Kayako 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Kayako is a customer service help desk. Staff (agents and admins) work in its Agent area, and customers sign in to a company's Kayako Help Center. Both can turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) with an authenticator app. Kayako's help describes no text-message option (Kayako).

The two setups start in different places, so this guide covers both. It uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Kayako steps come from Kayako's own help center and developer documentation, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The help articles were posted in March 2025. We haven't tested them on a Kayako account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start: integrations

Kayako's help warns that with 2FA on, a tool such as Zapier or Salesforce may stop being able to talk to Kayako through your user account (Kayako). Its developer docs add that API requests signing in with a username and password must then also send a one-time code (Kayako). If an integration runs under your account, talk to whoever manages it before you turn 2FA on.

Turn on 2FA as an agent or admin

Kayako describes these steps (Kayako):

1. Sign in to the Kayako Agent area.
2. Click your profile avatar in the upper-right corner and choose Setup two-factor auth.
3. Click Get started, then Ready to set up.
4. Kayako 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 and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. Type the six-digit code from Novaz into the empty field in Kayako and click Verify and activate two-factor auth.
6. Save the emergency backup codes on the confirmation screen (see below).

Turn on 2FA as a Help Center customer

From the same Kayako article (Kayako):

1. Sign in to the Help Center.
2. Click the arrow next to your user name and choose Edit profile.
3. Under Manage two-factor authentication, click Enable.
4. Scan the QR code with Novaz as in step 4 above, then click Next in Kayako.
5. Type the current code from Novaz in the Enter authentication code box and click Enable two-factor authentication.
6. Save the emergency backup codes.

No setup key in the instructions

Kayako's article only describes the QR code, not a text key to type instead, so plan to scan it. If your screen does offer a key, tap + in Novaz, then Enter key manually, and paste it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?

Keep the emergency backup codes

Both setups end with a list of emergency backup codes. Kayako tells you to print, save or screenshot them and keep them somewhere safe. Any one of them gets you into your account when you can't reach your authenticator app (Kayako).

Keep them even with a Novaz backup: they're your way back in if the phone is lost and you have no iCloud backup or backup file, or the file predates Kayako. Store them away from that phone, in a password manager or on paper. Kayako's help doesn't say whether you can make a new set later. More in 2FA backup codes.

Signing in afterwards

Kayako asks for the current code from your app every time you sign in (Kayako). Its help doesn't describe a way to remember a trusted device.

If Kayako rejects your code

Kayako's help doesn't cover 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 the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Kayako doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. If you back up Novaz, restore the backup on the new iPhone and the Kayako entry keeps working. Without one, while you still have the old phone, turn 2FA off (steps below) and set it up again 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 emergency backup codes, then turn 2FA off and set it up again on your new phone.

Without the backup codes, Kayako's help doesn't describe a recovery route, what proof is needed, or how long it takes. Agents can start with their company's Kayako admin; customers, with the company that runs the Help Center. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Kayako documents both cases (Kayako):

• Agents and admins: in the Agent area, click your profile avatar, choose Disable two-factor auth, and confirm with the Disable two-factor auth button.
• Customers: in the Help Center, click your profile avatar, choose Edit profile, click Disable under Manage two-factor authentication, then enter your password and click Confirm password.

After that, you can remove the Kayako entry from Novaz: open it and tap Remove account.

Kayako's developer docs say 2FA can be turned on for a single user or for all agents of an instance (Kayako). The help center doesn't describe that admin setting or how it affects the disable option.

Official Kayako help

• Securing Your User Account with Two-Factor Authentication
• Disabling the Two-Factor Authentication
• OTP_EXPECTED (Kayako Developers Docs)