Cisco 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your Cisco account

Your Cisco account is the login for Cisco's support, software, training and partner sites, managed at id.cisco.com in what Cisco calls Profile Manager (Cisco, Cisco). Cisco calls 2FA multi-factor authentication (MFA), and it works with an authenticator app only. Cisco recommends Duo, but the setup dialog adds that "any time-based one time password (TOTP) authenticator will work" (Cisco). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Other authenticator apps follow the same steps.

How we checked this guide: the Cisco steps come from Cisco's Login and account help page, including its screenshots, and from two MFA answers in the FAQ on Cisco's Web Help portal, all linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Cisco account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Who has to turn it on

• Partner-level users: it's mandatory, and you can't open any Cisco application until it's done. Set it up ahead of time from the Set up MFA banner in your profile, or when Cisco prompts you right after your password (Cisco, Cisco).
• Everyone else: it's optional; you turn it on from your profile.
• Accounts your company signs you in to: for these federated accounts, the Account Security tab may not appear at all (Cisco).

Turn on MFA from your profile

Cisco's help page shows these screens (Cisco):

1. Sign in at id.cisco.com and open the Security tab (or select the Set up MFA banner).
2. Under Account Security, turn on the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) switch.
3. In Password required, type your password and select Verify.
4. Set up security methods lists Duo (tagged Recommended), MS Authenticator, Google Authenticator and Authy. Novaz isn't listed, but the note below the list covers it. Select Next.
5. Cisco shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the code is on the iPhone you're holding, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo (how that works).
6. Can't scan? Use the text key printed beside the QR code: in Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key (about setup keys).
7. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz in the field under the QR code and select Submit.
8. When the confirmation appears, select Back to Profile. The switch now reads ON.

In Cisco's screenshots, the key is 16 characters and codes are 6 digits that change every 30 seconds, which matches what Novaz uses for a typed key.

If the setup appears at sign-in

Partner users get a three-step version with other labels (Cisco): Set up security methods (select Next), then Add Authenticator, where you scan the QR code or type the key shown under Or manually enter code below, then Verify Multi-Factor Authentication, where the Novaz code goes in the Type 6-digit TOTP field before you select Verify.

When Cisco asks for a code

At every sign-in, after your password (Cisco). Resetting a forgotten password may also ask for it, on top of a code sent by email. Cisco's screenshot of that step is titled Verify with Duo but asks for the code from your authenticator (Cisco). Cisco doesn't say whether it can remember a device.

If Cisco rejects your code

Cisco's verification screen notes that a code is only good for its 30-second window (Cisco), so if the Novaz code is about to change, wait for the next one. If fresh codes fail too, check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz flags a clock that's 15 seconds or more off. More fixes: Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Cisco doesn't describe moving MFA to a new phone. What it documents is the switch: off with your password, and on again for a fresh setup (Cisco). If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. Otherwise, while the old iPhone still works, sign in with it, turn MFA off and on, and scan the new QR code with Novaz on the new iPhone. Cisco doesn't say whether partner users, who must keep MFA, can switch it off; if you can't, ask Cisco support. More in How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Cisco's pages mention no backup or recovery codes and no second authenticator. The mobile number you can add on the Security tab is described for password recovery, not as a way past MFA (Cisco). If you lose your iPhone and have no Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), Cisco support is the only documented route. The Contact support link on Cisco's help page goes to the Cisco Web Help portal, and the MFA FAQ points to its Submit Inquiry section for cases (Cisco, Cisco). Cisco doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long a reset takes. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning MFA off

On the Security tab, switch Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) off and confirm with your password. Cisco suggests removing the Cisco entry from your authenticator app too (Cisco): in Novaz, open it and tap Remove account.

Official Cisco help

• Login and account help
• Configuring Multifactor Authentication (MFA) and Recovery Phone (Cisco Web Help FAQ)
• Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) requirement for Partner level users (Cisco Web Help FAQ)
• Cisco Web Help