Talkdesk 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Talkdesk is the cloud contact center many support and sales teams work in all day, so your Talkdesk login is usually a work account that an administrator manages. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional for each agent, but an admin can make it mandatory for everyone on the account. Talkdesk offers two second factors: a USB security key, or a code from an authenticator app that supports time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) (Talkdesk). This guide covers the app. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone in the steps, but any TOTP app works the same way.
One thing to know before you start: Talkdesk shows your backup codes first, before you even choose a method, and it won't show them again.
How we checked this guide: the Talkdesk steps come from Talkdesk's own help center articles, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The article pages refused our automated requests, so we read their current text through the help center's public article feed on support.talkdesk.com, and compared the agent article with an archived copy from July 2025 on web.archive.org. We haven't tested the steps on a Talkdesk 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
These are the steps in Talkdesk's agent article (Talkdesk):
- In the top-right corner of the Talkdesk navigation bar, click your initials or the down arrow.
- Choose Security Settings.
- Click Setup two-factor authentication.
- Talkdesk now shows a list of backup codes. Download, print or copy them somewhere safe that isn't your phone.
- Click Continue and confirm that you've saved the codes. This is your only chance to see this set.
- Choose Authenticator App, then Next.
- Talkdesk shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If the code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Type the code Novaz shows into Talkdesk and click Finish.
Talkdesk's article only describes scanning. It doesn't mention a text key you could type instead, so plan to scan. If your screen does offer a key, in Novaz tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it as the Setup key (What is a 2FA setup key?). The article says the app makes a new code every 30 seconds, which matches what Novaz uses for typed keys.
If your company signs you in to Talkdesk only through single sign-on (SSO), you may not see this option at all. Talkdesk's admin article says its 2FA depends on email and password sign-in and can't be used with a standalone SSO setup (Talkdesk).
When your admin requires it
Admins turn this on under Admin, on the Security Settings tab, with Require two-factor authentication in the Authentication section. When they save it, every agent who has no 2FA method yet is signed out and has to set one up at the next login (Talkdesk). The setup steps are the same as above.
Signing in with the app
After setup, you enter your email and password as before, then the current code from Novaz (Talkdesk). The article describes this for every login. It doesn't mention trusted devices.
If you've added both a security key and the app, Talkdesk asks for the key first, since it treats keys as the safer option. Click Try another way to login and choose the authenticator app.
Your backup codes
Talkdesk gives you a set of 15 backup codes. Each one works once and then goes inactive. You can make a new set whenever you like, and the old set stops working at that moment (Talkdesk). The article doesn't say exactly where the button for a new set is.
Keep them even if you back up Novaz: without iCloud backup or a backup file, Novaz's keys exist only on your iPhone, and these codes are your way back in. Keep them in a password manager or on paper away from the phone. More in 2FA backup codes.
If Talkdesk rejects your code
Talkdesk's only advice is about the phone's clock: a wrong time makes codes fail (Talkdesk). Its link is for Google Authenticator on Android. On an iPhone, 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?
If you lose your phone
Sign in with a backup code (Talkdesk):
- Enter your email and password and click Login.
- Click Try another way to login.
- Choose Recovery codes.
- Enter one unused code from your saved list and click Verify.
Once you're in, Talkdesk says to remove the lost device from your 2FA methods.
No backup codes? Ask your Talkdesk administrator. An admin, or anyone with the right permission, can open Admin > Users, select you, go to the Security settings tab and click Reset MFA. That clears every 2FA method on your login, and you set one up again at the next sign-in (Talkdesk). See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Changing phones
Talkdesk doesn't describe a phone switch as such. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the Talkdesk codes keep working. Without one, you'll set Talkdesk up again on the new phone. While you can still sign in, open Security Settings, click Setup two-factor authentication, and use Remove next to the authenticator app. Then set the app up again from that screen with the new phone. If 2FA is enforced and you get stuck, the admin reset above starts you fresh. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
Turning 2FA off
You can only do this if your admin hasn't made 2FA mandatory. Go to Security Settings > Setup two-factor authentication. Click Remove next to a single method, or Disable to turn 2FA off completely (Talkdesk). If an admin later stops requiring 2FA, it stays on for agents who already had it until they turn it off (Talkdesk).
