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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Seznam.cz 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. Mail apps need their own password
  3. When Seznam asks for a code
  4. If Seznam rejects your code
  5. If you lose your authenticator
  6. Changing phones
  7. Turning 2FA off
  8. Official Seznam.cz help

Your Seznam Account (Seznam Účet) is the single sign-in for Seznam.cz services such as E-mail, Mapy.com and Zprávy (Seznam.cz). Two-factor authentication is optional. The second step can be a code from an authenticator app or a security key, either a physical one or one stored in your phone (Seznam.cz). The older method, approving sign-ins in the Seznam.cz app or browser, ended on December 31, 2025 (Seznam.cz).

Two things set Seznam apart. You can't turn on 2FA without a verified phone number, and Seznam doesn't offer backup codes. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Seznam.cz steps come from Seznam's own help pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. Seznam publishes this help in Czech and English, and some Czech pages are newer, so we give the English labels with the Czech ones in parentheses. We haven't tested the steps on a Seznam 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

From Seznam's setup instructions (Seznam.cz, Seznam.cz):

  1. In your Seznam Account settings, open the Account Security (Zabezpečení účtu) tab and find the Two-factor authentication (Dvoufázové ověření) section. Seznam may first check that the account is yours.
  2. Click Add verification device (Přidat ověřovací zařízení). If you're offered a choice, take the authenticator app, not Bezpečnostní klíč (security key).
  3. Give the device a name you'll recognize later, such as one that mentions Novaz, and click Continue (Pokračovat).
  4. Seznam shows a QR code and an alphanumeric key. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  5. Can't scan it? In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type the key as the Setup key. Seznam's codes have six digits and change every 30 seconds (Seznam.cz), which is what Novaz uses for a typed key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  6. Back on Seznam, click Scanned, continue (Naskenováno, pokračovat), type the code from Novaz, and click Finish (Dokončit).
  7. Check your recovery phone number, or update it. Confirming it is what finishes the setup.

Without a verified phone number you can't finish, because that number is your fallback (Seznam.cz). Add one under Account Security, on the Phone number for password recovery row, with the country code if it isn't Czech (Seznam.cz).

Mail apps need their own password

With 2FA on, Outlook, Thunderbird, phone mail apps and calendar sync (CalDAV) no longer accept your normal password, and you may see "Login to server imap.seznam.cz failed" (Seznam.cz). To fix it:

  1. In Account Security, under Two-Factor Authentication, find Application Password and click Set.
  2. Type a new password twice. It must differ from your sign-in password.
  3. Click Save changes, then put the new password in your mail app. You can change it later but not delete it.

When Seznam asks for a code

After your username and password, unless the browser is trusted. Once you've entered the code, Seznam offers to trust the browser: confirm with Ano, důvěřovat (Yes, trust), and it asks only for your password from then on. Seznam advises doing this only on devices nobody else uses. You can remove a trusted browser under Zabezpečení účtu > Dvoufázové ověření with Odebrat (Remove) (Seznam.cz).

If Seznam rejects your code

On the code screen, click Use a different verification method (Jiný způsob ověření). Seznam then offers Request SMS code (Vyžádat SMS kód), which texts a code to your verified number once a countdown ends, and I need help (Potřebuji pomoc), which leads to its help pages and online support during business hours (Seznam.cz).

If Novaz's codes keep failing, check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

If you lose your authenticator

Seznam's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. Unless you can restore Novaz from iCloud backup or a backup file, your only fallback is the SMS code to your verified number: sign in with it, remove the lost device in Account Security, and add Novaz again.

Without your verification devices and that phone, Seznam's FAQ is blunt: you can't sign in until you get one of them back, and if both are gone for good, so is the account (Seznam.cz). For forgotten passwords, its account help adds that it can't confirm who you are from ID documents, because accounts are created anonymously (Seznam.cz). Without a Novaz backup, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so keep your recovery number current. Seznam also suggests setting up more than one verification device, such as a security key. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Changing phones

Seznam doesn't describe a phone change. Since it allows several verification devices, add the new iPhone as another device with the steps above, check that its code works, then remove the old one. If you have a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), you can instead restore it on the new iPhone, and the existing setup keeps working. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

Turning 2FA off

In the Two-factor authentication section, remove every verification device, one at a time. Removing the last one turns 2FA off (Seznam.cz). Seznam's English help says each removal asks for your current password (Seznam.cz). The mail app password stops working, so give your mail apps your normal password again. Then open Seznam in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Seznam.cz help

More guides: Email