NameSilo 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

NameSilo is a domain registrar, so your NameSilo account controls where your domains point, who they're registered to and whether they can be transferred away. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional and free, and it works with an authenticator app only: NameSilo's help doesn't offer text-message or phone-call codes, and it doesn't mention backup codes. Its help page is written around Authy, but NameSilo says any 2FA app will do (NameSilo). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any other authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the NameSilo steps come from NameSilo's own help pages, linked below. namesilo.com turned away our automated reader, so on October 21, 2026 we read them as archived copies on web.archive.org, saved in July 2026. NameSilo's help is brief and doesn't show every screen. We haven't tested the steps on a NameSilo account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

NameSilo's help points you to one place: the Account Maintenance page in your account, which has its own instructions for adding 2FA (NameSilo).

1. Sign in to your NameSilo account and open Account Maintenance.
2. Choose the option to add 2FA and follow the instructions on that page.
3. NameSilo shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If NameSilo is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
4. NameSilo also shows the 2FA key as plain text. Copy it somewhere safe now, such as a password manager (see the next section).
5. If you can't scan, type that key instead: tap +, then Enter key manually, enter NameSilo as the Service, your username as the Account, and the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Finish any confirmation the page asks for. NameSilo's help stops after the scan and doesn't describe this last screen.

The QR code labels the entry with your NameSilo username, which helps if you have several accounts.

NameSilo's help doesn't say how long its codes last or how many digits they have. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, because it passes those settings to Novaz. A key typed by hand always gives 6-digit codes that change every 30 seconds.

Save the key: there are no backup codes

NameSilo's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. Its own advice, on the 2FA reset page, is to keep a copy of the QR code or security code in a secure place, so you can add it to another device later (NameSilo).

Novaz keys stay on your iPhone unless you've turned on iCloud backup or exported a backup file. Without one, the key you saved in step 4 is what lets you add NameSilo again, and it still helps if your backup is out of date. Treat it like a password: anyone with it can make your codes.

When NameSilo asks for a code

NameSilo asks for a code when you sign in. On the code screen, a Verify this computer box lets you skip it on later sign-ins from that browser, because NameSilo stores a cookie there (NameSilo). NameSilo warns to tick it only on a browser nobody else can use, since anyone on that browser could then sign in without a code. Leave it unticked on shared or work computers.

2FA guards the sign-in only. NameSilo recommends also turning on Domain Defender, which adds security questions before domain changes (NameSilo).

If NameSilo rejects your code

NameSilo's first advice is the clock: codes depend on the device's time, and "even being a couple minutes off will cause problems" (NameSilo). On iPhone, 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?

Changing phones

NameSilo's help doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. Without one, this is where the saved key earns its keep: on the new iPhone, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type the same key. The codes will match. Check that a code works before you wipe the old phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Without a code, you can't get into your account (NameSilo). Try these in order:

1. If you saved the key, add it to Novaz on any iPhone with Enter key manually.
2. If you didn't, check the clock first, as above, in case the app is fine and only the time is wrong.
3. Otherwise, use NameSilo's 2FA removal process at the 2FA Reset page. It starts with your username, or an active domain in your account, plus your password, and then takes you through more steps to confirm who you are (NameSilo).

NameSilo makes the reset slow on purpose, since 2FA is only useful if it's hard to remove. Its pages don't say what proof the later steps ask for or how long the reset takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Forgot your password as well? That has its own route, through Forgot Your Password? on the sign-in page and your security question (NameSilo).

Turning 2FA off

NameSilo's help doesn't describe turning 2FA off from your account. The only removal route it documents is the 2FA Reset page above. If you remove NameSilo from Novaz, open the account and tap Remove account, but only after 2FA is off at NameSilo, or you'll lock yourself out.

Official NameSilo help

• 2-Factor Authentication
• 2FA Reset
• Domain Defender
• Password Retrievals