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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

SoFi 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. What SoFi's help leaves out
  2. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  3. When SoFi asks for a code
  4. If SoFi rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Official SoFi help

Your SoFi account is the login for sofi.com and the SoFi app (SoFi). Its two-factor authentication (2FA) sends a code by text or voice call, or uses an authenticator app (SoFi). SoFi has prompted members to turn 2FA on at sign-in since 2020 (SoFi), and the manager whose team runs its login advises: "always use an authenticator app or a Passkey for the highest level of security" (SoFi). SoFi's help doesn't explain passkeys, so this guide covers the authenticator app, using Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the SoFi steps come from SoFi's own help center and website, linked below. Both blocked our automated reader, so on October 19, 2026 we read archived copies on web.archive.org, saved between August 2025 and October 2026. We read SoFi's 2026 blog post directly. We haven't tested the steps on a SoFi account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

What SoFi's help leaves out

SoFi lists the apps that work, including Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator and Authy, and says where the setting is (SoFi). It doesn't show the setup screens, so we can't say whether you'll get a QR code, a text key or both. None of the pages we read mention backup codes or turning 2FA off. If you lose your phone, SoFi's ID check (below) is the way back in, so keep the phone number and email on your profile current.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

SoFi's newest page gives the path as Settings > Security > Two-factor authentication > Authenticator app (SoFi). Use sofi.com on a computer if you can. A 2024 help article said the option was only on the website (SoFi), though newer pages mention the app too, and a QR code on a computer screen is easier to scan.

  1. On sofi.com, click your profile icon in the top right corner and select Settings (SoFi). In the app, tap the profile icon in the top left corner, then Settings.
  2. Choose Security, then Two-factor authentication. Older articles write Two-Factor Authentication and place it under My Profile on the web (SoFi).
  3. Choose Authenticator app and follow SoFi's confirmation steps.
  4. For a QR code, in Novaz tap +, then Scan QR code. If the code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  5. For a key, tap +, then Enter key manually. Type SoFi as the Service and the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  6. If SoFi asks for a code to finish, type the one Novaz shows.

SoFi doesn't publish its code settings. A scanned QR code carries them to Novaz, while a typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds. So scan when you can, then tap SoFi in Novaz and check Interval under Details.

When SoFi asks for a code

SoFi's help doesn't say exactly when it wants the authenticator code. The sign-in screen pictured on its security page, a text-message example, has a Remember this device box and a Choose another method link (SoFi). SoFi's 2020 announcement says remembered devices don't need a code every time, and advises against remembering shared or public ones (SoFi). A sign-in from a new device also sends you an email (SoFi). Now and then SoFi may ask for a government-issued ID or a second 2FA method as an extra check (SoFi).

If SoFi rejects your code

SoFi's troubleshooting covers text codes that don't arrive, not authenticator codes that fail (SoFi). Check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

SoFi doesn't describe moving the authenticator to a new phone. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the codes keep working. Without one, note that SoFi does let you change your 2FA method in the same settings, so do it while the old iPhone still makes codes. If SoFi offers the authenticator setup again, scan the new code with Novaz on the new iPhone. If not, switch to text for now. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

With no backup codes, SoFi's documented route is an identity check during sign-in (SoFi):

  1. Sign in with your email address and password.
  2. SoFi asks you to pick a new 2FA method: phone, email or Verify with ID instead.
  3. With Verify with ID instead, you photograph the front and back of your ID and take a selfie.
  4. SoFi then asks you to choose your 2FA method again.

Email has limits: SoFi offers it only as a backup to text or voice, and not if your password changed in the last 72 hours (SoFi). Don't reset your password first if you're counting on email.

SoFi doesn't say how long the ID check takes. If you still can't sign in, its 2FA help gives (855) 456-7634 as the number to call (SoFi). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official SoFi help

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