Uphold 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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Uphold is a crypto and money app, so the account behind it is worth protecting well. One thing to know first: if your address and verified phone number are in the U.S., the U.K. or the EEA, Uphold switches on two-factor authentication (2FA) by text message for you, without asking (Uphold). Outside those regions SMS isn't offered at all. Either way, you can use a third-party authenticator app instead, which doesn't depend on your phone number. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way. See authenticator app vs SMS for why the switch is worth making.
How we checked this guide: the Uphold steps come from Uphold's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The article pages show an automated-traffic check to plain requests, so we read the same articles through the help center's public article feed on support.uphold.com. We haven't tested them on an Uphold account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Two methods, one at a time
Uphold's help names two choices: SMS or a third-party Authentication App (Uphold). You pick one under Method. To change from one to the other, you need access to the method you have now, so switch while your current phone number still gets texts.
Your 6-digit app passcode and Face ID or Touch ID are a separate lock on the Uphold app itself. They don't replace 2FA (Uphold).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
In the Uphold app (Uphold):
- Tap Account Center at the top left, then Security.
- Under 2-Factor Authentication, tap Method.
- Choose the authenticator app option.
- Follow the steps Uphold shows.
On the web, the path is More (...) > Security, then Method under 2-Factor Authentication. The rest is the same.
Uphold's help stops at "follow the provided steps," so it doesn't describe the setup screen, a QR code or a text key. Most services show a QR code at this point. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If you're setting this up in the Uphold app on the same iPhone, take a screenshot of the code, then tap + and Choose a photo (see scanning a QR code on the same iPhone). If Uphold gives you a key to type instead, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it as the Setup key. Then enter the code from Novaz where Uphold asks for it.
When Uphold asks for a code
Uphold asks for the code every time you log in, after your password (Uphold). It also asks when you:
- change the email address on your account (Uphold),
- set a new password after a reset (Uphold),
- sign back in after tapping Forgot? on the passcode screen (Uphold).
Web logins add one more step: after your password, you approve the login on the phone where you're signed in to the Uphold app, by tapping Yes, it's me (Uphold). Keep the Uphold app signed in on your phone.
Uphold says it will never ask you to read out or forward a 2FA code (Uphold). Anyone who does is not Uphold.
No backup codes
Uphold's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes for 2FA. Its fallbacks are an email recovery and a support form (below). If you lose your iPhone with no Novaz backup, those fallbacks are all you have, so make sure you can still get into the email address on your Uphold account. That's what the recovery depends on.
If Uphold rejects your code
Uphold's own advice for authenticator codes is to set your phone's date and time to update automatically, since a clock that's off makes codes that get rejected, and to update the authenticator app (Uphold). On iPhone: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Uphold also lists a code that suddenly stops working, or a 2FA prompt you never set up, as a possible sign that someone has accessed your account (Uphold).
Changing phones
While you can still log in, open Account Center > Security and tap Reset 2FA under 2-Factor Authentication, then follow the steps to set up the authenticator app again (Uphold). Do this with the new iPhone in hand, before you wipe the old one. Or, with a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone and skip the reset. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Uphold's route depends on what you still know (Uphold):
- You know your password: on the login page, enter it, then at the 6-digit code prompt choose Having problems with the code? and Recover by Email. Follow the email.
- You've lost your login details too: submit Uphold's login and 2FA support form. Uphold says you'll go through extra security steps before its team resets 2FA, but doesn't list the proof it asks for or how long it takes.
More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Uphold's help doesn't describe turning 2FA off. It only covers changing the method or resetting it.
