Autodesk 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your Autodesk account
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Your Autodesk account signs you in to AutoCAD, Fusion and other Autodesk software, and to Tinkercad: a Tinkercad account is an Autodesk account (Tinkercad).
Unlike most services, Autodesk has two-step verification on from the start. After your password, it emails you a one-time code, and you can't switch that second step off for good. Codes by phone call or text message are no longer offered (Autodesk). Your one alternative is an authenticator app, which takes over from the email code. Autodesk says any time-based (TOTP) app works. If your company signs you in with single sign-on (SSO), its identity provider handles this instead. The steps below use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Autodesk steps come from Autodesk's own support pages, linked below. autodesk.com turned away our automated reader, so on October 20, 2026 we read them as archived copies on web.archive.org, the newest saved in June 2026. We read the Tinkercad page directly. We haven't tested the steps on an Autodesk account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Autodesk calls the setting Sign-in confirmation (Autodesk):
- Open Security in your Autodesk account profile (profile.autodesk.com/security) and sign in.
- Under Sign-in confirmation, go to Authenticator app and select Set up.
- Autodesk checks it's you again: enter your email and password, select Sign in, type the code it emails you within 10 minutes and select Next. On a shared computer, choose Don't trust this device.
- Autodesk shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the QR code is on the iPhone you're holding, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Type the code from Novaz and select Turn on. Autodesk labels the entry Autodesk MFA with your email address, so with two Autodesk accounts, check you pick the right one.
- A Manage button in Sign-in confirmation shows the app is on.
Autodesk's page mentions no text key and doesn't give the code length or interval, so scan the QR code, which carries those settings. An older article from May 2024 uses other labels, such as Set up 2FA and Done (Autodesk), so what you see may differ.
One backup code, not a list
Autodesk gives you a single backup code, the first time you sign in after creating your account. It works once, and Autodesk makes a new one automatically each time you use it (Autodesk). For a fresh one, go to Sign-in confirmation > Backup code and select Generate twice. After you confirm it's you, copy or download it, tick I saved my backup code and select Close. It replaces the old code.
Autodesk presents it mainly as a way in when email codes don't arrive. If the phone is gone and you have no Novaz backup, the backup code and your email inbox are what get you back in. See 2FA backup codes.
When Autodesk asks for a code
With an authenticator app, Autodesk asks for a code at every sign-in. On a device and browser you trust, Stay signed in for 30 days cuts the prompts. Desktop products don't make you sign in each time you open them, unless you haven't used them for over 30 days (Autodesk).
If Autodesk rejects your code
An Autodesk troubleshooting article from 2023 explains the error Invalid code, please check and try again: the code ran out before you entered it. Wait for a fresh code and type it at once. If setup fails, delete the entry from your app and scan the QR code again (Autodesk).
Also check your iPhone's clock: 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
In Sign-in confirmation, select Manage next to Authenticator app and confirm it's you. Leave Update authenticator app selected, choose Continue, scan the new QR code with the new phone, enter its code and select Update (Autodesk). Scan with Novaz on the new one, or skip this and restore your accounts there from Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
If you can still read your email, you're not locked out: select Get code by email on the verification screen. Sign-in pages on accounts.autodesk.com use Use another method and Email me at instead (Autodesk). You can also select Use a backup code. Once you're in, set up the app again with Manage.
Losing your email as well is serious: Autodesk says it's "recommended to create a new Autodesk Account instead", or to ask your email provider to recover the address (Autodesk). To reach a person, open the Autodesk Assistant at the lower right of an Autodesk page and type "Agent". Autodesk doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning the authenticator off
You can't turn two-step verification off, only go back to email codes. Select Manage, confirm it's you, choose Turn off, select Continue, then Turn off again (Autodesk). After that, open Autodesk in Novaz and tap Remove account.
