ClouDNS 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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ClouDNS is a DNS hosting provider. Its control panel holds your DNS zones, domains, monitoring checks and SSL certificates, so a break-in could redirect your domains. Two-factor authentication (2FA) there is optional and uses time-based codes from an authenticator app; ClouDNS gives Google Authenticator as an example (ClouDNS). Its help describes no other second step, such as text messages or security keys.
Two things are unusual: ClouDNS won't turn 2FA on until your contact details are filled in, and it gives you a single 2-FA Recovery Key instead of backup codes. We show the setup with Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone; other authenticator apps work just as well.
How we checked this guide: the ClouDNS steps come from ClouDNS's own wiki and news pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. Its main two-factor article was last modified in October 2019, so the control panel may look different today. We haven't tested the steps on a ClouDNS 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
First check that your contact details are complete and correct. ClouDNS needs them if you ever lose both your device and the Recovery Key (ClouDNS).
- Sign in to the ClouDNS control panel and click your email address to open your profile settings (ClouDNS).
- Click 2-FA and web access.
- In the Two-Factor Authentication section, click ACTIVATE (ClouDNS).
- A QR code appears. Open Novaz, tap +, choose Scan QR code and aim the camera at the screen. Working on the same iPhone? Screenshot the code, then tap + and Choose a photo (how that works).
- If the scan fails, use the text version of the key, which ClouDNS calls the 2-FA Secret. In Novaz, tap +, choose Enter key manually, and fill in ClouDNS as the Service, your email as the Account (optional) and the secret as the Setup key. Background: What is a 2FA setup key?
- Write down the 2-FA Recovery Key shown during activation.
ClouDNS says a new code is generated every 30 seconds. It doesn't say how many digits the codes have, or whether you confirm a first code before setup ends. If the panel asks, type the code Novaz shows. Scanning beats typing, because the QR code passes the code settings to your app.
The Recovery Key is ClouDNS's only fallback
ClouDNS calls writing the Recovery Key down mandatory. If you lose your device, the key lets you switch 2FA off and sign in with just your email address and password (ClouDNS). It's one key that removes the second step, not a set of one-time codes.
The page doesn't say whether you can view the key again or get a new one, so treat its first appearance as your only chance and store it somewhere other than your phone, such as a password manager or a sheet of paper. With Novaz this matters too: unless you turn on iCloud backup or keep a backup file, its keys live only on your iPhone, so the Recovery Key is how you get back in if that iPhone is gone. Our backup codes guide covers storage ideas.
Signing in, and sub-users
With 2FA on, you sign in with your email address, password and the current code from your app (ClouDNS). The page doesn't mention trusted devices.
Since May 2026, sub-users can turn 2FA on and off for themselves, in the control panel or through the API (ClouDNS).
If ClouDNS rejects your code
ClouDNS's help says nothing about rejected codes. Start with the iPhone's clock, the most common culprit. Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and check that Set Automatically is switched on. Novaz flags a clock that's off by 15 seconds or more. Also make sure the code didn't roll over as you typed. For more fixes, see Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
ClouDNS doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. It does describe turning 2FA off, which takes your password and a current code, so make the switch while you still have the old phone: deactivate, activate again, and scan the new QR code with the new phone. If a new Recovery Key appears, replace the one you saved. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead (new iPhone guide).
If you lose your authenticator
- You have the Recovery Key: use it to turn 2FA off and sign in with your email address and password, then set 2FA up again on your new phone. ClouDNS doesn't say where on the sign-in screen the key goes.
- You don't have the key: contact ClouDNS. Its wiki warns that "the restoration process takes 168 hours", a full week (ClouDNS). It doesn't list the proof it asks for, beyond the contact details you entered before activation.
Technical support is at support@cloudns.net. ClouDNS says the team works around the clock and that an email reply can take up to one business day (ClouDNS). Our lost phone guide has general next steps.
Turning 2FA off
In your profile settings, click 2-FA and web access. In the Two-Factor Authentication section, enter your password and the current code, then click DEACTIVATE (ClouDNS). Once that's done, delete the ClouDNS entry from Novaz by opening it and tapping Remove account.
