Atera 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Atera is the cloud IT management platform that MSPs and IT teams use for remote monitoring, ticketing and patching (Atera). Two-factor authentication (2FA) isn't optional there. Atera switches it on for every user one day after your subscription begins, and it can't be disabled (Atera). The method is an authenticator app; Atera's help doesn't mention text-message or email codes. The only way to sign in without it is single sign-on (SSO), on the Enterprise and Superpower plans (Atera).

This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Atera names apps like Google Authenticator and Authy, but any authenticator app works the same way, Novaz included.

How we checked this guide: the Atera steps come from Atera's own help center articles, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on an Atera account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Set up 2FA with an authenticator app

There's no 2FA switch in your own settings. Atera runs the setup the first time you sign in, and again at your first sign-in after an admin resets it (Atera):

1. At app.atera.com/login, enter your email address and click Continue.
2. Enter your password and click Continue.
3. Atera shows a QR code made for your account. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
4. Type the code from Novaz and click Continue.
5. Atera shows your Recovery code. Copy it, confirm you've stored it safely, and click Continue.
6. Atera offers a passkey for this device. Click Continue to create one, or Not now to skip it.

Atera's help only describes scanning. It doesn't mention a setup key you can type instead, so plan to scan.

Keep the recovery code

You get one Recovery code, not a list. It signs you in when you can't reach your authenticator app. Without it, Atera warns, you risk a lockout, and recovery through its support team is possible but "the process is lengthy" (Atera).

If your phone is gone and you have no Novaz backup, this code is your way back in. Store it in a password manager or on paper, away from your phone. Atera doesn't say whether you get a new code after using it, or where to see it again. See 2FA backup codes.

When Atera asks for a code

• Every sign-in (Atera). Atera also signs you out after 24 hours without activity, and after 7 days regardless (Atera).
• Protected actions, if an admin turns on Require MFA for actions under MFA for protected actions. One check then covers 24 hours or the rest of your session, whichever ends first. It's off by default and skips SSO users (Atera).
• Not with a passkey. Continue with a passkey signs you in without a password or code. You need the authenticator app before you can create one, and Atera says to keep the app as your backup (Atera).

If Atera rejects your code

Atera's help doesn't cover rejected codes. Check your 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?

The error Failed to login. Please contact support@atera.com isn't about your code. It means Atera's risk checks blocked a sign-in from an unfamiliar device, place or network. The block is temporary; try a device and network you've used before (Atera).

Changing phones

Atera doesn't describe a self-service move to a new phone. Its route is an admin reset (below), then a fresh setup on the new phone at your next sign-in. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone and skip the reset; otherwise, have the new iPhone at hand for that sign-in. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

1. Use your recovery code to sign in (Atera).
2. Use a passkey if you made one on another device. It doesn't ask for a code (Atera).
3. Ask an admin to reset your 2FA. Only admins can. They go to Admin > Users and security > Security and authentication, expand Authentication, select the box next to your name on the Two-factor authentication (2FA) tab, and click Reset 2FA. You set up 2FA again at your next sign-in. Your passkey stays, but Atera will ask you to create a new one (Atera).
4. Contact Atera support when nobody can reset it for you, for example if your subscription has a single license and you're signed out. Atera calls that the fastest fix in this case. Live chat runs 24/7 from the Help Center, or email support@atera.com (Atera). Atera doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long it takes.

More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

You can't. Reset 2FA clears a user's setup, but Atera asks for it again at the next sign-in. Only SSO users sign in without Atera's own 2FA.

Official Atera help

• Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• MFA for protected actions
• Set up a Passkey
• Atera and Auth0
• Enable single sign-on (SSO)
• Login Error: "Failed to login. Please contact support@atera.com"
• Contact Customer Support
• Atera FAQ