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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Betterment 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5

On this page
  1. Switch Betterment to an authenticator app
  2. When Betterment asks for a code
  3. No backup codes
  4. If Betterment rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Removing the authenticator app
  8. Plan sponsors on Betterment at Work
  9. Official Betterment help

Betterment is where many people keep an automated investing portfolio, an IRA, a cash account or Betterment Checking. You don't get to decide whether to use two-factor authentication (2FA) there: Betterment calls it mandatory. What you can decide is where the code comes from. By default, Betterment sends it by text message or phone call. You can swap that for an authenticator app, which Betterment's own security page rates as the more secure choice (Betterment, Betterment). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Betterment steps come from Betterment's own Help Center and security pages, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Betterment account, so a label may differ slightly. The setup article was last updated in October 2021, so the screens may have changed since. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Switch Betterment to an authenticator app

Betterment's help says to do this after logging in on the web, not in the Betterment mobile app (Betterment). A computer is easiest, because you'll scan the code on its screen with your iPhone.

  1. Log in to Betterment in a web browser and go to Settings > Security.
  2. Under Two-Factor Authentication, select Edit.
  3. Betterment offers to text you a code. Select Send Code and enter it. If you can't get a text, the article says you can choose to authenticate your account in a different way instead.
  4. Scroll down to Authenticator App and select Set up (or Edit, if one is already there).
  5. Betterment shows a barcode (a QR code). In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  6. Check that Novaz now shows a Betterment code that changes, then select Next on the Betterment page.
  7. Type the current code from Novaz to confirm the link.

Betterment's article doesn't mention a text key you can type instead of scanning. If you do find one on the screen, add it in Novaz with + > Enter key manually, typing it into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?

From your next login on, Betterment asks for the code from your authenticator app rather than texting you.

When Betterment asks for a code

The code is part of logging in. After you log in, Betterment can remember the device for two years if you ask it to, so you'll see the prompt far less on your own computer or phone (Betterment, Betterment). Its security page adds that it asks for your password or 2FA code only when you log in or edit your personal information in the app (Betterment). Anyone asking for your code by phone, text or email is not Betterment.

No backup codes

Betterment's help pages don't mention backup or recovery codes. The documented safety net is your phone number: once you remove the authenticator app, Betterment falls back to texting or calling you (Betterment). Keep that number current, because Betterment also uses it to check it's you before you change your 2FA settings. Without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), the key exists only on your iPhone.

If Betterment rejects your code

Betterment'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 warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Betterment doesn't describe a separate process for a new phone. What its help supports is removing the authenticator app and setting it up again (Betterment). While you still have the old iPhone, remove the app (see below), then repeat the setup steps with Novaz on the new one. Or, if you use Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone and Betterment's codes keep working without this. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

If your phone is lost or stolen, Betterment asks you to call its support team, which will help you set up 2FA on your new device (Betterment). The contact page lists (718) 400-6898, Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM ET and weekends 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET (Betterment). Betterment doesn't say what proof of identity it asks for on that call or how long the reset takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Removing the authenticator app

Go to Settings > Security, select Edit under Two-Factor Authentication, complete the check, and select Remove next to the authenticator app (Betterment). This doesn't turn 2FA off: Betterment goes back to text codes, or a phone call if you ask for one. Then open Betterment in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Plan sponsors on Betterment at Work

Employers who run a 401(k) on Betterment use a separate plan sponsor dashboard with its own rules. There, 2FA is required, you enroll when you log in, and you can pick a phone number or a "time-based one-time password (TOTP) authenticator" (Betterment). That page says the codes change every 30 seconds and that settings live under Settings > Security > Two-Factor Authentication in the dashboard.

Official Betterment help

More guides: Investing and brokerage