Skip to content
Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Sentry 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. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  2. Save your recovery codes
  3. When your organization requires 2FA
  4. If Sentry rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Turning 2FA off
  8. Official Sentry help

Developers use Sentry to track errors and slowdowns in their apps, and one Sentry account can belong to several organizations. Two-factor authentication (2FA) sits on the account, not on an organization, so being removed from one leaves it on (Sentry). An organization Owner can also require 2FA, and members without it are then removed (Sentry).

New setups can use an authenticator app or a passkey, biometric or security key. Text-message codes closed to new users on August 12, 2022 (Sentry). This guide covers sentry.io, not self-hosted Sentry servers. It uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, and any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Sentry steps come from Sentry's own help center and documentation, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Sentry account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Sentry's help center gives these steps (Sentry):

  1. Choose User settings from the menu under your organization's name (Sentry). Then, under Account, click Security (sentry.io/settings/account/security/).
  2. In the Two-Factor Authentication panel, click Add next to Authenticator App. Sentry first asks you to verify your email address if you haven't.
  3. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and aim the camera at Sentry's QR code. If Sentry is open on that iPhone, screenshot the code, then tap + and Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  4. If the scan fails, copy the text key, which Sentry calls the Authenticator secret. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  5. Type the current code from Novaz into the Authenticator token field and click Confirm.

Sentry doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how long each lasts. A typed key in Novaz always gives 6 digits every 30 seconds, while a QR code carries the exact settings, so scan when you can.

Once 2FA is on, Sentry asks for your password and then a code at every sign-in (Sentry).

Save your recovery codes

After setup, click Get Recovery Codes in the window Sentry opens, then copy, print or download them (as sentry-recovery-codes.txt) (Sentry). Keep them somewhere you can reach from another device (Sentry).

If Novaz is your authenticator, treat these codes as the spare key to your Sentry account, since without iCloud backup or a backup file, Novaz's keys exist only on the iPhone you set it up on. More in 2FA backup codes.

Later, View Codes on the Recovery Codes row of the Security page shows them again, and Regenerate Codes replaces them all.

When your organization requires 2FA

Owners, once their own 2FA is on, switch on Require Two-Factor Authentication under Security & Privacy in Organization Settings > General Settings, then click Confirm. Members without 2FA are removed and emailed. They have three months to set it up and rejoin with their old settings, through the Enable Two-Factor Authentication button in that email, or an invite an Owner or Manager resends from Organization Settings > Members (Sentry).

Organizations using single sign-on (SSO) can't use this switch. Sentry's suggestion is to enforce 2FA at the identity provider instead (Sentry).

If Sentry rejects your code

If setup ends with Error adding Authenticator: App authenticator, Sentry blames clocks out of sync: check that your computer and phone both set the time automatically, in the same time zone (Sentry). On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz shows a warning when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. For other causes, see Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Sentry says to disable 2FA on your account before you set it up on a new device (Sentry). Do it while the old phone works, then scan a fresh QR code on the new iPhone. If you'd rather keep the same codes, restore your Novaz accounts on the new iPhone from iCloud backup or a backup file; see How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone. If your organization requires 2FA, ask an Owner first: Sentry doesn't say what happens to your membership while it's off.

If you lose your authenticator

Start with a recovery code. Without one, Sentry's route depends on your role (Sentry):

  • Member of one organization: ask an Owner to open Organization Settings > Members, choose your name and click Reset two-factor authentication. If the organization requires 2FA, the Owner has to turn that off before the reset is allowed.
  • Member of more than one organization: contact Sentry Support.
  • Organization Owner: email support@sentry.io from the address on your account. Give the last 4 digits and expiry date of the card on file, and copy in two other members, ideally managers or admins. The page doesn't cover organizations without a card.
  • Not in any organization: contact Support at support@sentry.io (Sentry).

Sentry warns that Support may not be able to help if you've lost both your device and your recovery codes (Sentry). It doesn't say how long a reset takes. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Sentry's help doesn't name the button for removing a method on the Security page. It does say removing 2FA can ask for your password. If you sign in with GitHub, Google or Azure and never set a password, sign in again in a private (incognito) window and retry at once, or create a password at sentry.io/account/recover/ (Sentry). Once Sentry no longer asks for the code, open Sentry in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Sentry help

More guides: Developer tools