I can’t produce a two-factor code

I can’t produce a two-factor code#

For: Manager | Shift worker | Admin You’ll need: Your recovery codes, or a support ticket.

You have two-factor authentication switched on and the sign-in screen is asking for a code you can’t produce — the phone is lost, wiped, replaced, or the app was deleted. Work down this list in order.

Try these, in order#

  1. Use a recovery code. At the ‘Two-factor authentication’ step, type one of the ten recovery codes into the ‘Code’ field instead of the six-digit code. Each works once. See How to manage your recovery codes.

  2. Check your old device. If the phone still switches on, the authenticator app is still generating codes even without a SIM or a network connection — codes are computed from the clock, not fetched.

  3. Check your password manager. If you set the authenticator up in 1Password, Bitwarden, or a similar tool, the entry follows you to the new device once you sign in there.

Once you’re back in#

Set the second factor up again on the device you’ll actually carry:

  1. Turn the old authenticator off — How to turn off two-factor authentication.

  2. Turn it back on with the new device — How to turn on two-factor authentication.

  3. Save the fresh recovery codes somewhere that isn’t that phone.

Tip

Getting a new phone on purpose? Do this before you wipe the old one and you never need a recovery code.

Codes are rejected even though the app shows one#

The six-digit code is derived from the current time, so a device clock that has drifted produces codes Shiftavo won’t accept. Turn on automatic date and time in your phone’s settings and try the next code.

Also make sure you’re reading the entry for Shiftavo — an authenticator app holding a dozen accounts shows a dozen codes.

No recovery codes either#

Nobody at your company can clear the second factor for you, and neither can a password reset — that’s the point of it. Open a support ticket from an address you can receive mail on, with your company name and the email address you sign in with. Expect to be asked to prove the account is yours.

Verify it worked#

You reach the app after entering a recovery code. Then generate a fresh set — see How to manage your recovery codes — because each code works only once.