your account name in the header, and choose Account management.
2. Under Password and Security > Two-Factor Authentication, select Set up two-factor authentication.
3. Type your Instant On password under Validate Password, then select Validate password.
4. Under Authenticator, Instant On shows a QR code and a key. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If the page is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. Click Continue, enter a Recovery email, and type it again to confirm.
6. Enter the code from Novaz as the one-time password and click Activate two-factor authentication.

Turn on 2FA in the mobile app

The current mobile help describes the same flow with a key instead of a QR code (Instant On):

1. Tap the letter icon in the header (Instant On calls it the alphabet icon) to open Account management, then tap Security.
2. Tap Set up two-factor authentication, enter your password under Validate Password, and tap Validate password.
3. Under Authenticator, copy the key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually. Type "Instant On" as the Service and paste the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
4. Back in Instant On, tap Continue, enter your Recovery email twice, type the code from Novaz, and tap Activate two-factor authentication.

Instant On's help doesn't say how long its codes are or how often they change. A key typed by hand in Novaz makes 6-digit codes every 30 seconds. If the code is refused at the last step, start over in the web application and scan the QR code, which carries the code settings.

From then on, Instant On asks for a code each time you sign in to the mobile app or the web application. Its help doesn't mention remembering a device.

No backup codes, just a recovery email

The current help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. Your fallback is the recovery email, which Instant On says you can use to sign in when the authenticator app gives you trouble (Instant On). Without a Novaz backup, the keys exist only on your iPhone, so pick an address you can open without that phone, and keep it current. In the mobile app, open Security, tap the menu icon in the header, and choose Change recovery email address. On the web, it's Change recovery email under the settings icon next to Two-Factor Authentication (Instant On).

If Instant On rejects your code

The help has no advice on refused codes. Check the iPhone's clock first: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Instant On doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. Its help only covers turning 2FA off and setting it up again, so do that while the old phone still works. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can skip that and restore your accounts on the new iPhone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Sign in with the recovery email. Instant On's help doesn't show what that sign-in looks like, and it lists no support route, identity checks or wait times for a lockout.

A site can have several administrator accounts, up to 25 accounts in all (Instant On). A second administrator keeps the network manageable if you're locked out, though the help doesn't say whether that person can reset your 2FA. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

In the mobile app, open Security, tap the menu icon in the header, choose Disable two-factor authentication, then Disable (Instant On). On the web, click the settings icon next to Two-Factor Authentication, choose Disable two-factor authentication, and confirm with Disable. Then open Instant On in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Instant On help

• Security, mobile app help (read in an archived copy from May 12, 2026)
• Security, web application help (archived copy, May 2023)
• Accessing Instant On Application (archived copy, January 2025)
• Management Accounts (archived copy, May 2025)