Mailfence 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Mailfence is a privacy-focused email service from Belgium, with calendar, documents and contacts in the same account. Its two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional and uses one method: a time-based code from an authenticator app (TOTP). Mailfence says any app built on the open TOTP standard works (Mailfence).

One catch: Mailfence's 2FA only guards the web sign-in. Mail apps and calendar or contact sync still get in with a password alone, so you need to close that gap separately (see below).

This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Mailfence steps come from Mailfence's own two-factor page and its support knowledge base, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Mailfence 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

Mailfence's newest support article, updated in September 2026, gives these steps (Mailfence):

1. Sign in to Mailfence on the web and go to Settings > Password.
2. Click Set up the two-factor authentication.
3. Mailfence shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot and tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
4. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz where Mailfence asks for it.
5. Generate your backup codes, download them, and store them somewhere safe.

Mailfence's older pages put the setting somewhere else: Settings in the toolbar, then Account > Security, then Set-up in the Two factor authentication section (Mailfence). If you don't see it under Password, look there.

Neither page mentions a text key you could type instead of scanning, or says how often the code changes. Scan the QR code, so your app picks up whatever settings Mailfence uses.

Close the gap for mail apps

Mailfence's setup article says 2FA doesn't cover non-web connections: SMTP, IMAP and POP, Exchange ActiveSync, CalDAV and CardDAV, and XMPP chat. It tells you to turn off the services you don't use, or give each one its own password (Mailfence).

To make one of those service-specific passwords (Mailfence):

1. Go to Settings > Account > Security and find the Services access section.
2. Click Generate a specific password for this service, then Generate.
3. Copy the password into your mail app right away. Mailfence shows it only once.

After that, the service no longer accepts your main web password. To cut off an app later, click Revoke next to its password.

Backup codes

Each backup code works once. Generate fresh ones before you run out: under Two-factor authentication in your security settings, click Generate backup codes. A new set cancels the old one, and Mailfence emails you each time a backup code is used (Mailfence).

Mailfence suggests keeping your recovery codes away from the device that holds your authenticator (Mailfence). With Novaz this matters too: its keys stay on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, so without a backup these codes are your only spare. More in 2FA backup codes.

Signing in

Once 2FA is on, Mailfence asks for the 6-digit code on a second page every time you sign in, right after your username and password (Mailfence). The pages we read don't mention a way to trust a device and skip the code.

If Mailfence rejects your code

Mailfence's support article lists a few checks (Mailfence):

• Read the code from the Mailfence entry, not another account's.
• If you set up 2FA again, or switched apps, codes from the old entry no longer work. Delete the old entry in Novaz with Remove account.
• Check the phone's date and time. Mailfence calls this a common cause. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off.

If the code still fails, click Enter one of your backup codes on the sign-in page. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Mailfence says only one device can be linked to your account at a time (Mailfence). Its pages don't explain how to move 2FA to a new phone or how to turn it off. Make sure you have unused backup codes before you give up the old phone. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and Mailfence comes along. Without one, you'll need to add Mailfence to the new phone from a fresh QR code. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Sign in with one of your backup codes. If you never made any, or lost them, Mailfence's answer is to email support@mailfence.com with your account username (Mailfence, Mailfence). For locked accounts in general, it asks you to write from the reset/notification address you registered with and warns that extra identity checks may follow (Mailfence). It doesn't say how long recovery takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Mailfence help

• Two-factor authentication: How to protect your account with 2FA/TOTP?
• How to setup Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• How to regenerate TFA backup codes?
• The website says my TFA code is invalid?
• Service-specific passwords to strengthen your account
• What should I do if my Mailfence account is locked or suspended?