Nexus Mods 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Your Nexus Mods account is the one you sign in with to download and share game mods. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional, and the only second step Nexus Mods' help describes is a code from an authenticator app (Nexus Mods). Plan for recovery before you turn it on: Nexus Mods retired its text-message recovery in 2023 (Nexus Mods), so losing both your phone and your recovery keys can mean losing the account. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Nexus Mods steps come from Nexus Mods' own help center, including the animated screenshot in its 2FA article, and from a post by a Nexus Mods community manager on its official forum, all linked below. We read them on October 20, 2026. The forum blocks automated reading, so we read that post in an archived copy on web.archive.org, saved May 27, 2026. The 2FA article was last updated on December 3, 2021, so a label may differ slightly today. We haven't tested the steps on a Nexus Mods account. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

These steps follow the 2FA article and its screenshot, which shows the buttons in capitals (Nexus Mods):

1. Sign in and open the Security tab of your account settings (Nexus Mods). On the site, it's under your avatar in the top right.
2. Under Two-factor authentication, the status reads NOT ACTIVE. Select SETUP 2FA. (The article's text spells it Set up 2A.)
3. On INSTALL APP, select NEXT.
4. On SCAN QR CODE, open Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. Reading this on the iPhone itself? Screenshot the code, then use + > Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. Can't scan it? The same screen shows the key as text under 2FA KEY (Manual Entry). Copy it into Novaz through + > Enter key manually, in the Setup key field. See What is a 2FA setup key? Either way, select VERIFY 2FA to continue.
6. On ENABLE 2FA, type the 6-digit code from Novaz into Enter verification code and select ENABLE 2FA.
7. The last screen lists your 2FA backup keys. Save them with COPY or DOWNLOAD .TXT, then select DONE. The status changes to ACTIVE.

Nexus Mods doesn't say how often its codes change, so scanning the QR code is the safer choice: it tells your app the settings.

Your recovery keys are the backup

You get five recovery keys of 16 characters. Each works once, and Nexus Mods warns you when you've used one (Nexus Mods). Some help pages call them backup codes.

A Nexus Mods community manager has suggested an authenticator that syncs between devices (Nexus Mods forum, archived). Novaz doesn't sync codes between devices, but iCloud backup or a backup file lets you restore its keys on a new iPhone. Without one, they stay only on your iPhone. Either way, keep your recovery keys in a password manager or on paper, away from the phone. More in 2FA backup codes.

To get new keys, turn 2FA off and back on in the Security tab. The old keys stop working (Nexus Mods).

When Nexus Mods asks for a code

• Signing in on a new device. You can choose to trust it for 30 days. If your browser clears cookies, the prompt comes back each time (Nexus Mods).
• Changing your email address, along with your password (Nexus Mods).
• Deleting your account (Nexus Mods).

If Nexus Mods rejects your code

Nexus Mods has no advice of its own on rejected codes. Most often the phone's time has drifted, so the code Novaz shows is out of step. Novaz flags a clock that's off by 15 seconds or more; to fix it, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and switch on Set Automatically. For anything else, see Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Nexus Mods doesn't describe a phone change. Its one documented reset is turning 2FA off and back on, which runs the setup again with new recovery keys. Do it while the old phone still works, and scan the new QR code with the new phone. On the Novaz side, iCloud backup or a backup file lets you restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead; without one, a new iPhone means adding Nexus Mods again (moving to a new iPhone).

If you lose your authenticator

Enter one of your recovery keys when Nexus Mods asks for a code (Nexus Mods). Once you're in, turn 2FA off and on again with your new phone to get fresh keys.

Without a recovery key, Nexus Mods lists few ways to prove the account is yours (Nexus Mods):

• Supporter or Premium members can email an invoice to support@nexusmods.com, with the purchase date, the PayPal or bank reference number, and their full name. Premium invoices come attached to the receipt email from Paddle, its payment provider (Nexus Mods). Write from the email address on your account (Nexus Mods forum, archived).
• People who've shared content, such as mods, collections or images, can ask the same address whether other account details can verify them.

Your download history, or being signed in to a mod manager, doesn't count. Otherwise the 2FA article says you're locked out for good, and the recovery article suggests a new account. Nexus Mods doesn't say how long a support check takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Once 2FA is on, the screenshot shows DISABLE 2FA in the same section (Nexus Mods). The help doesn't say whether it asks for a code.

Official Nexus Mods help

• Two-factor authentication for Nexus Mods
• Account Recovery
• How do I change my email address?
• How can I delete my account?
• Where can I get an invoice for my Premium membership?
• We're Retiring SMS Recovery (Nexus Mods community manager, official forum, archived copy saved May 27, 2026)