Cloudways 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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Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform: its dashboard is where you run your servers and applications and keep your billing details. Cloudways protects it with an optional second sign-in step that it calls TFA (two-factor authentication). Both the primary account owner and team members can turn it on (Cloudways).
The main method is a time-based authenticator app. Cloudways adds single-use backup codes, and for the primary account owner only, a code sent by text message. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Cloudways steps come from Cloudways's own help center, linked below. support.cloudways.com refused our automated requests, so on October 21, 2026, we read archived copies of those pages on web.archive.org, saved on April 16, 2026. We haven't tested the steps on a Cloudways account, so a label may differ slightly or may have changed since. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Cloudways's help article describes this flow (Cloudways):
- Sign in to the Cloudways Platform and open Account from the profile menu in the top right corner.
- Go to the Security tab.
- Click Activate TFA.
- Cloudways emails you a 6-character security code, which can include letters. Enter it when asked.
- A popup opens with a QR code and a key. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the popup is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you'd rather type the key, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz. Type the key from the popup as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the six-digit code that Novaz shows into the popup and click Verify.
Cloudways says any time-based (TOTP) authenticator app works, and its codes are six digits.
Generate your backup codes right away
Cloudways treats backup codes as an optional extra, but strongly suggests making them, and you should. Back on the Security tab of the Account section, click the Generate Code link. Cloudways shows twelve codes that you can copy or download. Each one works only once (Cloudways).
If you lose the phone and have no Novaz backup, or the backup is out of date, these codes are your way back in. Keep them off the phone, for example on paper. More in 2FA backup codes.
What signing in looks like
With TFA on, you sign in in two steps. First the usual email and password screen, then a screen that asks for the one-time code from your authenticator app. Cloudways lets you have the system remember your computer for 30 days (Cloudways).
If you can't use the app at that moment, click Try Another Method on the code screen. From there you can enter a backup code, or, if you're the primary account owner, have a code sent to your registered phone number. Team members don't get the text message option.
If Cloudways rejects your code
Cloudways's help doesn't cover rejected codes. With time-based codes, the usual cause is a phone clock that has drifted. Novaz warns you when the iPhone's clock is 15 seconds or more off. To fix it, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Moving to a new iPhone
Cloudways's help doesn't describe a phone switch. What it does document is Deactivate TFA and Activate TFA on the Security tab, so while you still have the old phone, turn TFA off and set it up again on the new one. Cloudways doesn't say whether old backup codes survive that, so click Generate Code for a fresh set afterwards.
In Novaz, an iCloud backup or backup file lets you restore your accounts on the new iPhone, so you don't have to add them again. Without one, every account has to be added again on the new phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Work through these in order:
- A backup code. On the code screen, click Try Another Method and enter one of your twelve codes.
- A text message. If you're the primary account owner, use Try Another Method to have a code sent to your registered phone number.
- Cloudways support. Cloudways's password help says that if you lost TFA access on your phone and have no backup codes, you should email billing@cloudways.com (Cloudways). It doesn't say what proof of ownership Cloudways asks for or how long the reset takes.
Team members can't use the text message option, so for them it's backup codes or that email. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning TFA off
Cloudways doesn't recommend it, but you can. Go to the Security tab of the Account section and click Deactivate TFA. When it's done, the tab shows the option to activate TFA again (Cloudways). Then open the Cloudways account in Novaz and tap Remove account, since its codes no longer do anything.
