Notesnook 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Notesnook is an end-to-end encrypted notes app for desktop, web and mobile. Two things set its two-factor authentication (2FA) apart, and both are worth knowing before you start. First, the apps have no switch to turn 2FA off again once it's on. Second, Notesnook support can't get you past it if you lose every way of signing in (Notesnook). So the setup below is as much about planning a way back in as about scanning a QR code.

2FA is optional. Notesnook offers three methods: an authenticator app, which it marks as recommended, email codes, and SMS codes. SMS is only on the Pro and Believer plans; the other two work on every plan. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Notesnook steps come from Notesnook's own help pages and blog, linked below, which we read on October 22, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Notesnook account, so a label may differ slightly. The Notesnook help page has separate mobile instructions that only load with JavaScript, so we followed its desktop and web steps. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

These are the desktop and web steps from Notesnook's help (Notesnook):

1. Go to Settings, then Authentication.
2. Under Two-factor authentication, press Change next to Change 2FA method.
3. Type your account password at the Please verify it's you prompt.
4. On Select method for two-factor authentication, choose Setup using an Authenticator app.
5. Notesnook shows a QR code under Scan the QR code with your authenticator app. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If Notesnook is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
6. If you can't scan it, copy the text key shown below the QR code. Notesnook says spaces in it don't matter. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type Notesnook as the Service and paste the key into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
7. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into Enter 6 digit code.
8. On Save recovery codes, keep a copy of the codes, then finish. The settings should now show Two-factor authentication enabled.

On a phone, Notesnook's account settings live under Settings > Account > Manage account (Notesnook), so the path to the 2FA screen may look a little different there.

Add a fallback method

Notesnook lets you add a second 2FA method for the day your first one isn't available. Go to Settings > Authentication and press Add 2FA fallback method, confirm your password, and pick a method. The one you already use isn't offered again. When it's done, you'll see Fallback method for 2FA enabled (Notesnook).

With an authenticator app as your main method, email is the obvious fallback: it always goes to your account email address, and it works on every plan. Because 2FA can't be removed later, a fallback is worth the extra minute.

Keep your recovery codes

Recovery codes are one-time codes that sign you in when neither method is reachable. On Settings > Authentication > View recovery codes you can see them again at any time, and use Print, Copy or Download. Download saves a file called notesnook-recovery-codes.txt. Regenerate makes a new set, and the old set stops working at once (Notesnook). The help page doesn't say how many codes you get.

Without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), the key exists only on your iPhone, so these codes are your way back in. Keep them off that phone. More in 2FA backup codes.

Signing in with a code

Notesnook asks for a code every time you log in, after your email and password. Open Novaz and type the current code. If you can't, the link at the bottom of the screen, Don't have access to your authenticator app?, opens a list where you can switch to your fallback or choose I have a recovery code (Notesnook).

You also need 2FA to reset a forgotten password: recent versions of Notesnook ask you to verify 2FA before you can request a recovery email (Notesnook).

If Notesnook rejects your code

Notesnook's help doesn't cover rejected authenticator codes. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: 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

Notesnook doesn't describe a separate move-to-a-new-phone process. What it does say is that a device that's already signed in can change the 2FA method from Settings without a new code (Notesnook). So, while you still have a signed-in computer or the old phone, go to Settings > Authentication, press Change next to Change 2FA method, and set up the authenticator app again with the new iPhone. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restoring it on the new iPhone keeps the same codes and you can skip this. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Notesnook's help gives three ways back in, in this order (Notesnook):

1. Your fallback method, through the Don't have access to … link on the code screen.
2. A recovery code, through I have a recovery code on the same screen.
3. Any device where you're still signed in. Open Settings there and change your 2FA method.

If none of these is left, Notesnook says support can't unlock the account, in the same way it can't recover your password or decrypt your notes. There's no identity check to fall back on. More general advice is in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

You can't. Notesnook's help says the apps don't offer a way to disable 2FA once it's enabled. You can only change the main method and the fallback method (Notesnook).

Official Notesnook help

• How do I set up two-factor authentication in Notesnook?
• Recovering your account
• How do I manage my Notesnook account?
• Improving User Account Security with Two-factor Authentication (Notesnook blog, March 2022)