PlayStation 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 account for PlayStation, which you may know as your PSN or Sony account, is the one you sign in to on a PS5, a PS4 and playstation.com. It controls your online services, the PlayStation Store and your wallet (PlayStation). PlayStation calls its two-factor authentication 2-step verification, or 2SV. You turn it on yourself, and the codes come by text message or from an authenticator app, and setup ends with 10 backup codes (PlayStation). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the PlayStation steps come from PlayStation's own support pages, linked below, which we read on October 19, 2026. We haven't tested them on a PlayStation account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Turn on 2SV with an authenticator app
You can do this in a web browser or on your console. On the web (PlayStation):
- Sign in to Account Management and select Security.
- Next to 2-Step Verification Status, select Edit.
- Choose Authenticator App rather than Text Message.
- PlayStation shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If you're on the iPhone itself, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If the QR code fails, copy the alphanumeric code PlayStation shows. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the code from Novaz and select Activate.
- Write down your backup codes (more below).
PlayStation's help doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change, so scan the QR code if you can: it passes those settings to your app, while a typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.
On a console, the QR code appears on your TV and the steps match the web ones (PlayStation):
- PS5: Settings > Users and Accounts > Security > 2-Step Verification. Another PlayStation page puts Security under Users and Accounts > Account, so labels may differ (PlayStation).
- PS4: Settings > Account Management > Account Information > Security > 2-Step Verification.
Your 10 backup codes
Each code works once. While you're signed in, you can see them in Account Management under Security > Backup Codes, but not once you're locked out (PlayStation). If you've used most of them, the only documented way to get a new set is to turn 2SV off and back on (PlayStation).
They get you in if the phone is lost and there's no Novaz backup to restore. Keep them in a password manager or on paper. See 2FA backup codes.
When PlayStation asks for a code
PlayStation asks for one (PlayStation):
- the first time you sign in after turning on 2SV,
- when you sign in again after signing out yourself,
- when you reset your password,
- when you change your sign-in ID (email address) or online ID.
You can't sign in on Google TV while 2SV is on. PlayStation's advice is to turn it off, sign in, then turn it back on (PlayStation).
If PlayStation rejects your code
PlayStation's troubleshooting only covers text messages that don't arrive. For an authenticator app, check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > 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
PlayStation's way is to turn 2SV off and on again with the new phone, the same way you'd switch between text messages and an app (PlayStation, PlayStation). Do it while the old phone still works. Or, if you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Use a backup code (PlayStation):
- Start signing in to Account Management.
- Select Trouble Receiving Code?, then Sign In Using a Backup Code.
- Enter one of your codes, select Verify, then Continue.
On a PS5, type the code into the 2SV screen. On a PS4, press the triangle button for Trouble Receiving Code?, choose a reason, then Sign In Using Backup Code. Once you're in, turn 2SV off and on again with your new phone.
Without backup codes, contact PlayStation Support through the PlayStation Assistant chat (the help pages say Online Assistant). Have these ready (PlayStation):
- your online ID and sign-in ID (email address),
- the serial number of a console you used to create or sign in to the account,
- details of a recent purchase.
PlayStation doesn't say how long this takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2SV off
On the web, go to Security in Account Management and select Edit > Deactivate next to 2-Step Verification Status. On a console, set the Status of 2-Step Verification to Disabled (PS5) or Inactive (PS4) (PlayStation). Then open PlayStation in Novaz and tap Remove account.
What about passkeys?
PlayStation's 2SV page suggests passkeys first (PlayStation). A passkey replaces your password rather than adding a code (PlayStation). PlayStation's pages don't say what happens to an authenticator setup when you switch.
