Switch edu-ID 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Switch edu-ID is the login most Swiss universities use for students, staff and guests, and it also gets you into services such as swisscovery and learning platforms. Unlike a university email account, it's meant to stay with you for life, after you graduate too (Switch edu-ID). Its multi-factor authentication (MFA) has two second factors: a code from an authenticator app or a code by text message. Passkeys can be added once one of those is on (Switch edu-ID). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app that makes time-based codes works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Switch edu-ID steps come from the support page on eduid.ch and Switch's edu-ID documentation on help.switch.ch, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Switch edu-ID account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Don't mix it up with your university's Microsoft login

Many universities also ask for a second factor on their Microsoft account. That's a separate account with separate codes. Switch's support page warns about exactly this, and says the edu-ID entry in your authenticator app is usually called eduID.ch, Switch edu-ID or Switch (Switch edu-ID). If a login page doesn't show the Switch edu-ID logo, it isn't asking for your edu-ID code.

Do you have to turn it on?

It depends on where you sign in. A service can require MFA for everyone who uses it. Your home university can also require it for all your logins, and it can limit you to certain methods, for example authenticator app only and no text messages. If something requires MFA and you haven't set it up, edu-ID asks you to do so, sends you to the account management, and brings you back to the login afterwards (Switch, Switch). Otherwise it's your choice.

Turn on MFA with an authenticator app

Switch's support page describes these steps (Switch edu-ID, Switch edu-ID):

1. Sign in at eduid.ch and open your security settings (the Security page of the account management).
2. Turn on Multi-factor Authentication. The page spells it Multi-Factor Authentication in places, so look for either.
3. Choose Authenticator App. You can add a mobile number here too. It's optional for the app, but Switch asks you to add one so you have a way to recover the account.
4. Switch shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, then tap + and Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. If you can't scan it, use the setup key Switch shows as text. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the field to finish.

Switch's pages say the codes have 6 digits but don't say how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, because it passes the code settings to Novaz.

Keep the recovery code

Switch says a recovery code is always created when you set up MFA. It lets you turn MFA off and set it up again if you lose your second factor. A verified mobile number can do the same job by text message (Switch edu-ID).

Keep them even if you back up Novaz: without iCloud backup or a backup file, Novaz's keys exist only on your iPhone. Store the recovery code in a password manager or on paper, away from your phone. See 2FA backup codes.

One catch with the phone number: if you have no university or other organization linked to your account, Switch only verifies European mobile numbers (Switch edu-ID).

When edu-ID asks for a code

After your email address and password, edu-ID asks for the code when MFA applies to the login. A Don't ask again for some time checkbox skips the code in the same browser for a while, 30 days by default (Switch). Your university can shorten that or turn the checkbox off (Switch).

If edu-ID rejects your code

First check that you're reading the right entry in Novaz, not your university's Microsoft account, and that you're on the real Switch edu-ID login (Switch edu-ID). Then 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

Switch's route is the recovery process (Switch edu-ID):

1. Start signing in to the account management.
2. When edu-ID asks for the code, follow the link to reset the second factor.
3. Recover with one of the methods you set up: the recovery code, or a code sent by text to your verified mobile number.
4. Set up a new second factor.

Switch doesn't describe a route for people who have neither the recovery code nor the phone number. Its support address for problems the help page doesn't answer is eduid-support@switch.ch (Switch edu-ID). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Changing phones

Switch doesn't describe a phone change on its own. While you can still sign in, the documented way is to turn MFA off in your security settings and set it up again with the new phone (Switch edu-ID). If your university requires MFA, that may not be possible, and the reset route above is the fallback. On the Novaz side, iCloud backup or a backup file lets you restore your accounts on the new iPhone and skip this. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

Turning MFA off

Switch advises against it. If you do want to, turn off Multi-factor Authentication in your security settings (Switch edu-ID). A university policy that requires MFA overrides your choice. Afterwards, open the edu-ID entry in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Switch edu-ID help

• Switch edu-ID Support (the FAQ sections "Security - Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)" and "Security - Passkeys")
• MFA - Authentication - Login Process - edu-ID Federation
• Organization Policy - Authentication - Login Process - edu-ID Federation