Simon Fraser University 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for SFU MFA

At Simon Fraser University (SFU), multi-factor authentication (MFA) protects your SFU computing ID. Once you're enrolled, goSFU, Canvas, SFU Mail on the web, Zoom, Microsoft 365 on the web, SFU VPN and other campus services ask for a 6-digit code after your password (SFU). The code comes from an authenticator app or a hardware token. SFU's pages list no text-message option. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any app that makes time-based (TOTP) codes works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the SFU steps come from the knowledge base of SFU IT Services, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on an SFU computing account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Who has to enroll

• Faculty and staff, including TAs and RAs.
• New students. SFU's pages disagree on the deadline: the third week of your first term, or the end of your first semester. Plan for the earlier one (SFU).
• Sponsored accounts, within three weeks of activation (SFU).
• Students from before 2022, alumni and retirees will have to enroll later. SFU suggests doing it now (SFU).

Set up SFU MFA with an authenticator app

Use a computer, so the QR code is on a different screen from your iPhone. SFU's newest setup article, from December 2025, gives these steps (SFU):

1. Go to mfa.sfu.ca, the SFU MFA Management App, and sign in with your computing ID and password.
2. Select Add Mobile Device, then Continue. If a device is already registered, select Add MFA Device first.
3. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code on your computer.
4. Can't scan? Click Can't scan the QR Code? under the code to see a key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key. SFU's codes are six digits every 30 seconds, the same settings Novaz uses for a typed key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
5. Enter the code from Novaz in step 3 of the registration page. You can also name the registration.
6. Save the emergency codes that appear next (see below).

SFU's 2023 setup article uses other labels, such as I'll use my Mobile Device for MFA and Complete MFA Setup (SFU). Your screens may match either one. The two articles are written around LastPass Authenticator and Apple's Passwords app, but SFU's FAQ says any TOTP app works. If you're weighing Apple's app against a separate one, see Apple Passwords vs an authenticator app.

Keep your emergency login codes off your phone

SFU's emergency login codes are 8 digits long, work once each, and are meant for when your device is lost, broken or at home. The Emergency Login Codes tab at mfa.sfu.ca lets you view, print or generate a fresh set; discard the old list when you do (SFU).

Don't keep them in SFU Mail or anything else behind SFU's sign-in. SFU suggests your wallet, and it discourages registering a second phone as a spare: the codes are meant to be the backup (SFU). That fits Novaz too: unless you've made a Novaz backup, its keys are on your iPhone alone. More in 2FA backup codes.

How often SFU asks

Every time you sign in to an SFU web app, unless you tick Remember me on this browser for 7 days under the code box. A different browser, a private window or cleared cookies bring the prompt back. To make a shared computer forget you, remove it in the Trusted Browsers tab at mfa.sfu.ca (SFU, SFU).

If SFU rejects your code

SFU's FAQ explains that the app builds each code from the secret key and your phone's clock (SFU). So check the clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Moving to a new iPhone

SFU's way is to add the new device first, then delete the old one (SFU):

1. Sign in at mfa.sfu.ca (with an emergency login code if the old phone is gone).
2. Select Add MFA Device, choose a mobile device, and repeat the setup with Novaz on the new iPhone.
3. Select the trash bin next to the old device and confirm the removal.

If you use Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead, and SFU's codes keep working. Without one, this fresh setup is the way to move. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Sign in at mfa.sfu.ca with an emergency login code, register a new device, remove the lost one, and generate fresh codes.

Without codes, contact SFU IT Services: the Get Help with Log in request on the MFA service page, a guest ticket if you can't sign in, the phone line at 778-782-8888, or a Service Desk in Burnaby, Surrey or Vancouver. Web tickets get a reply within 24 business hours (SFU). SFU doesn't say what proof of identity it asks for. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning MFA off

SFU documents no way to turn MFA off. Removing your devices in the management app leaves it on.

Official SFU help

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• Setting up SFU MFA using Apple Passwords App
• Set Up MFA using mobile device
• MFA FAQ
• Multi-Factor Authentication - Students
• View or generate Emergency Login Codes
• MFA Multi-device Registration
• View or remove trusted browsers
• Add or Remove MFA Devices and Apps
• Get help - Information Systems at SFU