Skip to content
Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Onshape 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 2FA with an authenticator app
  2. Your five recovery codes
  3. Signing in
  4. If Onshape rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Turning 2FA off
  8. Official Onshape help

Your Onshape account holds your CAD work: Part Studios, assemblies and drawings. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional, unless your Enterprise admin makes it required for everyone (Onshape). The only method Onshape's help describes is an authenticator app, with recovery codes as the fallback. Lose your phone and those codes, and Onshape says it can't get you back in. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Onshape steps come from Onshape's own help pages, changelog and blog, linked below, which we read on October 19, 2026. We haven't tested them on an Onshape 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

Do this in a web browser: Onshape's mobile apps can't change account settings (Onshape). The steps follow Onshape's help (Onshape):

  1. Sign in to Onshape, click your account icon in the top right corner, and select My account.
  2. In the list on the left, click Security.
  3. Next to Two-factor Authentication, click Enable, then Set up two-factor authentication.
  4. Confirm your password and click OK.
  5. Onshape shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If Onshape 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, click the enter this text code link. Onshape shows a text key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, fill in Service and Account (optional), and type the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  7. Type the six-digit code from Novaz into Onshape and click Enable.
  8. Onshape shows your recovery codes. Copy them somewhere safe, then click OK.

Onshape's codes are six digits and change every 30 seconds (Onshape), which matches what Novaz uses for a typed key. Onshape doesn't say how long the key is. Novaz needs at least 16 characters, so if it's shorter, scan the QR code.

Setting up 2FA also ends your older sessions, per the changelog for release 1.174 (Onshape), so expect to sign in again on other devices.

Your five recovery codes

Onshape keeps five recovery codes active at a time, and each works once. You can make a new set at any time, which cancels every earlier code, used or not (Onshape). The help doesn't name the button.

Onshape's help is blunt: "Onshape cannot help you if you delete the app or lose your phone." (Onshape) Unless you've backed up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, the key exists only on your iPhone, so these codes are what you fall back on. Keep them away from your phone, in a password manager or on paper, and make a fresh set when you've used a few. More in 2FA backup codes.

Signing in

After your password, type the current code from Novaz and click Verify (Onshape). Onshape can remember a device for 30 days. A 2016 tech tip calls the checkbox Remember this computer for the next 30 days (Onshape); the current label may differ.

If Onshape rejects your code

Onshape's help doesn't cover rejected codes. The most common cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Onshape has no way to move 2FA to a new phone. Its help says to turn 2FA off before you replace the phone, then on again with the new one (Onshape). In Novaz, an iCloud backup or backup file lets you restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. Without one, follow Onshape's route: set Onshape up fresh on the new iPhone, save the new recovery codes, and only then reset the old phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

On the sign-in code screen, click Enter a two-factor recovery code and type one of your codes (Onshape). Once you're in, turn 2FA off and set it up again with your new phone, which also gives you new recovery codes.

Without a recovery code, there's no documented way back in. The help pages say Onshape can't help, though a 2024 Onshape blog post lists contacting Support as an option (Onshape). Support tickets are filed from inside Onshape, which you can't reach, but its help also points to the Contact Us link on Onshape's home page (Onshape). In a 2019 forum thread, Onshape staff told a locked-out user to email support@onshape.com (Onshape). Onshape doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long it takes. See Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

On the Security tab, click Manage, then Disable. Confirm your password and click OK (Onshape). Then open Onshape in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Onshape help

More guides: Business tools and other services