HPE Mist 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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HPE Mist, called Juniper Mist until HPE bought Juniper Networks, is the cloud portal network teams use to run Mist access points, switches and WAN gear. For a regular Mist account, two-factor authentication (2FA) is a single checkbox on your My Account page. Mist doesn't offer text-message or email codes for it: you need an authenticator app (HPE Mist). Your organization can also make it compulsory, and global logins always require some second step. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the HPE Mist steps come from Mist's own documentation on juniper.net and an older help page on mist.com, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Mist account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Is 2FA required?
It depends on how you sign in:
- Regional account (the usual Mist username and password on one cloud region): 2FA is optional, unless an administrator has turned on Two factor authentication in the organization's Password Policy. When that's on, Mist sends users to their account settings to set it up (HPE Mist).
- Global account (one login for organizations on several regional clouds): a second step is mandatory. You choose an authenticator app or a one-time password that Mist emails you at each sign-in (HPE Mist, HPE Mist).
- Single sign-on through your company's identity provider: Mist's password policy doesn't apply, so 2FA is whatever your identity provider enforces.
The steps below are for a regional account, which is the case Mist documents in detail.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Mist's current account settings page describes these steps (HPE Mist):
- In the Mist portal, click the Mist Account button at the top right, then My Account.
- Under Authentication, select Enable Two Factor Authentication.
- Mist shows a QR code and asks for a code from your app. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the portal is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the token field and verify it.
- Click Save at the top right of the page.
The QR code step comes from Mist's older help page, whose screenshots show a window titled Verification for two factor authentication with an Enter Token field and a Verify button (Mist). Those screenshots date from 2017 and 2018, so the window may look different now. Neither page mentions a text key you could type instead of scanning, so plan on scanning the QR code.
When Mist asks for a code
Once it's on, Mist asks for a code from your app every time you sign in, right after your password (Mist). The documentation doesn't describe a way to remember a trusted browser.
If you have a global account and an email code doesn't arrive, Mist's FAQ suggests checking spam and confirming which method that account uses, the email code or the authenticator app (HPE Mist).
No backup codes
Neither Mist page mentions backup or recovery codes. Without a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so a lost phone means you depend on Mist's reset route below. If you manage your organization's network, it's worth keeping a second administrator account on the same organization, so someone can still get in. Mist itself suggests the main administrator keep a local regional account alongside a global login, in case global sign-on is unavailable (HPE Mist). More on why backup codes matter in 2FA backup codes.
If Mist rejects your code
Mist's documentation doesn't cover rejected authenticator 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. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
New phone or lost authenticator
Mist's older help page covers both cases with the same route (Mist):
- On the sign-in page, click Forgot your password?
- Reset your password.
- Open the recovery link Mist emails you.
That resets two-factor authentication so you can set it up on the new device. The current juniper.net documentation doesn't repeat these steps, so if they don't work, contact Mist support. Either way, you need access to the email address on your Mist account.
With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore Mist on a new iPhone; without one, you set it up again from scratch. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone and Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
Mist's documentation doesn't say how to turn it off. If your organization's password policy requires 2FA, Mist sends users back to their account settings to set it up, so you may not be able to keep it off (HPE Mist).
