Rebel.com 2FA: how to switch to an authenticator app

Rebel.com sells domain names, hosting and email to small businesses, so your Rebel account controls things that are hard to win back if someone else takes them. Rebel doesn't leave two-factor authentication (2FA) up to you: it's on for every account and can't be turned off (Rebel). What you can choose is where the codes come from. Every account starts with codes sent by text message, with email as a fallback, and you can switch to an authenticator app, which Rebel itself calls the safest of its three methods (Rebel).

This guide makes that switch with Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Rebel steps come from Rebel's own help center, linked below, including the screenshots in its articles, which we read on October 21, 2026. The help center's web pages showed us a bot check, so we read the same articles through its public article feed on support.rebel.com. We haven't tested them on a Rebel account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start: there are no backup codes

Rebel says plainly that it doesn't create or support backup or recovery codes for 2FA (Rebel). Novaz keys stay on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, so plan your backup now.

The setup screen offers a way around this. Next to the QR code, Rebel shows the key as text and suggests you can store it as a backup for a lost device or a later setup (Rebel). Copy it into a password manager or onto paper kept somewhere safe, and you can add Rebel to a new phone later without calling support. Anyone who has the key can make your codes, so guard it like a password.

Switch to an authenticator app

You need your phone with the number Rebel has on file, because the first step sends a text message (Rebel).

1. Sign in to your Rebel account. Select My Account in the menu on the left, then Security in the toolbar at the top.
2. Your current method is shown on the right, normally SMS Text. Select Authentication App, then Confirm Changes.
3. An Authentication Method Change window opens. Type the 6-digit code Rebel texts you into Verification Code and select Confirm.
4. Rebel shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. 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.
5. If you can't scan it, use the key under the QR code (there's a copy button). In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it as the Setup key. Rebel's screenshot shows the key split by hyphens; leave them out if Novaz won't take it. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Save a copy of the key somewhere safe, then select Confirm.
7. Type the current code from Novaz and select Confirm. A message tells you the authentication app is now turned on.

One oddity: Rebel's screenshot of that last step mentions a code sent by email, while the article's text says to use the app's code. If your screen asks for an emailed code, enter that one.

Signing in afterwards

Once the app is on, Rebel asks for a code from it every time you sign in (Rebel). The sign-in pop-up for text codes offers links to send the code to your primary or alternate email instead (Rebel). Rebel's pages don't say whether those email links still appear once you've switched to the app, so don't count on them.

If Rebel rejects your code

Rebel's troubleshooting page for app codes suggests these checks (Rebel):

• Codes change about every 30 seconds. Wait for a fresh one and type it right away.
• A wrong clock on the phone is one of the most common causes. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off.
• Try a private window, another browser, or turning off browser extensions such as ad blockers.

More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Rebel doesn't describe a direct way to move the app to a new phone. What it does document is switching back to text codes: under Security, select SMS Text and Confirm Changes, enter a code from your current app, confirm your phone number, and enter the code Rebel texts you (Rebel). After that, you can set up the app again on the new phone.

That needs a working code from the old phone, so do it before you wipe or hand it in. If you saved the setup key, you can instead add it to Novaz on the new iPhone by hand. Or, if you keep a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and Rebel comes across with your other accounts. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

With no backup codes, your options are a Novaz backup or the setup key, if you have one, or Rebel's Customer Support team. Rebel says it checks ownership strictly before resetting 2FA, and the proof depends on how the account is registered (Rebel):

• Individual accounts (no company name on file): Rebel emails a verification link to the primary address, or to an alternate address that was verified earlier. Once you complete it, Rebel resets 2FA.
• Business accounts (a company name on file): Rebel treats the company as the owner. It wants a formal request on company letterhead, signed by an authorized officer or director, plus a copy of that person's government-issued ID. Being the named contact isn't enough.

Rebel doesn't say how long a reset takes. For a company account, find out now who can sign that letter. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

You can't; it's required (Rebel). You can only move back to text and email codes, as under Changing phones. After that, remove Rebel from Novaz by opening its entry and tapping Remove account.

Official Rebel help

• Two-Factor Authentication
• How to set up an application-based 2FA for Rebel account
• What are my options for Two-Factor Authentication?
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Backup and Recovery Codes
• Two-Factor Authentication Code Not Working (Authenticator Apps)
• How to switch 2FA back to phone number/email
• How do I bypass the phone option to request a 2FA code via email?