OpenApply 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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OpenApply is the admissions system from Faria that many international schools use to handle enquiries, applications and enrolment. Two-factor authentication (2FA) there is for staff, the admin users who work in the system. It's optional for signing in, but you can't export data without it: OpenApply requires 2FA on your account before an export will run (OpenApply). There's only one method, an authenticator app. OpenApply doesn't send codes by text or email (OpenApply).
OpenApply's help names Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator, and also mentions Authy. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any other authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the OpenApply steps come from OpenApply's own help center, linked below, including the screenshots in its articles. We read them on October 22, 2026. The help center's web pages block automated requests, so we read the articles through the help center's own public article feed on help.openapply.com, which serves the same text. We haven't tested the steps on an OpenApply account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Before you start
- Each person sets it up alone. An administrator can't switch 2FA on for other staff, because each user has to scan their own QR code (OpenApply).
- The option should already be there. OpenApply says 2FA is now on by default for every school. If you don't see it, your school can ask Faria to enable it through Submit a request.
- It works with every sign-in method. Staff can sign in with an OpenApply password, with Microsoft single sign-on, or with a ManageBac+ account, and OpenApply says two-factor adds a second check to any of them (OpenApply).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
These steps follow OpenApply's article on enabling 2FA, last updated October 14, 2026 (OpenApply):
- Sign in to OpenApply as an admin user. Staff sign in on the school's admin page, which usually looks like yourschool.openapply.com/users/signin (OpenApply).
- Select your profile picture in the top-right corner, then Manage Your Profile.
- Scroll to the 2 Factor Authentication section. It shows 2 Factor Authentication is Disabled. Select Enable 2 Factor Authentication.
- OpenApply shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If you're doing this on your iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Novaz now shows a 6-digit code for OpenApply. Type it into Authentication Code and select Verify.
OpenApply's help doesn't mention a text key you can type instead of scanning, so plan to scan the QR code. To confirm it worked, go back to Manage Your Profile and scroll down: the page shows whether 2FA is on.
If you're an admin at more than one OpenApply school, each school is a separate account. Turn on 2FA at each one. Each school appears as its own entry in your authenticator app, so you can tell the codes apart.
When OpenApply asks for a code
Once 2FA is on, OpenApply asks for a code in two places: when you sign in, and when you export data. At sign-in, you enter your email address and password as usual. A second screen then asks for the Authentication Code from your app, followed by Sign In.
The article's FAQ is blunt about where the code comes from: "Authentication is not via SMS or email" (OpenApply).
No backup codes
OpenApply's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. The fallback it documents is a person, not a code: a colleague with the right permission, or Faria Support. Find out now who the Security Admin users at your school are, before you need one.
If OpenApply rejects your code
OpenApply's help doesn't cover rejected codes. The usual cause is the phone's clock. On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
If you lose your phone
OpenApply's route depends on your colleagues (OpenApply, OpenApply):
- Ask a colleague who has the Security Admin permission. They can go to Settings > Staff Directory, select your name, and turn off 2FA for you. You can then sign in and set it up again.
- If no one at your school can do that, use Submit a request on the OpenApply help center. Faria Support will phone your school to confirm who you are before it removes 2FA.
OpenApply doesn't say how long the support route takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Changing phones
OpenApply's help doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone. Without one, while you still have the old phone, the simplest route with the documented options is to select Disable 2 Factor Authentication on Manage Your Profile, then turn it on again and scan the new QR code with the new phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
Turning 2FA off
Sign in, open Manage Your Profile from your profile picture, and select Disable 2 Factor Authentication. You'll need it again before your next export.
