Buildium 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Buildium is property management software, so your sign-in protects rent payments, owner draws, bank details and resident records. That's why two-factor authentication (2FA) isn't optional there. Buildium requires it for most users, with vendors and rental owners the exception, and its help says it can't be turned off (Buildium, Buildium). Its current security policy still says the same (Buildium).

You can get codes by text message, by phone call, or from an authenticator app. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Buildium steps come from Buildium's own pages, linked below. Buildium's current help center only shows its articles with JavaScript, so our automated reader couldn't open them. On October 21, 2026 we read Buildium's earlier help articles and its two-factor page as archived copies on web.archive.org, saved in 2023 and 2024. The newest of those articles was last updated in 2021, and Buildium's screens may have changed since. We haven't tested them on a Buildium account, so a label may differ. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Buildium asks you to pick a primary authentication method the first time you sign in after 2FA applies to you. To set it up or change it later, Buildium's newest archived article gives this route (Buildium):

1. Click the icon with your initials or profile photo, then My settings.
2. Open the Security tab.
3. Choose authentication app rather than phone number.
4. Buildium shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If Buildium is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. Type the code Novaz shows into Buildium and click Confirm.

Buildium's older two-factor page describes the same flow with other labels: a Two-factor Authentication area under Security, a Set up two-factor authentication button, and Submit at the end (Buildium).

Buildium's pages only describe scanning the QR code. They don't mention a text key you can type, or how many digits its codes have. Scan the code if you can. If Buildium does offer a key, use +, then Enter key manually, and paste it into Setup key (What is a 2FA setup key?).

More than one company: if you sign in to several Buildium companies, you get a separate entry for each one in your authenticator app (Buildium). In Novaz, fill in Account with the company name when you add each one, so you can tell them apart.

Add a backup method

Buildium doesn't mention backup codes. Its fallback is a second method, which it calls a backup method. With an authenticator app as your primary method, the only backup it offers is a phone number for text or call codes (Buildium). Buildium says the backup is optional but strongly recommends one.

Add it. Unless you've backed up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so a phone number is the only way back in on your own if that iPhone is lost.

When Buildium asks for a code

You'll be asked for a code from your primary method each time you sign in. A Remember this device for 30 days checkbox lets you skip it on the same browser and device (Buildium). Resetting your password also needs 2FA (Buildium).

If Buildium keeps asking anyway, its help blames an old cookie: clear your browser's cache and cookies, sign in again and tick the box. Private browsing and cookie blockers also break it (Buildium).

If Buildium rejects your code

Buildium's help doesn't cover rejected authenticator 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

The Security tab is where you change your 2FA method or add a backup (Buildium). Do it while the old iPhone still works: set up the authenticator app again 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

Use your backup phone number first. Without a backup, there are two routes:

• Your own company's admin. A Buildium user with the "edit user" permission can let a staff member who's blocked by 2FA into the account. The option is on the staff member's details page and in a menu on the staff members page. (Buildium).
• Buildium support. Its Customer Care team checks your identity by phone, then lets you skip 2FA for your next sign-in so you can set it up again (Buildium, Buildium).

If the phone was lost or stolen, Buildium recommends changing your password first. It doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long a reset takes. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Buildium help

The help articles were read as archived copies on web.archive.org. The dates are when each copy was saved.

• Two-Factor Authentication (November 4, 2024)
• How do I set up two-factor authentication? (May 30, 2023)
• Allow administrators to skip two-factor authentication for staff members (March 22, 2023)
• Trouble signing in with Two-Factor Authentication (March 27, 2023)
• Trouble-shooting Remember Device for 2FA (March 22, 2023)
• Security Policy (read live)