Prague University of Economics and Business 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for InSIS
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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At the Prague University of Economics and Business (Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, VŠE), students and staff deal with two separate kinds of multi-factor authentication. One belongs to the school's Microsoft 365 account. The other is built into InSIS, the study information system at insis.vse.cz, which can pair with an authenticator app of your choice and ask it for a six-digit code (VŠE). This guide covers the InSIS pairing. It uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the VŠE steps come from the Informatics Centre's own help pages and their screenshots, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a VŠE account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Two systems, and which one you need
The two don't share a code. Microsoft 365 MFA can also sign you in to InSIS, through the Microsoft 365 Account (VŠE) button on the InSIS login page, but an InSIS pairing does nothing for Microsoft 365 (VŠE).
VŠE's newest overview, a Czech page from December 2025, calls the InSIS-only codes the "legacy" option. It lists Microsoft 365 MFA as required for the study system for everyone, and the InSIS codes as required only for people with higher privileges (VŠE). The InSIS setup is still documented, and InSIS opens it automatically on your first sign-in. If you're unsure which applies to you, ask the helpdesk.
Pair an authenticator app with InSIS
VŠE's guide describes these steps, last updated September 2025 (VŠE):
- Sign in to InSIS and go to your personal administration. On a first sign-in, the setup opens on its own after your username and password.
- In the Information system set-up panel, open Setting of authentication using one-time passwords (OTP).
- If you're replacing a working pairing, InSIS first asks for a code from your current app. If the helpdesk has suspended your codes, choose Cancel pairing instead.
- Under Application installation, InSIS suggests a few apps, such as Microsoft Authenticator and Aegis. Novaz works too. Choose I have the application.
- Under Device pairing, InSIS shows a QR code that's only valid while the page is open. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If you're doing this on your iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo (see scanning a QR code on the same iPhone). The new entry is called InSIS VSE.
- Print the QR code before you leave this page and keep the paper somewhere safe. VŠE asks for this because the printout is how you set the account up again later.
- Choose Device paired.
- Under Code verification, type the code from Novaz in First code. Wait up to 30 seconds for a new one, type it in Second code, then choose Complete and activate login, or Complete pairing if you're switching devices.
The written guide names those last buttons slightly differently from its screenshots (Complete and activate, Complete pairing with a new device). The pairing page also has a link, I am unable to scan QR code. VŠE's help doesn't show what it gives you, so scanning is the safer route. InSIS codes change every 30 seconds.
If you use Microsoft Authenticator, VŠE says to add the account as Other, not as a work or school account.
When InSIS asks for a code
You need the second factor on a new device, and again after a while: VŠE gives 30 to 90 days. A computer you mark as a secure device is remembered in that browser only. Each browser counts separately, and a private window forgets it when closed (VŠE).
If InSIS rejects your code
InSIS checks your password only after the code and shows the same error for both, so a typo in the password looks like a bad code. VŠE has also seen sign-ins fail because a phone's clock was about two minutes off (VŠE). On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More in Authenticator code not working?
The printed QR code is your backup
VŠE's pages don't mention backup codes. Scanning the printout again recreates the same entry, so unless you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, that paper is your way back to the codes. Anyone who photographs it can make your codes, so store it like a password.
Changing phones
VŠE lists several ways (VŠE). With Novaz, two of them work:
- Scan your printed QR code with Novaz on the new iPhone.
- If your InSIS codes are optional for you, sign in with the old phone, temporarily turn off one-time passwords in the OTP settings, cancel the old pairing, and pair the new phone.
A Novaz iCloud backup or backup file also works: restore it on the new iPhone and the InSIS entry comes with it. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Scan the printed QR code into a new app if you have it. If not, ask the helpdesk to suspend MFA for your InSIS account: email helpdesk@vse.cz from your school address or the personal email registered in InSIS, or go in person to office SB 22 (VŠE, VŠE). The Czech version of the page adds that you should bring identification (VŠE). A suspension lasts until the end of that day at most.
Once you're signed in, delete the old InSIS VSE entry from your app if it's still there, open Setting of authentication using one-time passwords (OTP), choose Cancel pairing, and pair again from the start (VŠE). In Novaz, open the entry and tap Remove account. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
No smartphone? VŠE offers to install a code generator on your computer instead, though you then sign in from that computer only (VŠE).
