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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Liquid Web 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5

On this page
  1. Before you start
  2. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  3. No backup codes: keep the key
  4. Signing in afterwards
  5. If Liquid Web rejects your code
  6. Changing phones
  7. If you lose your authenticator
  8. Turning 2FA off
  9. Official Liquid Web help

Your Liquid Web account is the portal login for your servers, hosting, billing and support. Two-factor authentication (2FA) on it is optional and free, and it uses an authenticator app. There are no backup codes: Liquid Web asks you to keep a copy of the setup key instead (Liquid Web). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Liquid Web steps come from Liquid Web's own help pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. Most now live on docs.nexcess.com, where Liquid Web's old help links redirect. We haven't tested the steps on a Liquid Web account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start

  • Portal address. Liquid Web now calls itself Liquid Web by Nexcess (Liquid Web). Its newest 2FA page (September 2026) uses portal.nexcess.com. An older copy on liquidweb.com says portal.liquidweb.com and an Account tab instead of the user icon (Liquid Web).
  • Your role. The newest page lists Owner or Secondary Owner permissions as a requirement. It doesn't say how users with other roles turn 2FA on.
  • API access. A setup screen pictured in Liquid Web's CloudVPN article advises against 2FA for users with API privileges (Liquid Web). It doesn't say why.
  • Sites & Stores. Plans managed at sites-portal.nexcess.com use different 2FA steps, with backup codes and SMS (Liquid Web).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Liquid Web's newest page describes these steps (Liquid Web, Liquid Web):

  1. Sign in at portal.nexcess.com with your username and password, or with Google.
  2. Click the user icon, then Manage users.
  3. Click the three-dot menu (…) next to your username and choose Enable/Disable Two-Factor Authentication.
  4. Liquid Web shows a QR code and a key. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If the portal is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  5. Save a copy of the key (next section). If you can't scan, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz, fill in Service and paste the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  6. Type the code from Novaz into the passcode field (Enter Passcode in Liquid Web's screenshots) and click Confirm Code.

Liquid Web doesn't give the code length or interval. The sample key in its screenshots is 16 characters, long enough for Novaz, but scanning is safer: the QR code carries the code settings, while a typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.

No backup codes: keep the key

Liquid Web mentions no backup or recovery codes. It tells you to keep the secret key, the letters and numbers beside the QR code, somewhere secure such as a password manager: "This key is the only way to recover access without contacting support." (Liquid Web)

With Novaz, that copy matters too: unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, Novaz keeps its keys only on your iPhone. Store it away from the phone and guard it like a password: anyone with the key can make your codes.

While you can still sign in, also note your support passphrase, which Liquid Web may ask for to confirm who you are. To see it, click the Support icon, then the eye icon (Liquid Web).

Signing in afterwards

Once 2FA is on, the portal asks for a code from your app as well as your password (Liquid Web). Its pages don't mention remembered devices or say whether Google sign-in also asks for the code.

CloudVPN users must have 2FA, and they type the password and code together, with no space, in the password field (Liquid Web).

If Liquid Web rejects your code

Liquid Web names a wrong clock as the most common cause. On the iPhone: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Liquid Web also suggests setting your computer's clock to update automatically and restarting the browser (Liquid Web). Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Liquid Web doesn't describe a phone change. If you saved the key, add it to Novaz on the new iPhone with Enter key manually and check both phones show the same code. If not, turn 2FA off while the old phone works, then on again with the new one. A Novaz iCloud backup or backup file also works: restore it on the new iPhone and Liquid Web comes with it. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

If you saved the key, add it to Novaz on your new iPhone and sign in as usual. Without it, Liquid Web says to contact Support right away. Support verifies your identity, then removes 2FA so you can sign in and set it up again (Liquid Web). The page doesn't say what proof Support wants or how long it takes. Chat only starts from inside the portal (Liquid Web), so when locked out, use the 24/7 phone numbers or support email on the contact page (Liquid Web).

More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Use the same three-dot menu in Manage users and choose Enable/Disable Two-Factor Authentication (Liquid Web). In Liquid Web's CloudVPN screenshots, the disable screen asks for a current code before Disable Two-Factor Authentication (Liquid Web).

Official Liquid Web help

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