MindMeister 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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MindMeister is the online mind-mapping tool from Meister. You don't really sign in to MindMeister alone: you sign in to a Meister account, the same one that links your mind maps to MeisterTask (MindMeister). So when you turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) in MindMeister, it protects that whole account.
MindMeister's 2FA uses an authenticator app and is open to every plan. Its help center doesn't describe text-message codes or security keys, and nothing in it says 2FA is required. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app follows the same steps. MindMeister names a few apps it has tested and says others should work as well (MindMeister).
How we checked this guide: the MindMeister steps come from MindMeister's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The article pages refused our automated request, so we read the same articles through the help center's public article feed on support.mindmeister.com. We haven't tested them on a MindMeister account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Before you start
You need your account password: MindMeister asks for it when you start the setup (MindMeister). If you created your account with Google, Apple or Microsoft, you may not have one. MindMeister's account help says those accounts don't show a password field, and that you may need to set a password before you can disconnect the sign-in service (MindMeister). The 2FA article doesn't say how two-factor works for accounts that only sign in through one of those services.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
These steps are in the MindMeister web interface (MindMeister):
- Click your avatar in the top-right corner and choose Account.
- Click Password & Email.
- Scroll down and click Enable Two-Factor Authentication.
- Click Get Started and type your password.
- MindMeister shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you can't scan it, MindMeister offers to let you enter your secret key manually. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type a name such as MindMeister under Service, and paste the secret key into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Click Next and type the security code that Novaz shows.
MindMeister's help doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, since it carries those settings to your app.
Write down the rescue code
Once 2FA is on, MindMeister gives you a 16-digit rescue code for the day you can't reach your phone (MindMeister). That's one code, not a list, and the help doesn't say whether it works more than once or can be shown again. Treat it as a one-time view: write it down or save it in a password manager, away from your phone.
This matters with Novaz too: unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, its keys stay only on your iPhone. Without the phone or a backup, the rescue code is your way back in. See 2FA backup codes.
Signing in afterwards
MindMeister says you'll need both your password and your phone with the authenticator app to sign in from then on. Its help doesn't mention a remember-this-device option.
If MindMeister rejects your code
MindMeister's help doesn't cover rejected codes. Check your iPhone's clock first: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
New phone
MindMeister's help doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. The documented route is to turn it off and on again: while you still have the old phone, disable two-factor authentication (below), then enable it again and scan the new QR code with the new phone. You'll get a new rescue code. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore the account on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your phone
Use your rescue code. MindMeister's 2FA article doesn't explain where you type it, so look for that option on the code screen when you sign in.
Without the rescue code, contact Meister Support. Its contact page says the support bot is in the message bubble on any help center page and works without signing in. If you're locked out, there's also a request form: give the email address on your account and describe what happens when you try to sign in (MindMeister). Write from your registered email address, since requests from another address take longer to match. MindMeister doesn't say what else it asks for to prove the account is yours, or how long a reset takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
Click your avatar, then Account, then Password & Email. Scroll down, click Disable Two-Factor Authentication, and confirm with your password (MindMeister). Then remove the entry from Novaz: open it and tap Remove account.
