BugSnag 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

BugSnag is SmartBear's error and performance monitoring service, where your team sees crash reports and stability scores. Its two-factor authentication (2FA) isn't a BugSnag setting anymore. BugSnag signs you in with SmartBear ID, the login SmartBear uses across its products, and SmartBear ID handles all authentication, multi-factor included (BugSnag). So the switch you're looking for sits on your SmartBear ID security page.

2FA is optional, and the only method either company documents is an authenticator app that makes time-based codes (TOTP) (SmartBear). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the BugSnag steps come from BugSnag's own documentation and SmartBear's SmartBear ID documentation, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a BugSnag account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start

• Company sign-in: if you sign in to BugSnag with Sign in with your identity provider, your company's single sign-on handles your login (BugSnag). SmartBear says people with managed accounts can't set up MFA themselves and should ask their organization's administrator (SmartBear).
• Email and password: SmartBear lists MFA as an option for email-and-password sign-in. It also offers Google, GitHub and Microsoft sign-in, but doesn't say whether MFA applies to those (SmartBear).
• Set aside a few minutes. SmartBear warns that once you start, you have to finish: if you leave the setup halfway, you can't sign in (SmartBear).

BugSnag says it is moving people to SmartBear ID gradually, so your sign-in may look a little different while that happens (BugSnag).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

BugSnag's documentation gives the path from the dashboard (BugSnag), and SmartBear's covers the screens that follow (SmartBear):

1. In the BugSnag dashboard, open your user settings. The keyboard shortcut is g then u.
2. Select My account, then Manage Account. This takes you to SmartBear ID.
3. Choose Security. On the Multi-Factor Authentication screen, click Enable MFA.
4. SmartBear shows a code to scan. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. In the Enter your one-time code box, type the code Novaz shows for SmartBear, then click Continue. Your profile page appears.
6. To confirm it worked, go back to Security and check the status next to Multi-Factor Authentication.

Neither page mentions a text key you can type instead of scanning, or how many digits the codes have. Scanning is the reliable route, because the QR code carries those settings to Novaz. If a key does appear, you can add it with +, then Enter key manually, as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?

Signing in with a code

After MFA is on, SmartBear ID asks for a code from your app as a second step before it lets you in (SmartBear). If you're signing in through SmartBear ID for the first time, expect a few extra screens first: missing profile details, then a 5-digit code sent to your email, then your 2FA code (BugSnag).

No backup codes in the docs

Neither BugSnag nor SmartBear describes backup or recovery codes for SmartBear ID, or a second method such as text messages. Novaz keeps its keys only on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, so set one up. If the setup screen does offer a recovery code, save it somewhere other than your phone, because the documented alternative is going through support.

If BugSnag rejects your code

The official pages don't cover rejected codes. The most common 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

The docs don't describe moving MFA to a new phone. What they do offer is Disable MFA on the same Security page, with on-screen instructions (SmartBear). While you still have the old iPhone, you can turn MFA off there and then turn it on again with the new phone. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can instead restore your accounts on the new iPhone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

You can't request the reset yourself. BugSnag's instructions are to ask an admin of your BugSnag organization to contact support through the Contact support option in the dashboard and ask for your multi-factor authentication to be disabled (BugSnag). That option is in the settings menu at the top right of the dashboard (BugSnag).

BugSnag doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long the reset takes. If you're the only admin in your organization, it's worth adding a second admin now, while you can still sign in, so someone can send that request for you. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

In SmartBear ID, go to Security, click Disable MFA and follow the instructions on screen (SmartBear). Then open the SmartBear entry in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official BugSnag and SmartBear help

• Account, security & passwords (BugSnag docs)
• Support (BugSnag docs)
• SmartBear ID (SmartBear Administration Documentation)
• Managing Data (SmartBear Administration Documentation)