mail.de 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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mail.de is a German email provider with free and paid mailboxes. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional. You can use an authenticator app, a U2F or FIDO2 security key, or a passkey, which at mail.de is an extra factor on top of your password rather than a replacement for it (mail.de). The authenticator option has been around since 2012 (mail.de).
The one thing to know before you start: mail.de asks you to keep a written copy of your 16-character Authenticator Secret Code. If you lose both that code and the app, mail.de says it can only unlock your account once you send it your ID card. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the mail.de steps come from mail.de's own help pages, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a mail.de 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
You do this in the webmailer's settings mode (mail.de):
- Sign in to the webmailer and open the settings mode: click Settings at the top right, then Settings again in the menu (mail.de).
- Go to Account > Customer data > Authenticator.
- Click Generate now. mail.de creates your Authenticator Secret Code and shows it with a QR code.
- In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the QR code. If the code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- To type the code instead, tap +, then Enter key manually, and enter the secret code as the Setup key. mail.de's codes are 6 digits and change every 30 seconds, which matches what Novaz uses for a typed key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the current code from Novaz into the field on the mail.de page and click Activate.
- Write the secret code down on paper or in a password manager before you leave the page.
If your webmailer is in German, the same path reads Konto / Kundendaten / Authenticator, with the buttons Jetzt Generieren and Aktivieren (mail.de).
Keep the secret code and your backup codes
mail.de's help says the secret code is gone once you delete the app or the account inside it, and without it you can't add the account again (mail.de). Its authenticator page suggests storing the code, or the QR code, somewhere safe such as a password manager (mail.de).
That matters with Novaz too: unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, Novaz keeps its keys only on your iPhone, so your saved secret code is the backup.
mail.de also has backup codes. It creates them automatically when you first set up 2FA, and you can manage them under Settings > Account > Backup Codes. Generate backup codes gives you 10 codes, and Download backup codes saves them as a PDF. If you're down to one code, or lose the list, choose Manage backup codes, then Generate new backup codes (mail.de). More in 2FA backup codes.
Signing in afterwards
After your login name and password, mail.de asks for a code from the app every time you sign in to the webmailer (mail.de). Its help pages don't mention a way to remember a trusted device.
If an email program such as Outlook stops signing in after you turn on 2FA, mail.de's FAQ only says to update all your devices (mail.de).
If mail.de rejects your code
mail.de's help names one cause: the time on your phone has to be correct, because the codes depend on it (mail.de). 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?
Changing phones
mail.de lets you use the same secret code in an authenticator app on more than one device. You find it again under Account / Customer Data / Authenticator in the settings (mail.de). With your saved code, you can add mail.de to Novaz on a new iPhone with Enter key manually. Or, if you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and mail.de comes with it. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
On the code screen, click Other authentication methods, then Backup Codes. mail.de asks for one specific code from your list, not just any of them. Once you're in, remove the lost authenticator and set it up again on your new phone (mail.de). If you've registered a security key or passkey, that works as a second factor too.
Without backup codes, your secret code or another factor, mail.de says it can only reactivate your account if you send it your identity card (mail.de). The help doesn't say how long that takes for 2FA. The way to reach support is the contact form. It's worth filling in your address data under Account Recovery now: mail.de's recovery page says that's what lets you reset your login or password with a copy of your ID card (mail.de). See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
