IDrive 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

IDrive is the cloud backup service people use for their computers, phones and cloud apps, and its web account is where those backups live. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional for a personal account. An admin, though, can make it mandatory for everyone on the account, including themselves (IDrive).

The first thing to know: IDrive now keeps two versions of its help, one for accounts created after September 25, 2026 and one for accounts created before that date. The menus and the methods differ between them, so this guide covers both. IDrive lets you get codes by text message, by email on older accounts, or from any app that makes time-based codes (TOTP). We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone in the steps below, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the IDrive steps come from IDrive's own FAQ pages, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on an IDrive 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

Accounts created after September 25, 2026

IDrive's current security FAQ gives these steps (IDrive):

1. Sign in to IDrive on the web and click your username.
2. On the My Account tab, select Security.
3. Choose Time-based OTP authentication as your method and click Enable.
4. IDrive shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. 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.
5. Can't scan? Click enter key manually to see the key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, fill in Service (IDrive) and paste the key as the Setup key. More in What is a 2FA setup key? Then click Next.
6. Type the code from Novaz and click Verify.
7. IDrive offers to add a secondary phone number for text codes. Click Save, or skip it.
8. Copy the recovery codes or click Download to save them as a .txt file, then click Done.

Accounts created before September 25, 2026

The older version of the FAQ uses a different menu and a different order (IDrive):

1. Click your username at the top right, select Account, then Two-factor authentication.
2. Click Enable, choose Time-based OTP authentication, and click Confirm.
3. Scan the QR code, or click enter key manually, as in steps 4 and 5 above, then click Next.
4. Save the recovery code (this page uses the singular) by copying it or clicking Download, then click Continue.
5. Enter the code from Novaz and click Activate.

Neither page says how many digits IDrive's codes have or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, since it passes those settings to your app. A key typed into Novaz by hand always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.

Keep the recovery code safe

IDrive's FAQ is clear that the recovery code is what you need to turn off 2FA if you lose the phone that has your authenticator app (IDrive). If that iPhone is gone and you have no Novaz backup to restore, this code is your only way back in. Store it away from the phone, for example in a password manager or on paper. See 2FA backup codes.

When IDrive asks for a code

After you sign in with your username and password, IDrive asks for the code from your app and you click Submit Code. In the IDrive mobile app, you tap Verify instead (IDrive). The FAQ also mentions a Trust this computer checkbox: once a computer is trusted, IDrive stops asking it for a code (IDrive).

IDrive says TOTP is "mainly enforced for web logins", and that its desktop apps may handle sign-in differently (IDrive). So don't be surprised if the desktop backup app doesn't ask for a code. For stronger protection of the files themselves, IDrive points to its private encryption key option.

If IDrive rejects your code

IDrive's FAQ doesn't cover rejected authenticator codes. The usual cause is the phone's clock. On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

If you lose your authenticator

Use the recovery code (IDrive):

1. Sign in with your username and password.
2. On the verification code screen, click I can't access my code.
3. Type your recovery code in the Recovery Code field and click Deactivate.

This turns 2FA off, so set it up again afterwards. IDrive's pages don't say what happens if you've lost the recovery code too, what proof support would ask for, or how long it takes. For questions the FAQ doesn't answer, IDrive points to its support form. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Changing phones

IDrive doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. The documented route is to turn 2FA off while you still have the old phone, then turn it on again and scan the new QR code with the new one. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

Turning 2FA off

• Newer accounts: on the My Account tab, select Security, click Disable in the Two-factor authentication configured section, then confirm with Disable (IDrive).
• Older accounts: select Account, then Two-step Authentication, click Disable, enter a current code and click Disable again (IDrive).

If an admin has turned on 2FA for all users, it stays required until the admin turns it off or excludes you.

Official IDrive help

• FAQs on data security, secure access in cloud (accounts created after September 25, 2026)
• FAQs on data security, secure access in cloud (accounts created before September 25, 2026)
• FAQs on backup, access, share via iOS, Android phone
• IDrive support