PocketSmith 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

PocketSmith is a budgeting and forecasting app that pulls in your bank transactions. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional. PocketSmith offers one kind: time-based codes from an authenticator app (PocketSmith). There's no text-message option.

Before you start, know the one hard rule. PocketSmith's help says plainly that "PocketSmith Support cannot restore access to accounts with two-factor authentication enabled" (PocketSmith). Lose your phone and your recovery codes, and the account is gone. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the PocketSmith steps come from PocketSmith's own Learn Centre articles, linked below, which we read on October 22, 2026. We haven't tested them on a PocketSmith account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Signed up with Google? Add a password first

You need a PocketSmith password to turn on 2FA. If you created your account with Sign in with Google and never set a separate password, add one first (PocketSmith). Its help doesn't say whether signing in with Google later skips the 2FA code.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

These steps are from PocketSmith's setup article (PocketSmith):

1. Open the Profile menu and choose Security & integrations.
2. In the menu on the left, click Two factor authentication, then confirm your PocketSmith password.
3. Click Start two factor authentication setup.
4. PocketSmith shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If you're on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. If you'd rather type it, PocketSmith also shows a code you can copy by hand. Its help doesn't give that code a name on screen. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type PocketSmith as the Service, and paste the code as the Setup key. More in What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz and click Confirm Code.
7. Download your recovery codes as a text file on the next screen. Tick the checkbox to say you've saved them, which finishes the setup.

Recovery codes are PocketSmith's only fallback

What PocketSmith's help says about them (PocketSmith, PocketSmith):

• You get them only once, at setup. They aren't sent by email or text.
• Each code works one time. They look like 123456-123456-123456-1, and you type the dashes too.
• PocketSmith says it adds new codes as you use them up, so download a fresh copy after you've used one.

Unless you've backed up Novaz, its keys are only on that iPhone, so these codes are what gets you in if it's lost. Keep the file in a password manager or print it. See 2FA backup codes.

To replace a lost or exposed set, go to Profile menu > Security & integrations > Two factor authentication, confirm your password, click Show your recovery codes, then Generate all new recovery codes, and Download the new file (PocketSmith).

When PocketSmith asks for a code

Every time you sign in, PocketSmith asks for the code after your password. Type it and click Validate. On a device you trust, tick Remember this device for 30 days, and PocketSmith won't ask again on that device until the 30 days are up (PocketSmith).

If PocketSmith rejects your code

PocketSmith's first suggestion is your device's date and time, since the codes depend on it. On an iPhone already set to automatic time, it suggests turning that setting off for a few seconds and back on (PocketSmith). The setting is Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off.

Too many wrong codes bring up Two-factor confirmation failure count exceeded. You then have to ask PocketSmith Support to reset the count before you can try again. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

PocketSmith's route is to turn 2FA off and set it up again with the new phone (PocketSmith). Do it while the old phone still works. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore PocketSmith on the new iPhone instead; without one, you add it again there. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Sign in as usual, and on the 2FA screen click Use a recovery code instead. Enter one code exactly as written and click Validate (PocketSmith). Once you're in, turn 2FA off and on again with your new phone, then save the new codes.

Without a recovery code there's no fallback: PocketSmith's help documents no identity check or support route for 2FA accounts. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Go to Profile menu > Security & integrations > Two factor authentication, confirm your password, click Turn off two-factor authentication, and enter your password again (PocketSmith). Then remove the account in Novaz: open it and tap Remove account.

Official PocketSmith help

• Two-factor authentication: Overview
• Two-factor authentication: How to set up
• Two-factor authentication: How to use
• Two-factor authentication: Turn off or reset
• Two-factor authentication: Storing and using your recovery codes
• Two-factor authentication: How to generate new recovery codes
• Two-factor authentication: Frequently asked questions
• About Google Login