Fanatical 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Fanatical is the store where you buy game keys and bundles, and your Fanatical account is where those keys and your order history live. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional. Fanatical's help describes one method: a code from a time-based (TOTP) authenticator app on your phone or tablet. It doesn't mention text messages, email codes or backup codes (Fanatical).

That last point shapes everything else. Without backup codes, the authenticator is your only way past the code screen, so read the sections on changing phones and losing your phone before you start. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Fanatical steps come from Fanatical's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The 2FA article blocked our automated request, so we read it in an archived copy on web.archive.org (saved January 12, 2026) and checked it against the help center's public article feed, which showed the same text, last edited August 28, 2024. We haven't tested the steps on a Fanatical 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

These steps and labels come from Fanatical's 2FA article and its screenshots (Fanatical):

1. Sign in at fanatical.com.
2. Open MY ACCOUNT, then Account Settings. The direct address is fanatical.com/en/account.
3. In Login Details, find Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and click Enable.
4. A Confirm Two-Factor Authentication window shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the page is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. Below the QR code, under Or enter this code into your authenticator app:, Fanatical shows a text key. To use it, tap + in Novaz, then Enter key manually, and paste it into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key? Fanatical doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change, so the QR code is the safer route.
6. Click NEXT.
7. Type the code from Novaz into the box and click CONFIRM AND ENABLE. The window also has a Back link if you need the QR code again.

Fanatical's own example shows the account appearing as "Fanatical Store" in the authenticator app. Its article also suggests waiting until the code has just refreshed before you type it, so it doesn't expire mid-entry.

The 2FA article dates from 2024. A newer Fanatical article, from July 2026, reaches other sign-in settings through MY ACCOUNT, Account Overview and Login and Security (fanatical.com/en/account/login) (Fanatical). If you don't see Login Details under Account Settings, look there.

When Fanatical asks for a code

Once 2FA is on, Fanatical asks for a code from your app every time you sign in. Its help doesn't mention a way to remember a trusted browser, so keep the phone with Novaz nearby whenever you shop (Fanatical).

If Fanatical rejects your code

Fanatical's only advice is for Google Authenticator on Android, which can drift out of sync with the time. On iPhone, the equivalent check is the phone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Then wait for a fresh code and type it right away. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Don't keep guessing. Fanatical's password help warns that repeated failed sign-ins can lead to a temporary block on your internet connection, with a wait that grows each time (Fanatical). It doesn't say whether wrong 2FA codes count toward that.

Changing phones

Fanatical says you need your existing device to switch. The process is to sign in with a code from the old phone, click Disable next to Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in Login Details, and then click Enable and scan the new QR code with the new phone (Fanatical).

So do this before you wipe, sell or trade in the old iPhone. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore it on the new phone instead and keep the same Fanatical entry. Without one, the new phone needs a fresh setup. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

With no backup codes, the only route Fanatical documents is its support team: send a request through the contact form. Fanatical is frank that recovery isn't certain: "we cannot guarantee to be able to restore your account access" (Fanatical).

To help them confirm the account is yours, Fanatical suggests including details such as:

• how many orders you've placed,
• which payment methods you've used,
• when you placed your last order, and
• when you opened the account.

It's worth noting these down now, while you can still sign in and check your order history. Fanatical doesn't say how long a recovery takes. For general steps, see Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Sign in, go to MY ACCOUNT > Account Settings, and click Disable next to Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in Login Details. Fanatical notes that you need your device for this, since you have to sign in with a code first (Fanatical). In Novaz, you can then open the Fanatical entry and tap Remove account.

Official Fanatical help

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
• Linking Fanatical and Steam accounts
• I have forgotten my password, help me reset it?