How to transfer your Google Authenticator 2FA to a new phone

If you activated Google Authenticator on your mobile phone and subsequently wanted to switch devices, you must move/transfer your Google Authenticator account to your new device. For many of us, Google Authenticator is becoming an increasingly crucial tool.

Google Authenticator is a software-based authenticator developed by Google that uses the Time-based One-time Password Algorithm to provide two-step verification services. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the most effective and simple methods of keeping your online accounts safe. When someone attempts to access your account, it sends an authentication code to your phone; if that person doesn’t have the code, they (or you) are denied access. You can prevent someone from accessing your data by using a 2FA tool like Google Authenticator.

In this article, I’ll go through Google Authenticator, covering how to transfer Google Authenticator 2FA to a new phone if you still have access to the old one, and how to prepare for a potential problem (in case of a lost device). 

NOTE: It is important that you do not uninstall Google Authenticator from your old phone until it has been successfully transferred to your new phone.

Now that we’ve cleared that out, let’s go over how to accomplish it.

Related:
The Best free 2-factor authenticator apps
How to Enable Basic Authentication for your Gmail account

How to transfer Google Authenticator to your new phone 

The procedure is now relatively identical whether you’re using an Android phone or an iPhone. Here’s what you need to do.

1. Download and install Google Authenticator on your new phone (available on Android and iOS).
2. Open Google Authenticator on the new phone and tap Get Started.
3. Click “Scan a QR code.” You’ll be shown a grid and told to “Place QR code between red lines.”
4. Open the Google Authenticator on your old phone.
5. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner to bring up a drop-down menu.
6. Click Export Accounts or Transfer Accounts.
7. Click Continue or Export Accounts
8. You may need to validate your identity again on some devices, either using Face ID, fingerprint ID, or by entering your phone’s password or PIN.
9. Uncheck the boxes next to the accounts you don’t want to export. Click “Next.”
10. A QR code will be displayed to you. On your new phone, center it in the grid to scan the QR code that appears on the old phone.
11. Once you’ve completed all of that, on your old phone, click done.

The imported app should now be visible in your Google Authenticator app on the new phone. (Please keep in mind that the app will not be erased from your previous phone.)

How to use your Google Authenticator backup codes

When you initially install Google Authenticator, you may be offered a set of backup codes and instructed to print or save them. And you should certainly save them; print them off and keep them somewhere secure, or generate a PDF and keep it somewhere no one else can access it. If your phone is lost or stolen, these codes will be a handy method to reestablish authentication on your new phone, providing you haven’t misplaced the codes, of course.

If you skipped that step during installation, you could still get those backup codes. This is also how you restore your keys on a new iPhone.

To do so, sign in to your Google account and then follow these steps:

• In the left-hand column, select “Security.”
• Scroll down and click on “2-Step Verification.” You’ll be required to enter your password.

• Scroll down to “Backup Codes” and press the arrow > icon. Again, you will be required to enter your account password.

• Press the “Get backup codes”

• You will be given a list of ten codes. Each code can only be used once; if you use all of them, you may receive more by choosing “Show Codes” and then “Get New Codes.”

Take a screenshot of your Google Authenticator Barcode

Take and save a snapshot of the barcode that is generated for each 2FA-secured app as a backup in case you lose your phone. If you’ve misplaced your backup codes but have a screenshot of the QR barcode you used to generate your app’s authentication, you may use that image to set up your credentials on a new phone.

Open the screenshot on any device, download and install Google Authenticator on your new phone, and scan the barcode using the plus sign in the app. (If you saved the setup key code, you may also input it here) Do this for each of your applications, and you’re done.

That is how you transfer Google Authenticator 2FA to a new phone. Tell us how your experience was and what you did.