Skip to content
Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Bitdefender 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. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  2. Keep the extra codes
  3. When Bitdefender asks for a code
  4. If Bitdefender rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Turning 2FA off
  8. Official Bitdefender help

Your Bitdefender account is the sign-in behind Bitdefender Central, the web dashboard that lists your subscription and the devices it protects (Bitdefender). It also opens Bitdefender SecurePass, the company's password manager (Bitdefender). Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional. When you turn it on, Bitdefender asks you to choose one method: codes by email, or codes from an authenticator app (Bitdefender). This guide covers the app route with Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

Bitdefender's main 2FA article dates from January 2024. A FAQ updated in October 2026 points to the same menu (Bitdefender). It also mentions codes sent to a phone number, which the main article doesn't list; we follow the main article.

How we checked this guide: the Bitdefender steps come from Bitdefender's own support pages, plus replies from Bitdefender staff on its official community forum, all linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Bitdefender 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

The steps from Bitdefender's help article (Bitdefender):

  1. Sign in to Bitdefender Central at central.bitdefender.com.
  2. Select the profile icon in the upper right corner and choose Bitdefender Account. It opens in a new tab.
  3. Open the Password and security tab and select 2-Factor Authentication.
  4. Select GET STARTED, then USE AUTHENTICATOR APP.
  5. Bitdefender shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and aim the camera at it. 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.
  6. Bitdefender also displays a code to add by hand (its help gives it no special name). In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type that code as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  7. Select CONTINUE, type the current code from Novaz, and select ACTIVATE.

The help doesn't say how many digits the codes have or how often they change. Scanning is safer, since the QR code passes those settings to the app; a typed key always gives 6-digit codes every 30 seconds.

Keep the extra codes

For the email method, the article says you get 10 single-use codes to copy, download or print. Its closing note says to write down the extra codes you receive when you turn on 2FA, because they help if you're locked out of Bitdefender Central (Bitdefender). The authenticator steps don't show that screen, so look for these codes when you finish and save them if they appear.

They're your way back in if you lose the iPhone without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file). Store them away from the phone. More in 2FA backup codes.

SecurePass can hold 2FA keys too (Bitdefender), and Bitdefender's help doesn't say whether to keep this account's key there. But SecurePass signs in with this same account, so a key kept only inside it could be out of reach when you need it.

When Bitdefender asks for a code

You need a code when you sign in from a new device or browser (Bitdefender). On the code screen, tick Trust this device before you select SIGN IN, and that browser stops asking. To review the list, go to Bitdefender Account > Password and security > Trusted Devices. Select a browser, then REMOVE DEVICE and YES to drop one you no longer use.

If Bitdefender rejects your code

Bitdefender's help only says email codes expire after 5 minutes. For app codes, check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Bitdefender doesn't describe moving the authenticator. Its documented steps still work: while you have the old phone, turn 2FA off with a code from it, then turn it back on with the new phone. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

  • Extra codes. Bitdefender says they're for lockouts, but doesn't show where to enter one.
  • A trusted browser. It signs you in without a code, but turning 2FA off still asks for a code from your app or email.
  • Bitdefender Support. The help articles describe no recovery process. On Bitdefender's official community forum, a staff administrator wrote in 2023 and 2024 that only Support can help: it can temporarily turn off 2FA so you can sign in, and you can turn it back on later (Bitdefender community).

To reach Support, use the Contact Support page, state your reason, then pick chat, phone, or email. The administrator called chat the quickest. Bitdefender doesn't say what proof Support asks for or how long a reset takes; have your account's email address ready. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Go to Bitdefender Account > Password and security > 2-Factor Authentication and select TURN OFF 2-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION. Type the current code from Novaz, then confirm with TURN OFF 2-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION again (Bitdefender). Then open the Bitdefender entry in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Bitdefender help

More guides: Security, identity and VPN