Skip to content
Novaz AuthenticatorGET

University of Notre Dame 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 an authenticator code can't do
  2. Add Google Authenticator with Novaz
  3. No backup codes, so enroll a second method
  4. When Notre Dame asks for a code
  5. If Notre Dame rejects your code
  6. New phone
  7. If you lose your authenticator
  8. Official Notre Dame help

Your Notre Dame NetID signs you in to campus email, Canvas, InsideND, Box and most other university services. Sign-in runs through Okta, and two-step login is required (Notre Dame, Notre Dame). The Office of Information Technologies (OIT) supports Okta Verify, Okta FastPass, Google Authenticator, YubiKeys and passkeys (Notre Dame). Text and phone-call codes are being phased out, and people who rely only on them will need the Service Desk to get back in (Notre Dame, Notre Dame).

The option is labeled Google Authenticator, but OIT says its codes can come from a standalone app or from 1Password, so it isn't tied to Google's app (Notre Dame). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Notre Dame steps come from the public articles and screenshots in OIT's knowledge base, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Notre Dame account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

What an authenticator code can't do

OIT names FastPass, YubiKeys and passkeys as its phishing-resistant methods, and apps that demand a more secure factor need one of them (Notre Dame). A code from Novaz covers everyday sign-ins, but not those apps. OIT also calls Okta Verify its most reliable, recommended method and asks you to enroll at least two (Notre Dame).

Add Google Authenticator with Novaz

OIT's steps start on a computer, so the QR code is on one screen and your iPhone is free to scan it (Notre Dame):

  1. On your computer, go to okta.nd.edu and sign in with your NetID and password. If Okta asks for two-step login, use a method you already have.
  2. Click your name in the upper-right corner, then Settings.
  3. In the Security Methods panel, click Set up next to Google Authenticator. If it's left over from an old phone, click Remove first, then Set up.
  4. Verify with another method if asked, then click Set up again. The Set up Google Authenticator screen shows a QR code.
  5. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at your computer screen.
  6. Click Next, type the code Novaz shows, and click Verify.
  7. When the success message appears, click Done.

A brand-new NetID starts from the Activation link email, where Set up security methods lists Google Authenticator with its own Set up button (Notre Dame).

If you only have your iPhone, screenshot the QR code and use Choose a photo in Novaz (scanning a QR code on the same iPhone). OIT's screenshots show a Can't scan? link under the code, but its articles don't say what it offers. If it gives you a text key, add it with Enter key manually as the Setup key (What is a 2FA setup key?).

No backup codes, so enroll a second method

OIT's articles don't mention backup or recovery codes. Its safety net is a second method on a second device (Notre Dame). Novaz keeps its keys on your iPhone, and a Novaz backup only helps if you made one, so pick something that doesn't depend on that phone, such as FastPass on your computer, a YubiKey or a passkey.

When Notre Dame asks for a code

After your NetID and password, Okta asks for a second step when it needs to verify you. With Keep me signed in checked on a device only you use, OIT says to expect it about every 30 days, sooner on a new device or after you relocate. Leave it unchecked on shared or lab computers (Notre Dame).

Okta usually offers the method you last used on that device or browser. To switch to Novaz, click Verify with something else, then Select next to Google Authenticator (Notre Dame).

If Notre Dame rejects your code

OIT's articles don't cover rejected Google Authenticator codes. Check which method the screen wants first: Okta Verify has its own Enter a code option, and a Novaz code won't work there (Notre Dame). Then check your 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?

New phone

OIT says Google Authenticator stops working when you replace or upgrade the phone, and you'll need another device to set it up again (Notre Dame, Notre Dame). Sign in at okta.nd.edu with another method, open Settings, click Remove next to Google Authenticator under Security Methods, then Set up, and scan the new QR code with Novaz on the new iPhone (Notre Dame). If you back up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore the entry on the new iPhone instead; the steps above are for when you have no Novaz backup. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

Remove is also how you drop Google Authenticator for good; keep another method enrolled. OIT doesn't describe a way to turn two-step login itself off.

If you lose your authenticator

If you have another method enrolled, sign in with it through Verify with something else, then remove Google Authenticator and set it up again. Without one, OIT says you can't sign in until the Service Desk checks your identity and resets your security methods (Notre Dame). That check can't be done by email (Notre Dame):

  • call 574-631-8111,
  • chat at servicenow.nd.edu, or
  • visit 115 DeBartolo Hall.

OIT's travel article gives business hours of 8 to 5, Monday to Friday (Notre Dame). OIT doesn't say what proof of identity it asks for or how long a reset takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Official Notre Dame help

More guides: Universities and education