Coursera 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
On this page
Your Coursera account holds your courses, certificates and any paid plan. You can protect it with two-factor authentication (2FA) through an authenticator app: after your password, you type a 6-digit code from the app (Coursera). It's optional, and Coursera's help center describes no other second step, such as text messages or security keys.
Two details first. Coursera's help says the feature is still in beta and may not be offered to every learner, so the setting can be missing from your account. And its steps to turn 2FA on or off both start on a computer. The steps below use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Coursera steps come from Coursera's own Learner Help Center, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. Its 2FA article was last published in May 2025. We haven't tested the steps on a Coursera account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Which accounts this covers
- You log in with your email and a Coursera password: this is what Coursera's 2FA article describes.
- You log in with Google, Apple or Facebook: Coursera lets you link one of these for login (Coursera). The 2FA article doesn't say whether Coursera's code is also asked then, so give that account its own 2FA too.
- Your organization's program uses SSO: you log in through your organization's provider, such as Okta, every time (Coursera). The 2FA article doesn't cover SSO accounts.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Coursera's steps, with the Novaz part added (Coursera):
- Log in to Coursera on a computer and open your Settings page (coursera.org/account-settings).
- In the Two Factor Authentication section, click Enable Two-Factor Authentication?.
- Enter your Coursera password.
- Coursera shows a QR code on the computer screen. On your iPhone, open Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and hold the camera up to the screen.
- Type the 6-digit code that Novaz shows into Coursera, then click Verify Code.
Coursera's article doesn't mention a text key or say how long each code lasts, so scan the QR code: it hands all the code settings to Novaz. If Coursera does show a key, tap +, then Enter key manually, and enter it as the Setup key (what a setup key is). If the QR code ends up on the iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo (scanning on the same iPhone).
A code at every login
Once 2FA is on, Coursera asks for a code from your app each time you log in (Coursera). Its help doesn't mention a way to remember a trusted device, or say whether the mobile app asks too.
No backup codes
Coursera's help center doesn't mention backup or recovery codes, or a second 2FA method to fall back on. Unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, Novaz keeps its keys only on your iPhone, so that phone holds the only copy of your Coursera key. If Coursera does show backup codes during setup, save them away from the phone (about backup codes).
The one documented safety valve: while you're logged in, turning 2FA off takes only your password (last section). So stay logged in on a computer you trust.
If Coursera rejects your code
Coursera's help has no advice on rejected authenticator codes. Start with the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
Coursera doesn't describe a phone change, but its steps allow one while you're logged in on a computer: turn 2FA off (below), turn it back on, and scan the new QR code with Novaz on the new iPhone. With iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts in Novaz on the new iPhone instead and skip this (switching iPhones). Once the new phone works, open the old Coursera entry in Novaz on the old phone and tap Remove account.
If you lose your authenticator
Coursera's help doesn't describe a way to log in without your authenticator app. What it does document:
- Still logged in on a computer? Turn 2FA off with your password, then set it up again on your new phone (Coursera).
- Was the lost phone logged in to Coursera? In Settings, under Connected devices, click Log out from all devices, enter your password and click Confirm logout. That logs out everything except the device you're using (Coursera).
- Can't log in at all? Use Coursera's contact form, since support chat needs you to be logged in. Describe the problem in detail; Coursera replies by email (Coursera). It doesn't say what proof it needs or how long a reset takes.
General steps are in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
On a computer, open Settings, go to the Two Factor Authentication section, click Disable Two-Factor Authentication, and enter your password. From then on, your email and password are enough to log in (Coursera).
