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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Microsoft account 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. Add Novaz as a way to verify
  2. Make it required at sign-in
  3. When Microsoft asks for a code
  4. One recovery code, plus spare methods
  5. If Microsoft rejects your code
  6. Changing phones
  7. If you lose your authenticator
  8. Turning it off
  9. Official Microsoft help

One personal Microsoft account signs you in to Outlook.com, OneDrive and Xbox (Microsoft), and to Minecraft since July 2022 (Minecraft). Its 2FA, two-step verification, is optional and works with any authenticator app, not just Microsoft Authenticator (Microsoft). Email codes work too, but text messages are being phased out for personal accounts (Microsoft).

Sort out your backups first. If two-step verification is on and every other method is gone, Microsoft's recovery form page says plainly that it can't get you back in (Microsoft).

We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone here; other authenticator apps follow the same steps. Work or school accounts have separate settings and aren't covered.

How we checked this guide: the Microsoft account steps come from Microsoft's own support pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Microsoft account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Add Novaz as a way to verify

Microsoft's route for personal accounts (Microsoft):

  1. Sign in to the Security tab at account.microsoft.com/security.
  2. Select Manage how I sign in, then Add a new way to sign in or verify, then Use an app.
  3. Microsoft offers its own app first. Select Set up a different Authenticator app, then Next, to show the QR code.
  4. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. On the same iPhone, screenshot the code and use Choose a photo (how).
  5. Can't scan? Select I can't scan the bar code for a key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it into Setup key (what a setup key is).
  6. Finish the prompts, typing the current Novaz code if asked.

Microsoft's pages don't state the code length or interval, so scan when you can: a typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.

Make it required at sign-in

Until two-step verification is on, Microsoft asks for a code only when a sign-in looks risky. To require it (Microsoft):

  1. On the Security tab, select Manage how I sign in.
  2. Under Additional security, find Two-step verification and choose Turn on.
  3. Follow the instructions on screen. If they show a QR code, which Microsoft uses to confirm the phone is with you, scan it in Novaz.

Pages from May and June 2026 call this screen Advanced security options; we follow the newest, from August 2026 (Microsoft).

Older devices that can't ask for a code, such as an Xbox 360 or Outlook from Office 2010, then reject your password. Give each one an app password from the App passwords section (Microsoft).

When Microsoft asks for a code

You're asked every time you sign in on a device that isn't trusted. To trust a computer, open the Security settings on it, enter a code, check Don't ask me again on this device and select Verify. It then also stops asking before showing sensitive info like card details (Microsoft).

One recovery code, plus spare methods

Microsoft has no list of backup codes, just one recovery code at a time. On Manage how I sign in, go to the recovery code section and select Generate a new code. A new code cancels the old one, and an existing code can't be shown again. Print it and keep it off devices you sign in with (Microsoft), including the iPhone with Novaz.

Microsoft recommends three pieces of security info (Microsoft). Email addresses count, even a relative's, and new phone numbers may no longer be offered (Microsoft). Novaz keys stay on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, so keep these as your fallback (more on backups).

If Microsoft rejects your code

Microsoft's troubleshooting covers codes that never arrive, not failing authenticator codes. Check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz flags a drift of 15 seconds or more.

Don't hammer retry. Repeated attempts can bring a temporary block, shown as Try another verification method. Microsoft suggests another method, another network, or waiting a day, up to a week (Microsoft). More causes: Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Add the new phone before removing the old one. Removing all your security info at once locks changes for 30 days (Microsoft), and that can't be sped up short of cancelling (Microsoft). Add Novaz on the new iPhone as above, then in Advanced security options expand the old app and select Remove twice. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file you can skip this: restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the existing entry keeps working (details).

If you lose your authenticator

It depends on what you have left (Microsoft, Microsoft):

  • Another method: sign in with it, add Novaz again, remove the lost entry.
  • Your recovery code: while signing in, select Other ways to sign in, Use my password, Forgot password?, Use a different verification option and I don't have any of these, then enter it at Do you have an account recovery code?. Screens can vary. With two-step verification on, changes take 30 days.
  • Only your password: at Verify your identity, select I don't have any of these and replace your security info. You can sign in after 30 days; using an old method meanwhile cancels the change.

The recovery form is answered within 24 hours but can't help two-step accounts with no method left. Support agents can't send reset links or change account details (Microsoft). See Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning it off

Choose Turn off under Two-step verification on Manage how I sign in (Microsoft). To drop Novaz as a method, remove it in Advanced security options (Microsoft), then tap Remove account on its entry in Novaz.

Official Microsoft help

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