SMSPool 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

SMSPool rents out phone numbers for receiving SMS verification codes, and your SMSPool account holds your balance, deposits and order history. It offers two-factor authentication (2FA) with an authenticator app, and it's optional: SMSPool recommends it as protection against unwanted logins. The one detail to plan for is recovery. When you turn 2FA on, SMSPool shows a single recovery code, and its guide is blunt about what happens without it: "We cannot recover your account without the recovery code" (SMSPool, archived).

The steps below use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the SMSPool steps come from SMSPool's own knowledgebase article and its screenshots, linked below. SMSPool's site showed a robot check to our automated reader on October 21, 2026, so we read its pages in archived copies on web.archive.org: the 2FA article as saved on September 16, 2025, and the FAQ as saved on November 7, 2025. We haven't tested the steps on an SMSPool account, and labels may have changed since. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

SMSPool's article, first published in October 2023, describes the setup on the website (SMSPool, archived):

1. Sign in to SMSPool and click the cog icon at the top right of the dashboard. You can also go straight to smspool.net/my/settings.
2. In the Preferences panel, click Account settings. (The article's text writes it as "Account Settings".)
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page. In the 2FA section, click Enable 2FA.
4. SMSPool shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If you're on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. If you'd rather type it, SMSPool's article says you can copy the secret instead; in the screenshots it sits just below the QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, enter SMSPool as the Service, and paste the secret as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the 2FA code field and click Enable 2FA again.
7. A green bar confirms that 2FA was added and shows your recovery code. Save it before you leave the page.

The article only covers the website. SMSPool also has iPhone and Android apps, but its pages don't say whether you can set up 2FA in them.

SMSPool's article mentions Ente Auth, Aegis and Authy as examples, with a warning to be careful with cloud backups. In Novaz, cloud backup is opt-in: its keys stay on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup, which is end-to-end encrypted through iCloud Keychain.

Save the recovery code

You get one recovery code, not a list. The screenshot shows it inside the success message, so copy it from there and store it somewhere other than your phone, such as a password manager or a printed note. More on this in 2FA backup codes.

SMSPool's pages don't say whether you can view the code again later, make a new one, or what happens to it once you use it. Treat that first screen as your only chance.

If SMSPool rejects your code

SMSPool's pages don't cover rejected codes. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

SMSPool doesn't describe how to move 2FA to a new phone or how to turn it off. Keep the old phone working until the new one is set up, and keep the recovery code safe in the meantime. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore SMSPool on the new iPhone with your other accounts. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Use your recovery code. SMSPool's article says plainly that it can't recover the account without it, so don't count on support to remove 2FA for you. Its FAQ points to opening a ticket or contacting SMSPool for other account problems, such as a password that doesn't work (SMSPool, archived). Nothing there covers 2FA.

The FAQ also says a password reset needs an email address on the account, which suggests not every account has one. Check yours while you can still sign in. For general steps, see Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official SMSPool help

• How to enable 2FA for your SMSPool account (read in an archived copy)
• Frequently Asked Questions (read in an archived copy)