pCloud 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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Your pCloud account covers my.pcloud.com, the pCloud Drive desktop app and the mobile apps. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional, and pCloud allows only one way of getting codes at a time: text messages (which can also arrive as pCloud notifications on your signed-in devices) or an authenticator app. Texts can't serve as a fallback for the app (pCloud). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the pCloud steps come from pCloud's own help center and blog, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a pCloud account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Before you start
- Signed up with Google, Facebook or Apple? You need a pCloud password before turning on 2FA (pCloud). To create one, enter your email on the my.pcloud.com sign-in page and use Forgot password (pCloud).
- Update your pCloud apps first. pCloud says pCloud Drive and the mobile apps need their latest versions to sign in once 2FA is on (pCloud).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
pCloud names the authenticator method Google Authenticator, but its codes are standard time-based ones, which Novaz makes (pCloud).
- Sign in at my.pcloud.com, click your account avatar, and go to Settings > Security.
- Turn the Two-factor authentication switch on.
- Enter your pCloud password. pCloud's help doesn't show where you choose a method, so pick Google Authenticator if you're asked.
- pCloud shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- To type the key instead (pCloud calls it the security key, or the secret key): in Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type pCloud as the Service and the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Enter the code from Novaz in pCloud.
- Save the recovery codes pCloud gives you.
pCloud doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change, so scan the QR code when you can: it passes those settings to your app, while a typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds. An older pCloud blog post shows a switch labeled Google Authenticator instead, so your screen may differ (pCloud).
Your recovery codes, and the key
pCloud gives you 10 single-use recovery codes during setup, for a lost phone, a missing code, or no device left signed in. You can view, download or reset them later under Settings > Security > Two-factor Authentication > Manage (pCloud).
pCloud's blog asks you to keep recovery codes somewhere other than your pCloud account (pCloud). A file stored in pCloud is no help once you're locked out.
pCloud also suggests writing down the secret key so you can add pCloud to an authenticator app on a new device later (pCloud). Without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), the keys stay on your iPhone only, so the recovery codes and that key are your way back. Anyone with the key can make your codes: guard it like a password. See 2FA backup codes.
When pCloud asks for a code
With 2FA on, pCloud asks for a code when you sign in from a new browser or device. You can then mark the device as trusted, and pCloud won't ask on it again for 30 days. Trust only devices that are yours, pCloud advises (pCloud).
If pCloud rejects your code
pCloud's troubleshooting only covers text-message codes that don't arrive. For a refused authenticator code, the usual cause is 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 the website takes your code but pCloud Drive or the mobile app won't, update the app (pCloud). More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Switching methods, switching phones, turning it off
To move between the authenticator app and text messages, pCloud says to open my.pcloud.com on a computer, turn off 2FA under Settings > Security, and turn it on again with the other method (pCloud). That's also how you turn 2FA off, though pCloud doesn't describe the screens. Comparing the two? See Authenticator app vs SMS.
If you use Novaz's iCloud backup or keep a backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone and you're done. Otherwise, if you saved pCloud's secret key, add it on the new phone with Enter key manually. If you didn't, reset two-factor authentication under Settings > Security while you're still signed in, and set it up again on the new phone (pCloud). See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
- You have a recovery code: use it to sign in.
- You're still signed in somewhere, such as a browser or a pCloud app: change your password, remove unknown devices from Logged devices under Settings > Security, and reset two-factor authentication on that page (pCloud).
- Neither: contact pCloud support (pCloud) through the form on pCloud's contact page or at support@pcloud.com, with your account email address. pCloud doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long recovery takes.
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