Planio 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Planio runs hosted Redmine for teams: issue tracking, agile boards and other project tools, kept up to date by Planio's engineers (Planio). Each team works on its own Planio domain. Your sign-in belongs to that Planio account, so the person who runs it may decide that two-factor authentication (2FA) isn't optional for you. Planio's 2FA works with any app that makes time-based codes (TOTP) (Planio). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Planio steps come from two announcements on Planio's own support blog, linked below, including the screenshot in the first one, which we read on October 21, 2026. The posts are from 2017 and 2023, and we haven't tested them on a Planio account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Optional, required for everyone, or required for your group

Planio lets administrators choose how strict 2FA is (Planio):

• Optional: each user decides whether to turn it on.
• Required for all users: set under your avatar > Administration > Settings > Authentication > Two-factor authentication. Everyone has to set up a second factor the next time they sign in (Planio).
• Required for some groups only: added in October 2023. The setting stays optional for the whole account, and an administrator ticks Require two factor authentication on the General tab of a group under Administration > Groups. Members of that group are asked to set up 2FA at their next sign-in if they haven't yet (Planio).

If Planio asks you to set up 2FA right after you sign in, one of the last two settings applies to you.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Planio says you turn the feature on in your My account area (Planio). Its screenshot of the setup page shows these steps:

1. Sign in to your Planio domain and open My account. Start the two-factor setup there.
2. Planio opens Enable two-factor authentication with a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the page is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
3. Under the QR code, Planio shows a Plain text key. If you can't scan, tap + in Novaz, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
4. Type the current code from Novaz into Code and click Activate.

The key in Planio's screenshot is 16 characters long, shown in groups of four, which is enough for Novaz to accept it by hand. Planio's posts don't name the button that opens the setup page in My account, so look for a two-factor option there.

Print your backup codes

Planio lets each user generate backup codes and print them, for the day you can't reach your authenticator app. It strongly urges administrators who switch 2FA on to make a set for themselves (Planio). The posts don't say how many codes you get or whether each one works only once.

Without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), the keys exist only on that iPhone, so these printed codes are what gets you in if it's lost or reset. Keep them away from the phone. More in 2FA backup codes.

If Planio rejects your code

Planio's posts don't cover rejected codes. 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. Type the code before it changes, too. See Authenticator code not working?

New phone or lost phone

Planio's support pages don't describe moving 2FA to a new phone, resetting it, or turning it off. If you've backed up Novaz, restore it on the new iPhone and Planio's codes carry on. If not, keep the old phone until you've signed in on the new one and looked in My account, the place Planio names for 2FA, for a way to set it up again (Planio). See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If the phone is already gone, sign in with one of your printed backup codes. Without them, Planio's help doesn't say what happens next or what proof it asks for. The people to ask are the administrator of your Planio account or Planio's support team. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Planio help

• Introducing two-factor authentication (October 19, 2017)
• Redmine Hosting with Planio
• Require Two-Factor Authentication for Specific User Groups (October 16, 2023)