MyChart 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

MyChart is the patient portal from Epic, the company behind the medical record software many hospitals and clinics use. There isn't one MyChart. Each healthcare organization runs its own, your account lives with that organization, and Epic itself can't see your data or reset your password (MyChart). So what you see in the security settings, including whether an authenticator app is offered at all, depends on where you get care.

By default, MyChart's two-step verification sends a code by email or text message each time you log in. Many organizations now make it mandatory (MyChart). Some also offer an authenticator app, which doesn't depend on your phone number or inbox. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone for that option. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the MyChart steps come from the help pages on mychart.org, Epic's central MyChart site, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. Our tools couldn't reach mychart.org directly, so we read the pages in archived copies on web.archive.org (captured between August 2025 and April 2026). We read the help text stored in each page's HTML. We haven't tested the steps on a MyChart account, so a label may differ slightly, and your organization's version of MyChart may look different. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

MyChart's help gives the place to look but only details the email and text option (MyChart):

1. Log in to your organization's MyChart, on the website or in the MyChart app.
2. From the MyChart menu, go to Account Settings > Security Settings.
3. Look for Verify with authenticator app. MyChart's help only says you might see it, which suggests it depends on your organization. If you only see Verify with email or text message or Turn on two-step verification, your organization probably doesn't offer an app, and its MyChart support desk can tell you for sure.
4. Choose Verify with authenticator app and follow the prompts. MyChart's help doesn't describe these screens, but authenticator setups normally show a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it.
5. If you're setting this up in the MyChart app on the same iPhone, take a screenshot of the QR code, then in Novaz tap + and Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
6. Type the code Novaz shows back into MyChart to confirm.

MyChart's help doesn't say whether a text key is shown in place of the QR code, or how many digits its codes have. Scan the QR code if you can: it carries the code settings to Novaz. If you can only get a key, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz and paste it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?

Keep your email and phone number current

MyChart.org's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes for the authenticator app. If your organization's setup screens give you any, save them away from your phone. Unless you've made an iCloud backup or a backup file in Novaz, its keys exist only on that iPhone.

What the help does stress is the email address and phone number on your account. Account recovery asks for the one you used for two-factor authentication, and a code is sent there (MyChart). Check them under Personal Information in the MyChart menu. If you can't change them there, only your organization's MyChart support desk can.

If MyChart rejects your code

MyChart's help doesn't cover rejected authenticator codes. Most of the time the iPhone's clock is off: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Too many failed attempts can lock the account, and MyChart says you can't unlock it yourself in that case (MyChart).

Changing phones

With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone and MyChart keeps accepting the codes. Without one, you'll need to set MyChart up again on the new phone, and MyChart's help doesn't describe how to replace the authenticator. Keep the old iPhone until the new one works. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Epic runs mychart.org, but it can't get you back in. Its FAQ is direct about this: "Epic does not have access to your data and cannot reset your passwords" (MyChart). Recovery goes through the healthcare organization whose MyChart you use:

• On your organization's MyChart login screen, try Forgot login information? and follow the prompts. Depending on the version, you may see Recover your account, which sends a code to the email or phone you used for two-factor authentication (MyChart).
• If that doesn't work, contact your organization's MyChart support desk. MyChart's help says you'll usually find the contact details on the account recovery page or on the organization's MyChart FAQ page, linked at the bottom of its login page.

MyChart's help doesn't say what proof the support desk asks for or how long it takes, because each organization sets its own process. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

If you have more than one MyChart

If you get care at more than one healthcare organization, you may have a separate MyChart account at each. MyChart can link them so you see everything in one view, if both organizations support it (MyChart). The help doesn't say whether linking shares one two-step setting, so check Security Settings in each account.

Official MyChart help

• Make Your MyChart Account More Secure with Two-Factor Authentication
• Fix Login Issues
• MyChart Help: frequently asked questions