Changing phones without losing your authenticator

Every sign-in to your space needs two things: your password and a six-digit code shown by an authenticator app. The password lives in your head or your password manager. The code lives on your phone. So when the phone changes (a new model, a repair, a reset, a theft) the codes have to move with it, or the next sign-in becomes a problem.

Moving an authenticator is not difficult, but the order of the steps matters. This guide gives that order, and what to do when things have already gone wrong.

Before you start: find your recovery codes

When you paired your authenticator, you received a set of recovery codes. Each code works once and lets you sign in without the app. Before you touch either phone, find them:

• on paper, where you stored them;
• in your password manager's secure notes;
• wherever else you put them.

If you cannot find them, sign in now, while the old phone still works, and create a fresh set in Settings. The old set stops working the moment new ones are created, so store the new ones carefully. This single step turns a phone change from risky to routine.

The calm route: old phone still works

Step 1: set up the authenticator on the new phone

Use the same app or another authenticator app you trust. Any app that shows time-based six-digit codes works with your space.

Step 2: move the accounts

There are two ways, depending on the app:

• Transfer. Some authenticator apps can export accounts from the old phone and import them on the new one, often with a QR code shown on the old phone. If yours can, follow the app's instructions.
• Re-pair. Otherwise, pair each account again on the new phone. For your space, you would sign in, open Settings, and follow the authenticator section to pair a new device; other services have similar options. Re-pairing replaces the old pairing for that account.

Step 3: test before you delete

Sign out of your space and sign in again using a code from the new phone. Do the same for any other important account you moved. Only when every account works with the new phone should you remove the entries from the old one.

Step 4: retire the old phone

Delete the authenticator entries from the old phone, then reset it to factory settings before selling or giving it away. A device you no longer hold should not hold your codes.

The difficult route: old phone gone

If the old phone was lost, stolen or reset before you moved the authenticator:

1. Sign in with a recovery code. Enter your email and password as normal, then pick the option to use a recovery code instead of the six-digit code.
2. Pair the new phone with the authenticator in Settings.
3. Create new recovery codes, because you just used one, and store them safely.
4. If the phone was stolen, change your password as well. Changing it signs out every other session, which closes any door the thief might have had.

No recovery codes either

Write to support from the email address on your account. A person will verify that the request really comes from you before resetting the authenticator. This takes some time on purpose: it is the same check that protects you if someone else ever tries to reset your authenticator while pretending to be you. After the reset, pair the new phone at your next sign-in and create fresh recovery codes.

Common mistakes

• Wiping the old phone first. The most common cause of lockouts. Move first, wipe last.
• Recovery codes in a screenshot on the same phone. When the phone goes, the codes go with it.
• Restoring a phone backup and assuming the codes came along. Some authenticator apps restore accounts from backups; many do not, for security reasons. Test after any restore.
• Using an old code. Codes change every 30 seconds and are accepted for a short window only. If a code is refused, wait for the next one.
• Wrong time on the phone. Authenticator codes depend on the clock. If codes are always refused, check that the phone's date and time are set automatically.

Planning ahead

The best time to prepare for a phone change is long before it happens:

• Store recovery codes outside the phone the day you pair an authenticator, and know where they are.
• Choose an authenticator app that suits you. Some offer encrypted backups or transfers between phones; others deliberately keep codes only on one device. Both approaches are reasonable; know which one you have.
• Write down which accounts use the authenticator. When the day comes, you will move each one without guessing.
• Keep the old phone until the new one works. A phone handed in for trade at the shop counter takes its codes with it.

A good moment to check other accounts

Your space is probably not the only account using this authenticator. A phone change is a good time to list every account on it (email, password manager, work tools, other financial services) and make sure each one has current recovery codes stored somewhere safe. Password managers and the end of reused passwords explains how a password manager can hold those codes alongside your passwords.

Why the authenticator is not optional here

It might feel easier if the authenticator could simply be switched off during a phone change. It cannot, by design. Your space holds card details and money; a password alone can be phished or guessed, and a code from a phone only you hold is far harder to steal. Keeping the authenticator mandatory, with recovery codes and a careful human reset as the fallbacks, is what keeps your space yours. Small daily routines that protect your space places this among the other habits that matter.

In short

Find your recovery codes, install the app on the new phone, move or re-pair every account, test a sign-in with the new phone, and only then retire the old one. If the old phone is already gone, a recovery code gets you in; if the codes are gone too, a person will help you after checking it is really you.