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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Zendesk 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. Before you start
  2. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  3. Your recovery codes
  4. When Zendesk asks for a code
  5. If Zendesk rejects your code
  6. Changing phones
  7. If you lose your authenticator
  8. Turning 2FA off
  9. For admins: requiring 2FA
  10. Official Zendesk help

This guide is for agents and admins who sign in to Zendesk Support with an email address and password. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a passcode after your password, from an authenticator app, email or text message (Zendesk). Your admin may require it. If not, you can turn it on for yourself.

Plan for recovery first. Zendesk shows your recovery codes once, and when they're gone, only an admin or the account owner can give you a code. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone in the steps below, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Zendesk steps come from Zendesk's own help center, including its screenshots, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Zendesk account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start

  • Single sign-on: if you sign in with Google, SAML or JWT, there's no Zendesk 2FA to set up, though your sign-in provider may have its own (Zendesk).
  • Required by your admin: you'll be asked to set it up at your next sign-in. Admins can't set it up for you (Zendesk).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

If 2FA is required, the setup dialog opens after you enter your password, so start at step 3 (Zendesk).

  1. In the Zendesk Support agent interface, click your user icon in the upper right and select View profile.
  2. Open the Security Settings tab. Next to Two-Factor Authentication, click Manage, then Set up 2FA.
  3. In Set up two-factor authentication (2FA), choose Authenticator app and click Next.
  4. The Connect your 2FA method step shows a QR code, with a Secret key and a copy button above it. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If Zendesk is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  5. If scanning doesn't work, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz. Type Zendesk as the Service and the secret key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  6. Type the code from Novaz in Passcode from authenticator app and click Save.
  7. Click Copy recovery codes and paste them somewhere safe, away from your phone.

Zendesk says codes usually last 30 seconds, which matches what Novaz makes from a typed key.

Your recovery codes

Zendesk displays the codes only during setup, and each one works once (Zendesk). You can't make new ones: "Team members can't generate recovery codes for themselves" (Zendesk). If you lose the iPhone and have no Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), these codes are your way in. Store them in a password manager or on paper. More in 2FA backup codes.

When Zendesk asks for a code

Every time you sign in, since a change in December 2025 (Zendesk). With 2FA on, you no longer get the emailed passcodes Zendesk otherwise sends when you sign in on a new device (Zendesk).

If Zendesk rejects your code

Once the authenticator app is your preferred method, Zendesk won't send codes by email or SMS (Zendesk). Don't wait for an email.

Zendesk locks you out after five sign-in attempts in ten minutes (Zendesk), so don't keep guessing. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Zendesk's help doesn't describe moving the authenticator to a new phone. While signed in, you can open Security Settings > Manage and click Edit under Preferred method to change how you get codes (Zendesk). If 2FA isn't required, you can also turn it off and set it up again. Do this before you wipe the old phone. Or, with a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone, and the codes keep working. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

  1. Enter one of your recovery codes when Zendesk asks for a passcode.
  2. If you have none left, ask a Zendesk admin or the account owner. In Admin Center, they open People > Team > Team members, then your profile, the Account tab, and Show recovery code. You type it in the Passcode field (Zendesk).

Zendesk Customer Support acts only with an account owner's permission, so your admin is the way back in (Zendesk). Zendesk doesn't say how long this takes, or what happens if the owner is the one locked out. Once you're back in, see Changing phones. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

If it isn't required, open Security Settings, click Manage next to Two-Factor Authentication, then Turn off 2FA (Zendesk). Admins: dropping the account-wide requirement doesn't turn it off for agents who set it up themselves (Zendesk).

For admins: requiring 2FA

In Admin Center, select Account, then Security > Advanced. On the Authentication tab, select Require two-factor authentication (2FA) for team members and click Save. Generate 2FA status report shows who uses it (Zendesk).

Official Zendesk help

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