Lost the phone with your authenticator app? How to get back in
By the Novaz team · Updated October 9, 2026 · Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.3
If your authenticator app was only on the phone you lost, you can't make new codes until you get the keys back or set up 2FA again. Work through these steps in order. If you saved backup codes, step 2 gets you back in.
1. Secure the lost iPhone
Do this first, from another device. Apple's own steps are on its support page:
- Open Find My on another Apple device, or go to icloud.com/find. Apple doesn't ask for a verification code there, so you can sign in without the lost phone.
- Mark it as lost. Lost Mode locks the iPhone with its passcode and suspends Apple Pay.
- Tell your mobile carrier and, if it was stolen, the police.
- Erase the iPhone only when you've given up on getting it back. Apple warns that erasing can't be undone. Don't remove it from Find My, because that turns off Activation Lock.
If your authenticator app has its own lock (Face ID or a passcode, which Novaz offers) and you turned it on, someone who finds the phone also has to get past that to read your codes.
2. Sign in with what you saved
Websites that use authenticator apps nearly always give you another way in, if you set it up beforehand:
- Backup codes (also called recovery codes). On the sign-in screen, look for "Try another way", "Use a recovery code" or similar. Each code works once. See 2FA backup codes.
- Another device that's already signed in, such as a computer or tablet. Some services let you approve the sign-in there, or skip the code on a trusted device.
- A passkey or security key, if you added one.
- Another phone number or email address, if the service allows them as a backup.
Once you're in, go to the security settings, remove the lost phone, and set up the authenticator again on your new phone.
3. If you saved nothing: account recovery
Without a backup method, you're relying on each website's account recovery. It's slower, and it doesn't always work. Three examples, taken from the providers' own help pages (linked) rather than tested on an account:
| Service | What to do | How long it can take |
|---|---|---|
| At sign-in, choose Try another way, or go to g.co/recover. Google's tips: use a device and place you've signed in from before, and answer every question you can (Google). | Google says it "can take 3-5 business days" to make sure it's you in some cases (Google). | |
| Microsoft | Use the account recovery form. | Microsoft replies within 24 hours, and you can try up to twice a day. If two-step verification is on and you have no other method, Microsoft says "we cannot help you, sorry" (Microsoft). Replacing all your security info starts a 30-day waiting period (Microsoft). |
| GitHub | Use a recovery code, passkey or security key. If you have none, start account recovery: a one-time password by email plus a verified device, SSH key or personal access token. | GitHub says this "can take up to three business days". Without any recovery method, "you have permanently lost access" (GitHub). |
Some services can't help at all. Discord, for example, says it "is unable to remove MFA or issue you new backup codes" (Discord). For any other service, search its help pages for "lost authenticator" or "can't use two-factor authentication", and only use recovery links on the service's real website.
4. Set up 2FA again on your new phone
For each account you get back into:
- Open its two-factor settings and set up the authenticator app again. This creates a new setup key, so codes from the lost phone usually stop working. If the website still lists the lost phone's authenticator, remove it.
- Scan the new QR code with the app on your new phone.
- Save the new backup codes, somewhere other than the phone.
If you used Authenticator App - Novaz
Novaz keeps setup keys only on the iPhone they were added on: they aren't synced to iCloud, a backup can't restore them onto a different iPhone, and version 1.0.3 can't export them. If that iPhone is gone, so are its keys, and the steps above are the way back in. A PRO subscription isn't lost: it belongs to your Apple Account and works on your new iPhone. If PRO doesn't show up, tap Restore at the bottom of the upgrade screen.
If you still have the old phone, even with a cracked screen, read How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone instead.
So it doesn't happen again
- Save the backup codes every time you turn on 2FA, and keep them away from the phone.
- Where a service allows it, add a second way in, such as a passkey or a security key.
- Make a list of which accounts use your authenticator app, so you know what to recover.