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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Dropbox Sign 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
  1. Two things this isn't
  2. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  3. One backup code, not a list
  4. When Dropbox Sign asks for a code
  5. Teams: your admin can require it
  6. If Dropbox Sign rejects your code
  7. Changing phones or turning 2FA off
  8. If you lose your authenticator
  9. Official Dropbox Sign help

Dropbox Sign, formerly HelloSign, is the e-signature service you sign in to at app.sign.dropbox.com to send documents for signature. For two-factor authentication (2FA), text-message codes are only for paid subscriptions, but an authenticator app is open to every user, including the Free plan (Dropbox Sign). It's optional unless your team admin requires it. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Dropbox Sign steps come from Dropbox Sign's own help articles in the Dropbox Help Center, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We viewed one screenshot from them in an archived copy on web.archive.org, because the help site blocked the direct download. We haven't tested the steps on a Dropbox Sign account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Two things this isn't

  • Not your Dropbox 2FA. A Dropbox account's two-factor is set in the Security tab on dropbox.com (Dropbox). Dropbox Sign's is on its own Profile page.
  • Not signer authentication. Senders can make signers enter an access code or a texted code to open a document (Dropbox Sign). That protects the document, not your sign-in.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Steps from Dropbox Sign's authenticator article, with labels from its newer articles (Dropbox Sign, Dropbox Sign, Dropbox Sign):

  1. Sign in at app.sign.dropbox.com. Hover over your email address in the top-right corner and click Settings. One article calls this menu item My Settings.
  2. Click the Profile tab.
  3. Scroll down to 2-Factor Authentication and click Enable next to Use a mobile app, which the newer article's screenshot describes as codes from an authenticator app on your phone. The older article calls this row Google Authenticator.
  4. A pop-up shows a barcode (a QR code). In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If you're on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  5. Type the code that Novaz shows into Dropbox Sign and click Verify.
  6. Dropbox Sign then gives you a one-time backup code. Save it somewhere safe.

Dropbox Sign's help doesn't mention a text key to type instead, or say how many digits its codes have or how often they change. Scan the QR code: it carries those settings to Novaz.

One backup code, not a list

Dropbox Sign's help describes a single one-time code and asks you to keep it somewhere safe (Dropbox Sign). It doesn't say how to enter it at sign-in or how to get a new one after you've used it.

If the phone is lost and you have no Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), that one code is your main way back in. Store it in a password manager or on paper, away from your iPhone. More in 2FA backup codes.

When Dropbox Sign asks for a code

Once 2FA is on, Dropbox Sign asks for a code when you sign in (Dropbox Sign). Its 2014 launch post, from when 2FA was text-only, said that means every sign-in, including from a new device or browser (Dropbox Sign). The current help doesn't say whether it remembers trusted devices.

Teams: your admin can require it

On a Dropbox Sign team, admins can turn on Require multi-factor authentication from the Security page of the admin console (Dropbox Sign). With Multi-Teams, Organization Admins and Organization Managers manage it (Dropbox Sign).

If Dropbox Sign rejects your code

Dropbox Sign's help has no advice on 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?

Changing phones or turning 2FA off

Dropbox Sign's help doesn't describe either. While you can still sign in, look for a way to switch it off in the 2-Factor Authentication section of the Profile tab, then set it up again with the new phone. Keep the old iPhone until then, unless you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file to restore your accounts on the new one. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Use your backup code. Without it, the only documented route is Dropbox Sign support. Email support is open to every plan, including Free, and replies within one working day, Monday to Friday (Dropbox Sign). The ticket form sits inside your account, so if you're locked out, write to support@hellosign.com, ideally from the email address on your account.

The help doesn't say what proof support asks for, or whether it can remove 2FA for you. On a team, admins can reset a member's password and lock an account, but the help doesn't say they can reset two-factor (Dropbox Sign). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Dropbox Sign help

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