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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

NetEase Mail 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 Google Authenticator as a method
  2. Require a check at sign-in
  3. No backup codes
  4. If NetEase rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Turning it off
  8. Official NetEase Mail help

NetEase Mail is NetEase's free email for @163.com addresses, and the same help center covers @126.com and @yeah.net mailboxes (NetEase). Its security settings come in two parts that are easy to mix up. 安全验证方式 (security verification methods) are the ways you can prove it's you: your security phone, device authorization in NetEase's Mail Master app, or Google身份验证器 (Google Authenticator). 安全验证场景 (verification scenarios) decide when NetEase asks. Sign-in is one scenario, and it's off until you switch it on (NetEase).

So adding an authenticator app doesn't, by itself, put a code on your sign-in, and this guide covers both steps. NetEase names only Google Authenticator. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, which, like any authenticator app, reads the same standard setup QR codes.

How we checked this guide: the NetEase Mail steps come from NetEase's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. NetEase has no page about Google Authenticator itself: the option appears only in screenshots on its security pages, taken between 2022 and 2026, and none shows the setup screen. We haven't tested the steps on a NetEase account, so a label may differ slightly. The help center is in Chinese, so we give NetEase's labels in Chinese with a translation. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Add Google Authenticator as a method

NetEase's screenshots show this path (NetEase, NetEase):

  1. Sign in at mail.163.com in a browser. Click 设置 (Settings) at the top, then 邮箱安全设置 (mailbox security settings).
  2. On the 安全验证方式 card, click 立即开启 (turn on now) next to Google身份验证器. An older screenshot reaches it through 增加新的安全验证方式 (add a new verification method) instead.
  3. NetEase's help stops there. If a QR code appears, tap + in Novaz, then Scan QR code. If the code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo (scanning a QR code on the same iPhone).
  4. If NetEase offers a key to type instead, tap +, then Enter key manually, and enter it as the Setup key (What is a 2FA setup key?). Scan if you can: NetEase doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change, and a typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.
  5. If NetEase asks for a code to confirm, type the one Novaz shows.

The 设置 menu also has an English option, but NetEase's help shows only Chinese screens.

Require a check at sign-in

NetEase's page on two-step sign-in describes this (NetEase):

  1. In 邮箱安全设置, find 开启登录二次验证 (turn on two-step sign-in verification) under 安全建议 (security suggestions) and click 去开启. Newer screens put it behind 管理安全验证场景 (manage verification scenarios) (NetEase).
  2. Switch on 登录二次验证.
  3. Confirm with your security phone. In NetEase's screenshot, you send a text message from that phone, then click 我已发送 (I've sent it).

It works right away. NetEase's page says webmail sign-ins then need phone verification, and its 2023 screenshot of the sign-in check asks for a text-message code. Another page shows a security check that lets you choose the method, with Google身份验证器验证 as one choice (NetEase). That's where a Novaz code goes, but NetEase doesn't show the choice on the sign-in screen itself, so we can't confirm how it appears there.

The sign-in check has a box, 90天内该设备不需要进行登录验证, that skips it on that device for 90 days. Leave it clear on shared computers. The screenshot also shows two other scenarios already on: 敏感邮件 (opening sensitive emails, such as Apple ID messages) and 邮箱风控 (risk control, for actions like deleting mail).

Mail apps that use IMAP or POP3 sign in with a client authorization code. NetEase warns those codes can leak too, and suggests turning IMAP and POP3 off if you don't use such an app (NetEase).

No backup codes

NetEase's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. Your other methods are the fallback, and NetEase's security page itself suggests a second method as a backup (NetEase). The security phone is the main one: any change to your account details needs it (NetEase). Device authorization needs Mail Master 7.9.13 or later (NetEase). Unless you've made an iCloud backup or a backup file in Novaz, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so keep your security phone current.

You can also add an 应急手机 (emergency phone), such as a relative's number. It can only be used to replace the security phone, and only once it's been bound for a month (NetEase).

If NetEase rejects your code

NetEase's help doesn't cover authenticator codes. A wrong clock on the iPhone is the usual cause: turn on Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz shows a warning if the clock is off by 15 seconds or more. If NetEase says you've verified too often, it suggests waiting 10 minutes (NetEase). More causes: Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

NetEase doesn't explain how to replace Google Authenticator. Its security page has a 管理安全验证方式 (manage verification methods) link: start there while the old iPhone still works. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone; without one, you'll add NetEase again on the new one. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

At the check, pick another method: a text to your security phone or device authorization. If the security phone is gone too, NetEase's answer is account repair (NetEase):

  1. In the NetEase Account Center (id.163.com), click 密码管理 (password management), enter your address, and choose 我已经换号码了 (I've changed my number) (NetEase).
  2. Prove the account is yours. One route asks for your real name and ID number, which must match the registration of your mobile number, plus details such as when and where you opened the mailbox, cities you sign in from, old passwords and the subjects of some emails (NetEase).
  3. Wait for a text message, usually within 1 to 3 working days. If it's approved, you have 24 hours to reset your password and security details (NetEase).

NetEase says that reset unbinds the old security protection, but not whether that includes Google Authenticator. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning it off

To stop sign-in checks, go to 设置 > 邮箱安全设置 > 管理安全验证场景, switch off two-step sign-in, and pass the check (NetEase). NetEase doesn't document removing Google Authenticator as a method.

Official NetEase Mail help

More guides: Email