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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Samsung account 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5

On this page
  1. A phone number comes first
  2. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  3. Print your backup codes
  4. When Samsung asks for a code
  5. If Samsung rejects your code
  6. Changing phones
  7. If you lose your authenticator
  8. Turning 2FA off
  9. Official Samsung help

Your Samsung account signs you in to Galaxy devices, Samsung's apps and backups (Samsung), and SmartThings (Samsung). Two-step verification is mandatory: Samsung requires it on every account (Samsung). You only choose how codes reach you: text message, a prompt on a signed-in Galaxy device, an authenticator app, or backup codes (Samsung). This guide adds Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone; any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Samsung steps come from Samsung's support pages, its Knox documentation and the two-step verification guide on its account site, all linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Samsung account, and Samsung's pages don't all use the same labels, so what you see may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

A phone number comes first

The authenticator app can't be your first method. Samsung's FAQ says you need an active SIM card to get the text that confirms your phone number; only then can an authenticator app or your Galaxy devices supply codes (Samsung).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

From a computer

This is the easiest route with Novaz: the iPhone scans the QR code off your screen (Samsung, Samsung):

  1. Sign in at account.samsung.com.
  2. Select Security. If Samsung asks for your password, enter it and select Confirm (Samsung).
  3. In the Password and security section, select Two-step verification, then Authenticator app.
  4. The Set up your authenticator app page shows a QR code and a key. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. Signed in on the iPhone itself? Screenshot the code and use Choose a photo instead (how).
  5. Or tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste the key into Setup key (about setup keys).
  6. Select Next. In the Verify your authenticator app field, enter the code Novaz shows and select Verify.

Samsung doesn't say how long the key is or how often codes change. A typed key in Novaz always gives 6-digit, 30-second codes and needs 16 characters or more; a QR code carries the exact settings, so scan when you can.

From a Galaxy phone or tablet

  1. Open Settings and tap your Samsung account name at the top.
  2. Tap Security and privacy, then Two-step verification. Enter your password and tap OK (Samsung).
  3. Tap Authenticator app. You'll see Use Microsoft Authenticator and Use another authenticator. For Novaz, take the second one (Samsung).
  4. Follow the screens and scan the Galaxy's QR code with Novaz.

Samsung's account-site guide words this differently (profile image, Password and security, turn on Use authenticator app), so labels vary by software version (Samsung).

Security > Two-step verification > Backup codes holds 5 single-use codes of 9 digits. When they run out, Get new codes makes a fresh set (Samsung), and you can download them there (Samsung). They're your fallback if the iPhone is gone and you have no Novaz backup, or the backup is older than this account. Keep them on paper or in a password manager. See 2FA backup codes.

When Samsung asks for a code

  • Sign-ins on untrusted devices. You pick one of your methods at the code screen (Samsung). Ticking Skip two-step verification on this phone next time (wording varies) trusts that device, so it stops asking (Samsung).
  • Possibly when you change your phone number or reset your password (Samsung).
  • Some Find My Mobile features, though signing in to it needs only your ID and password (Samsung).

If Samsung rejects your code

Samsung's help doesn't cover rejected authenticator codes. Check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns when it's 15 seconds or more off. Text and voice codes are a separate case: after too many requests Samsung blocks them for hours and suggests waiting 24 hours (Samsung). More in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Samsung's help doesn't cover moving the authenticator. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone and keep the same codes. Without one, keep the old iPhone until you've opened Authenticator app in your two-step verification settings again and linked the new one. Samsung doesn't document that screen for an account that already has an app, so read it before confirming. See moving to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Your other methods still work:

  • A Text message to a registered number, or a Galaxy device notification on another signed-in Galaxy (Samsung).
  • A backup code: on the code screen, select Didn't get the verification code?, then Verify with backup code (Samsung).
  • A new phone number: Need to change your phone number? starts a change that takes two weeks, and a second request restarts the clock (Samsung).
  • Customer Support, if nothing else works (Samsung). Samsung doesn't say what proof it wants or how long it takes.

Back in, clear lost devices with Trusted device(s) > Remove all; a browser can't remove them one at a time (Samsung). See Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

You can't. In Samsung's words, "Two-step verification can no longer be turned off" (Samsung). Its help doesn't explain unlinking just the authenticator either, so keep the Samsung entry in Novaz unless you can sign in by text or backup code.

Official Samsung help

More guides: Smart home and devices