HappyFox 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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HappyFox two-factor authentication (2FA) protects the agent side of a HappyFox Help Desk account: the people who answer tickets, not the customers who submit them. It works only with an authenticator app, it comes with every plan, and it applies only to agents who sign in with an email address and password. If your company signs you in to HappyFox through single sign-on (SSO), HappyFox has nothing to set up here: your SSO provider handles the second step (HappyFox).
An admin can require it for every agent, or you can turn it on for yourself. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone for the app side. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the HappyFox steps come from HappyFox's own support center, linked below, including the screenshots in its articles, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a HappyFox account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
If your admin requires it
Admins with the Manage Security permission can go to Manage > Security, open the Two Factor Authentication tab, and turn on Enforce Two Factor Authentication for all Agents. Each agent is then asked to set up the authenticator app the next time they sign in and can't get past that screen until they do (HappyFox). The setup itself is the same as below.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
HappyFox's article, last updated August 3, 2026, gives these steps (HappyFox):
- Click your avatar or name in the top bar to open My Settings.
- Open the Security tab and start the authenticator app setup.
- HappyFox shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If you're on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you can't scan it, HappyFox prints a secret key next to the code. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type a name such as HappyFox under Service, and paste the key into Setup key. More in What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz and click Verify.
- HappyFox then shows your backup codes. Download or copy them before you close the screen.
The screenshots in the article are older than its text. They show the button as Verify Code, and the backup code screen with Download Codes, Copy Codes, a checkbox confirming you saved them, and Finish Setup. Your screen may use either set of labels.
Your backup codes
Each backup code works once. When you run low, you can make a new set from the Security tab in My Settings (HappyFox). In the article's screenshot, that tab also shows how many unused codes you have left and a View Codes link.
Take them seriously. If the phone is gone and you have no Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), these codes are the only documented way back in on your own. Put them in a password manager or print them. See 2FA backup codes.
Signing in
With 2FA on, HappyFox asks for a code from your app after your email and password, every time you sign in. On that screen you can switch to a backup code if you don't have your phone (HappyFox).
If HappyFox rejects your code
Be careful here, because HappyFox counts wrong codes against you. Two wrong codes in a row count as one failed sign-in and send you back to the start. Five failed sign-ins in a row lock the account for 60 minutes,. You can wait out the hour or send an automatic request asking an admin to unlock you; an admin with the Unlock Agent permission can do it from Manage > Agents (HappyFox).
So before you try again, check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes in Authenticator code not working?
New phone
You can redo the setup from My Settings whenever you like. HappyFox notes that "Reconfiguring makes all previous QR codes and verification codes invalid" (HappyFox), so the old phone's codes stop working once you finish. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you don't need to: restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the same codes keep working. Otherwise, do this while you still have the old phone, and scan the new QR code on the new one. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Sign in with one of your backup codes, then reconfigure the authenticator app from My Settings on your new phone. Without backup codes, the sign-in screen in HappyFox's screenshot tells you to contact your account administrator. HappyFox's article doesn't describe how an admin resets another agent's 2FA, what proof is needed, or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
HappyFox's article doesn't describe turning 2FA off. Its screenshot of the Security tab shows a Two Factor Authentication switch, with a note when an admin has enforced it. If your admin requires 2FA, you can't opt out on your own.
