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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Nintendo Account 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. Turn on 2-Step Verification
  2. Your 10 backup codes
  3. When Nintendo asks for a code
  4. If Nintendo rejects your code
  5. If you lose your authenticator
  6. New phone, or turning it off
  7. Official Nintendo help

Your Nintendo Account runs online services, including the Nintendo eShop, on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch, and signs you in to My Nintendo and Nintendo's phone apps (Nintendo). Nintendo calls two-factor authentication 2-Step Verification. It's optional, child accounts can't use it, and the only second step offered is a 6-digit code from an authenticator app (Nintendo).

Nintendo's American pages name only Google Authenticator, but its UK page says to use it "or any other authentication app" (Nintendo UK). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Nintendo steps come from Nintendo's own support pages for the Americas and the UK, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Nintendo Account, so a label may differ slightly. The two regions word some buttons differently; we follow the Americas pages. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2-Step Verification

Do this in a web browser, ideally on a computer, so you can scan with your iPhone (Nintendo):

  1. Sign in at accounts.nintendo.com.
  2. Select Sign-in and security settings, then 2-Step Verification, then Edit.
  3. Click 2-Step Verification setup.
  4. If Nintendo asks you to confirm it's you, enter your password and select OK, use your passkey, or type the code Nintendo emails you in the Verification code box and select Submit.
  5. When the QR code appears, tap + in Novaz, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it.
  6. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz in the field under step 3, then select Submit.
  7. Click Copy to copy the backup codes and paste them somewhere safe. Then click I have saved the backup codes and OK. (The UK page calls it Backup codes saved.)

Nintendo's help never mentions a text key, so count on scanning. If the QR code is on the iPhone that has Novaz, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.

Your 10 backup codes

You get 10 backup codes, and each works once (Nintendo). Without a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, Nintendo's key exists only on your iPhone, and even a backup can be out of date, so keep these codes as your fallback. Store them off the phone, in a password manager or on paper.

To view them or make a new set, open Sign-in and security settings > 2-Step Verification > Edit, confirm it's you (Nintendo may want a Novaz code, then Authenticate), and select Review backup codes. Generate new codes, selected twice, gives you a fresh list (Nintendo). More in 2FA backup codes.

When Nintendo asks for a code

Every password sign-in asks for one, on the website, in apps, and on a Switch console after Sign in with a password. Signing in through a linked Google or Apple account leads to the same code screen (Nintendo). A password reset asks too (Nintendo).

If Nintendo rejects your code

Nintendo's only tip is for Google Authenticator on Android, which can sync its time (Nintendo). With Novaz, check the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. If it still fails, Nintendo suggests a backup code. More causes in Authenticator code not working?

If you lose your authenticator

At sign-in, Nintendo lets you step down through fallbacks (Nintendo):

  1. On the 2-Step Verification screen, select Use another method to verify your identity and enter a backup code.
  2. No backup codes: select the same link on the Enter backup code screen. Nintendo emails a code; enter it under Verification code and select Verify.
  3. No email: if your account has a phone number, the link on the E-mail address verification screen sends a text instead.

The email route needs your password; Nintendo says it isn't available if you've forgotten that as well. A password reset with 2-Step Verification on needs a code, a backup code, or a registered phone number (Nintendo). Past that, contact Nintendo. Nintendo doesn't say what proof it wants or how long it takes. Its UK recovery page suggests adding a phone number to your account as an extra way to verify (Nintendo UK). See Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

New phone, or turning it off

Nintendo doesn't describe how to switch phones. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the codes keep working (How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone). Without one, while the old phone still works, remove 2-Step Verification, then set it up again on the new one. To remove it (Nintendo):

  1. In Sign-in and security settings, scroll to 2-Step Verification and select Edit, then Delete settings.
  2. Confirm it's you, entering a Novaz code and selecting Authenticate if asked.
  3. Select Remove, then OK.

The UK page calls the button Disable and notes you can't turn it off if you've forgotten your password and have neither an app code nor a backup code (Nintendo UK). Then open the old entry in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Nintendo help

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