Launchpad 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app on your Ubuntu One login
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Launchpad, Canonical's platform for bug tracking, code hosting, translations and Ubuntu package archives (PPAs), has no two-factor setting of its own. When you choose Log in / Register on launchpad.net, you land on an Ubuntu One sign-in page, and Ubuntu One is the single account for sites and services related to Ubuntu (Launchpad). So two-factor authentication (2FA) for Launchpad is set up on your Ubuntu One account, at login.ubuntu.com, and it then protects your other Ubuntu sign-ins too.
2FA is optional for most people. Ubuntu One opened it to all users on November 23, 2021, after a long beta, and it's mandatory for Canonical employees and for members of projects marked to require it (Ubuntu). Besides authenticator apps, Ubuntu One accepts YubiKeys, some hardware keyfobs and printable backup codes. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Launchpad and Ubuntu One steps come from Ubuntu One's own FAQ and the two-factor FAQ it links to on the Ubuntu wiki, which we read on October 21, 2026, as plain web pages. We haven't tested them on a Launchpad account, so a label may differ slightly. Parts of the wiki page are old, so expect small differences. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Ubuntu One's two-factor FAQ describes these steps (Ubuntu):
- Sign in at login.ubuntu.com with the same email and password you use for Launchpad.
- Open the Authentication devices tab (the page is also at login.ubuntu.com/device-list).
- Click Add a new authentication device and pick the device type for a smartphone app. Don't pick Generic HOTP device: that one uses counter-based codes, and Novaz only makes time-based codes.
- Follow the instructions on screen to add the account to your app. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If the code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz when the page asks for it.
- Set Require an authentication device to Always, then click Update.
The FAQ doesn't say whether the setup page shows a QR code, a typed key, or both. It does describe the shared key as 40 hexadecimal digits. Novaz's Enter key manually expects a base32 key, so a hex key won't work there. Scan the QR code. Codes from the app are 6 digits and change every 30 seconds (Ubuntu).
Print the backup codes before you need them
After you add your first device, Ubuntu One generates a sheet of backup codes, and its FAQ says you must keep them. If it doesn't, add them yourself: Add a new authentication device, choose Printable Backup Codes, click Add device, and you get 25 codes you can print with Print codes. Each code works once. When you make a new set, the old one stops working (Ubuntu).
You can attach more than one device, and Ubuntu One works out which one you used at each sign-in. It recommends at least two, plus the printed codes, but no more than three in total. Unless you back up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, its keys stay on your iPhone alone, so keep the paper codes somewhere safe. More in 2FA backup codes.
If Ubuntu One rejects your code
For time-based codes, the FAQ's advice is to set your phone's clock correct to the second and try again (Ubuntu). 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.
If that doesn't fix it, email isd-support@canonical.com with the subject 2fa locked out - followed by your Ubuntu One email address. Say which kind of device you use and include your next 6-digit code, so the team can try to resynchronize. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
Ubuntu One's way is to sign in with a backup device or a backup code, remove the old device under Authentication devices, and add the new phone with a fresh key. It also asks you to delete devices you no longer use (Ubuntu). If you restore Novaz on the new iPhone from an iCloud backup or backup file, Ubuntu One comes with it. Without one, add Ubuntu One to Novaz on the new iPhone this way before you wipe the old one. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Sign in with one of your printed codes or another device you added, then replace the lost one.
Without any of those, there's no way back. Ubuntu One's FAQ says the account is then "irretrievably lost" (Ubuntu). Support won't turn off 2FA because you ask by email, since your email could be the thing an attacker controls. It also won't accept a passport or other government ID: Ubuntu One never checked identity when you signed up, so an ID can't prove you created the account. You would lose Launchpad and every other site you reach through Ubuntu One. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
The official pages don't describe how to turn two-factor authentication off, beyond removing devices you've stopped using.
