I lost my two-factor authentication device. How do I sign in?

This article helps when Emailit asks for a code from your authenticator app and you no longer have it, for example after replacing or losing your phone.

Symptoms

• After you enter your password, the Two-Factor Authentication dialog asks for a Verification Code you can’t get.
• Codes from your app return Invalid code.
• After several attempts you see Too many attempts. Please try again later.

Cause

When an authenticator app is turned on for your account, it replaces the 6-digit code Emailit normally emails you at sign-in. Emailit doesn’t fall back to email codes, so you need one of these:

• A code from the authenticator app.
• One of the 8 recovery codes shown when you set up two-factor authentication. Each works once.
• A passkey registered on your account, such as Touch ID, Face ID or a security key. Passkey sign-in doesn’t ask for a second code.

Resetting your password doesn’t turn off two-factor authentication. After 5 wrong codes, sign-in is locked for 15 minutes.

Fix

1. Check your phone’s clock. If you still have the app but codes are rejected, the time on your device is probably off. Turn on automatic date and time, then try a fresh code.

2. Sign in with a passkey. On the sign-in page, select Sign in with a passkey and use the device or security key you registered.

3. Use a recovery code. Enter your email and password. In the Two-Factor Authentication dialog, select Use recovery code, enter one of your saved codes and select Verify. Look for the codes in your password manager or wherever you saved them during setup.

4. Set up two-factor authentication again. Once you’re in, open Account from the user menu. Disable two-factor authentication with your password, then set it up again with your new device. Save the new recovery codes in a password manager.

5. Add a passkey as a backup. On the same page, select Add passkey so you have a second way in next time.

6. If you have no passkey and no recovery codes, contact support. There’s no self-service reset. Write to support from the email address on your account. Support can help once they’ve confirmed that you own the account.

Read Two-factor authentication and passkeys and Sign-in and security for how sign-in works.

Still stuck?

Contact support. Don’t post your email address, recovery codes or other account details in public channels such as Discord.