Files.com 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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Files.com is a cloud platform for sharing and transferring business files, on the web and over FTP, SFTP and WebDAV. Your account lives on your company's Files.com site, and an administrator there decides how two-factor authentication (2FA) works for you. On Power or Enterprise plans, administrators can require it for everyone or only for Site Administrators. If they do, you have to set up a method the next time you sign in before you can do anything else (Files.com).
Files.com supports hardware keys, authenticator apps, text messages and email codes, and recommends the first two (Files.com). There are no backup codes. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone in the steps below. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Files.com steps come from Files.com's own documentation, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Files.com 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
You manage your 2FA methods on your own My Account page. Your administrator controls which methods appear there, so if the authenticator app is missing, ask them (Files.com). The documentation doesn't spell out the menu path to that page.
- Sign in to your Files.com site in a web browser and open My Account. If your site requires 2FA and you have no method yet, Files.com asks you to set one up right after you sign in.
- Choose the authenticator app method. Before it changes how you sign in, Files.com confirms it's you: with your password if this is your first method, or with a method you already have (Files.com).
- Files.com shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Optionally, type a name in App/device name, such as "Novaz on my iPhone", so you can tell your methods apart later.
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz in Authenticator code and confirm it.
The documentation only describes scanning the QR code and doesn't mention a text key, so plan to scan. If your site shows a key anyway, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz and paste it as the Setup key (see What is a 2FA setup key?). Files.com's codes last 30 seconds, the same as Novaz uses for typed keys.
If your site lets you skip 2FA for FTP, SFTP and WebDAV, that option shows up only during this setup. Methods can't be edited afterwards (Files.com).
No backup codes: add a second method
Files.com's pages don't mention backup or recovery codes. Instead, you can keep several methods active at once, so another one still works if a device is gone (Files.com). That matters with Novaz, because its keys stay on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file. Add a hardware key or a second phone if your administrator allows it. Email is a weak fallback: its codes go to the same inbox as password reset links.
Using your code with SFTP, FTP or WebDAV
These protocols can't ask for a second code, so Files.com takes it inside the password field. Type your password, then the current code from Novaz straight after it, with no space. Authenticator apps work this way. Email codes don't, and SMS is a poor fit because Files.com only texts a code after a web sign-in (Files.com).
Once that works, Files.com accepts the same pair for extra connections from the same IP address to the same server until your session ends. For people, Files.com suggests its Desktop App or CLI App, which ask for the code once at sign-in (Files.com).
If Files.com rejects your code
Files.com points to the clock: if it's off by more than a few seconds, a correct-looking code fails. Keep automatic time on, and wait for a fresh code if the current one is about to run out (Files.com). On iPhone: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off.
After too many wrong codes in a row, Files.com blocks further attempts for a while. Wait before you try again: a 2FA reset doesn't shorten the wait (Files.com). Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
Files.com doesn't describe moving an authenticator to a new phone. Since it allows several methods, add Novaz on the new iPhone as another method while the old phone still works; Files.com asks for a code from an existing method to confirm. The documentation doesn't show how to remove the old method, so check My Account or ask your administrator. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can also restore your accounts on the new iPhone, and the existing method keeps working. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
- Sign in with another method you enrolled, if you have one.
- If you have none, ask an administrator on your Files.com site to reset your 2FA. Site and Workspace Administrators can, and some Group or Partner Admins. They edit your Two-factor authentication settings and choose Reset this user's 2FA methods (Files.com).
- A reset removes your methods but not the requirement. If your site still requires 2FA, you'll be asked to set up a new method at your next web sign-in.
Recovery runs through your own organization. The documentation names no Files.com support route and no proof you'd need. A password reset doesn't remove 2FA either (Files.com). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
If your site allows it, you can remove the 2FA requirement from your account on the My Account page, using a code or confirmation from one of your methods (Files.com). Otherwise, only an administrator can. When an administrator removes a site-wide requirement, it stays in force for 7 days first. If you later remove Files.com from Novaz, open the account and tap Remove account.
