Prey 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 Prey account is the web panel where you see your laptops and phones on a map, take reports, and lock or wipe a device that has gone missing. Anyone who gets into it can do the same to your devices, so it's worth protecting with more than a password. Prey calls its version two-step verification. It's optional, and it works with an authenticator app that you set up by scanning a QR code in your account settings (Prey).
Two things set Prey apart. You get one recovery code rather than a list, and signing in with it turns two-step verification off. You can also add a phone number that receives recovery codes by text message, but only in some countries. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Prey steps come from Prey's own help article and its screenshots, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The article was last updated on August 31, 2022, and we haven't tested it on a Prey account, so the current panel may look different and a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Turn on two-step verification
Prey's article describes the setup in a few sentences rather than click by click. Putting its text and screenshots together, it goes like this (Prey):
- Sign in to the Prey panel with your password and open your account settings. The article places the feature under 2-Factor authentication in the Settings menu.
- In the Two-step verification section, Prey shows a QR code.
- In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the panel is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Finish the steps on screen. Prey's screenshot shows a box asking Enable two-step verification? with Cancel and Accept. Choose Accept.
- Prey then shows your recovery code. Copy it or use Print code. The screen warns that you won't be able to see it again "after leaving this page" (Prey).
Once it's on, the settings section reads Two-step verification is on, and Prey sends an email titled Two-step verification settings have been changed to confirm it. The screenshots show these labels in capital letters.
Prey's article doesn't mention a setup key you could type instead of scanning, so plan on scanning the QR code. It also doesn't say how often the codes change. The screenshots show 6-digit codes.
Your one recovery code
Prey gives you a single emergency recovery code for the day you lose your phone. Treat it like a spare house key: keep it in a password manager or on paper, away from the iPhone that holds Novaz. It's your way in if the phone is lost and you have no Novaz backup.
If you think someone has seen it, choose Generate new code in the two-step verification settings to get a new one. More in 2FA backup codes.
The catch: signing in with the recovery code switches two-step verification off. Prey says you then have to scan a new QR code to turn it back on (Prey). If that happens, open the old Prey entry in Novaz, tap Remove account, and add the new QR code, so you don't end up with two Prey entries and only one that works.
Add a phone number for SMS recovery
Prey has a second safety net. Under 2-Factor authentication in the Settings menu, you can enter a mobile number. If you've lost both your phone and your recovery code, Prey can text a recovery code to that number, up to two in total (Prey).
This only works in the 39 countries Prey lists, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, much of Europe, Australia, India and Japan. If your country isn't on the list, Prey's answer is to contact its support team. Set the number up now, while you can still sign in.
When Prey asks for a code
Every time you sign in to your Prey account, after your password. Each code works only once, so a code you've just used won't get you in a second time (Prey).
Business accounts can also sign in through single sign-on (SSO). Prey's SSO article doesn't mention two-step verification, so check with your admin which one applies to you (Prey).
If Prey rejects your code
Prey's own tip is about clock sync in Google Authenticator on Android. On iPhone, the same problem is fixed by the phone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off.
If you just signed in, wait for the next code, since Prey accepts each code only once. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
Prey doesn't describe moving two-step verification to a new phone. Its settings screenshot does show a way to turn it off: type a current 6-digit code from your app and choose Disable. So while you still have the old iPhone, turn two-step verification off, then turn it on again and scan the new QR code with the new phone. Restoring Novaz on the new iPhone from iCloud backup or a backup file lets you skip this. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
- Sign in with your recovery code. Two-step verification is then off, so set it up again with your new phone right away.
- No recovery code? Request a code by text message, if you added a number in a supported country.
- Neither works? Contact Prey's support team. Prey doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long it takes.
More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
