Combell 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Combell is a Belgian hosting company, and its control panel at my.combell.com is where you manage domain names, hosting, mailboxes and invoices. Combell chose a single kind of two-factor authentication for that login: a code from an authenticator app on your phone, which it calls a software token. Its help pages don't describe text-message codes or backup codes (Combell). Combell's own example uses Duo Mobile, but the setup is a standard QR code, so this guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Combell steps come from Combell's own help article and blog post, linked below. Combell's site turned away our automated reader, so on October 21, 2026 we read the pages as archived copies on web.archive.org, saved between October 2024 and May 2025. The help article was last updated by Combell on July 6, 2020, so the control panel may look different today. We haven't tested the steps on a Combell 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

Combell's help article gives these steps in the control panel (Combell):

1. Sign in to the control panel. In the top right corner, click your name, then Personal Information.
2. In the menu on the left, choose Two-factor authentication.
3. Click Configure two-factor authentication. Combell shows an overview of what to do, starting with installing an app that makes codes.
4. Combell shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the control panel is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. If you can't scan it, Combell offers what it calls an alphanumeric string. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, fill in Service (for example, Combell) and type the string as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Type the code Novaz shows into the control panel and click Activate two-step verification.

Combell's pages don't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, because the code carries those settings to your app. A key typed by hand always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.

Combell's pages switch between the names two-factor authentication and two-step verification for the same feature. Its password article calls the page under your name Personal data rather than Personal Information (Combell). If a label doesn't match, look for the closest one.

When Combell asks for a code

After setup, the control panel asks for a code from your app every time you sign in, right after your username and password (Combell).

You can also mark your browser as secure. Combell then skips the code in that browser for 15 days. Combell advises using this only on a desktop computer, not on your smartphone (Combell), since the phone is also where your codes live.

Requiring 2FA for your users

If several people use your Combell customer account, an administrator can make the second step compulsory for all of them. The help article puts the switch under Settings > General settings (Combell). The blog post, written for Combell partners (resellers), gives a different path: Settings > User Management > Two-step verification, then move the slider. Users who haven't set up an app yet are told they must do so (Combell).

If Combell rejects your code

Combell's pages don't cover rejected codes. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

No backup codes, so plan ahead

Combell's help article and blog post don't mention backup or recovery codes. They also don't explain how to move the app to a new phone, how to turn 2FA off again, or what happens if you lose your phone. Novaz can restore your accounts on a new iPhone from iCloud backup or a backup file. Without either, its keys stay on the old iPhone, so a new phone means setting Combell up again. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

Before you swap or reset your phone, keep Combell's support details handy. Its help pages list free 24/7 support by phone on 0800-8-5678, or +32 9 218 79 79 from abroad (Combell).

If you lose your authenticator

Combell doesn't document a self-service recovery for the control panel's 2FA. Resetting your password with Forgot password only sends a link to set a new password (Combell), and nothing in that article says it removes the second step. Contact Combell support. Its pages don't say what proof it asks for or how long a reset takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Combell help

All read as archived copies on web.archive.org; the dates are when each copy was saved.

• How do I enable two factor authentication? (December 7, 2024)
• Two-factor authentication: an extra layer of security of vital importance (October 4, 2024)
• How can I change or reset my Combell password? (May 15, 2025)