Universitat de Barcelona 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Your UB credentials, an identifier and a password, open the Intranet and other Universitat de Barcelona services (UB). The catch is that the UB runs two separate two-factor authentication (2FA) systems, and which one you meet depends on the service (UB):

• Núvol UB 2FA covers your UB email and the other Microsoft 365 apps, and since February 24, 2025 the UB VPN too (UB). It becomes mandatory once the UB switches it on for your group.
• Portal 2FA is the UB's own system for the Portal UB and other applications its IT department (Àrea TIC) chooses. It's voluntary, but some applications require it (UB).

If you use both, each needs its own setup and gets its own entry in your app. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Universitat de Barcelona steps come from the Àrea TIC's help pages and PDF guide, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. They're in Catalan, so the labels below are Catalan, with our translation in parentheses; Spanish or English screens will word them differently. We haven't tested them on a UB account. The Portal 2FA site only opens from the UB network or over the VPN, so its steps come from the screenshots on the UB's help page. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Núvol UB: add Novaz as an authenticator app

Núvol UB accepts an authenticator app, a text message or a phone call. The UB recommends Microsoft Authenticator, since that's the app its support staff can help with, but lets you choose another (UB, UB):

1. Sign in to Núvol UB. If 2FA is already mandatory for you, a screen titled Cal més informació (More information required) appears: select Següent (Next). Otherwise, select your initials or photo at the top right, then Visualitza el compte (View account), Informació de seguretat (Security info), Afegeix un mètode d'inici de sessió (Add sign-in method) and Aplicació d'autenticació (Authenticator app).
2. The next screen assumes Microsoft Authenticator. Select Vull utilitzar una altra aplicació d'autenticador (I want to use a different authenticator app).
3. When the QR code appears, open Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo (how).
4. Follow the remaining screens. The UB only shows them for Microsoft Authenticator and says other apps are very similar, so if a code is requested, type the one Novaz shows.

Later, Informació de seguretat is where you add or remove methods and pick the default.

The UB strongly advises a second method in case your phone is lost or broken. Note its notice of July 27, 2026: Microsoft will retire text-message and voice-call verification on February 1, 2027, so anyone relying on those alone should add an app (UB).

You'll be asked for a code on a new device or in a private browser window. A saved session lasts 30 days, though cookies, a new IP address or a security check can bring the prompt back sooner (UB).

Portal 2FA: add Novaz

From outside the university, the portal needs the VPN. The UB's VPN page says students only get VPN access if a teacher requests it, so students should plan to do this on the UB network (UB). The steps, from the UB's screenshots (UB):

1. Open portal2fa.ub.edu and sign in with your UB identifier and password.
2. The first time, an authorization request asks to share your name and identifier with the portal. Select Dono el meu permís (I give my permission).
3. On the Activació page, step 1 suggests Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator, Authy and 2FAS Authenticator. The UB says another app should work too.
4. In step 2, make sure nobody can see your screen, then select veure (show) to reveal the QR code and its settings. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code.
5. In step 3, type the Novaz code in the Codi d'un sol ús (One-time code) box and select Activa (Activate).

If you can't scan, the page lists the settings for entering by hand, but the UB doesn't say what they are. Novaz's Enter key manually always makes 6-digit, 30-second, SHA-1 codes, so if the page shows other values or a key under 16 characters, scan instead (about setup keys). The UB also notes that Microsoft Authenticator on iPhone can't currently read this QR code.

The Aplicacions (Applications) menu then lists applications by color: gray means you can turn the second factor on, green means you can turn it off, orange means it's required. Portal 2FA sessions aren't kept, so after you sign out or time out, those applications ask again.

Neither system's help mentions backup codes. Novaz keys stay on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, so without one, a second Núvol UB method is your only fallback there. For Portal 2FA, the UB describes none.

If the UB rejects your code

The UB's advice is to check your device's time and turn on automatic date and time (UB). On iPhone: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. In Portal 2FA, Gestionar (Manage) > Comprovar dispositiu (Check device) tests whether your app's codes are right. More causes: Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Switch from the old phone while you still have it (UB):

• Núvol UB: add the new phone in Informació de seguretat, then remove the old method.
• Portal 2FA: under Gestionar, select Desactivar (Deactivate), choose Desactivar i eliminar configuració de Doble Factor (Deactivate and delete 2FA setup), then activate again on the new phone (UB).

With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore both entries on the new iPhone instead. Without one, set up both entries again. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

For Núvol UB, sign in with another method if you have one. Otherwise the UB has to reset your second factor (UB):

• Staff and external collaborators: open a ticket with the PAU help desk, at 93 402 16 87 or pau@ub.edu.
• Students: open a ticket through the Student Portal's help page, or call the Student Support Service (SAE) at 93 355 60 00.

The UB will ask for extra information before resetting it, but doesn't say what or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning it off

For Portal 2FA, use Gestionar > Desactivar; you'll lose access to orange applications (UB). The UB doesn't describe switching off Núvol UB 2FA. To clear an entry from Novaz, open it and tap Remove account.

Official Universitat de Barcelona help

• Doble factor (2FA)
• Núvol UB 2FA (MS 365)
• Portal 2FA (Voluntari)
• Configurar el 2FA pel correu i altres aplicacions del Núvol UB (PDF)
• Microsoft anuncia que eliminarà l'autenticació del doble factor (2FA) per SMS i trucades de veu
• Accedir amb VPN
• Credencials UB