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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

MathWorks 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your MathWorks Account

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

On this page
  1. Turn on Two-Step Verification with an authenticator app
  2. No backup codes: add an alternative method
  3. When MathWorks asks for a code
  4. Signing in to MATLAB or the installer
  5. If MathWorks rejects your code
  6. Changing phones
  7. If you lose your authenticator
  8. Turning it off
  9. Official MathWorks help

Your MathWorks Account signs you in on MathWorks.com, MATLAB Online and ThingSpeak, and in MATLAB and its installer. MathWorks calls its two-factor authentication (2FA) Two-Step Verification. It's optional, and codes can come from an authenticator app, a text message or an email (MathWorks). The unusual part is desktop sign-in: in MATLAB and the installer, the code goes in the password field, right after your password. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone below, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the MathWorks steps come from MathWorks' own help pages, including two answers posted by MathWorks support staff on its MATLAB Answers site, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a MathWorks account, and the pages name the settings slightly differently, so a label may not match exactly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

If your school or employer signs you in to MathWorks with single sign-on (SSO), Two-Step Verification isn't available: your organization's identity provider handles extra checks (MathWorks).

Turn on Two-Step Verification with an authenticator app

MathWorks' support article, updated August 21, 2026, gives this path (MathWorks):

  1. Sign in to your MathWorks Account at account.mathworks.com.
  2. Select Security.
  3. Click Manage next to Two-Step Verification, then Enable.
  4. Choose the authenticator app as the way to receive codes.
  5. Add MathWorks to Novaz (below), then enter the code Novaz shows when MathWorks asks.

The older FAQ calls the same place My Account > Security Settings.

MathWorks doesn't describe the setup screen: it doesn't say whether you get a QR code, a text key or both, or how long codes last.

A typed key always gives 6-digit codes every 30 seconds, so scan the QR code when there is one.

No backup codes: add an alternative method

MathWorks' pages don't mention backup codes. The fallback is an alternative method, a second way to get codes. Without one, the FAQ warns, a lost phone can lock you out until Customer Support steps in. To add it, go to Security Settings and click Add Alternative next to Alternative. It can't be the email address on your MathWorks Account (MathWorks).

Without a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so choose an alternative that works without that phone.

When MathWorks asks for a code

MathWorks asks on every sign-in from a browser or device you haven't trusted, on the web and in its products. Once you trust a browser or device, it asks only for your user name and password. Trust lasts until you revoke it or clear that browser's cookies, and turning Two-Step Verification off removes it everywhere (MathWorks). The FAQ doesn't say where to revoke it.

Signing in to MATLAB or the installer

In MATLAB, the installer and the activation client, the FAQ describes no separate code box (MathWorks):

  1. Sign in. You may see an error saying a code was sent to your primary method.
  2. Click OK to sign in again.
  3. In the password field, type your password, then the Novaz code, with no space.

With an authenticator app as your primary method, you already have the code, so you can type both together on the first try.

If MathWorks rejects your code

MathWorks doesn't cover rejected authenticator codes. In MATLAB or the installer, check that the code follows your password in the same field. Then check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. See Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

In Security Settings, click Change next to Primary. MathWorks signs you out, has you sign in again, then walks you through the new method (MathWorks). It doesn't say whether you can pick the authenticator app again; if not, turn Two-Step Verification off and back on with the new phone. Do this before you give up the old one. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead and skip this; see How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

  • With an alternative method: sign in with it, then reset your primary method (MathWorks).
  • Without one: contact Customer Support through the MathWorks Account and Licensing option on Contact Support.

MathWorks doesn't say what proof Support needs or how long it takes. Its account FAQ says it uses your account's email address to confirm your identity if you lose access, so keep that inbox working (MathWorks).

If you fall back on text or email codes, don't keep pressing Resend Code. MathWorks support says repeated requests lock the account against new codes until Customer Support helps (MathWorks). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning it off

Select Security, click Manage next to Two-Step Verification, then Disable, and sign in again when asked (MathWorks). Then open MathWorks in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official MathWorks help

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