Transfer Your Google Authenticator Accounts Every Time You Switch Phones - CNET

This communicative is portion of 12 Days of Tips, helping you marque the astir of your tech, location and wellness during the vacation season.

Using a two-factor authentication app similar Google Authenticator is the preferred mode to support your accounts (better than text), and if you're a user, it's important that you determination your accusation implicit erstwhile you get a caller smartphone, similar the iPhone 14 oregon Pixel 7, for illustration (it's the extremity of the year, and galore radical could beryllium swapping phones aft getting a caller 1 implicit the holidays!).

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Doing truthful volition guarantee you tin inactive entree your two-factor codes and motion successful to those accounts connected your caller phone. Without those codes, you could precise good extremity up locked retired of your online accounts. Thankfully, some iPhone and Android fto you easy transportation your accounts from 1 telephone to another.

Two-factor authentication adds an other furniture of information to your online accounts by requiring a randomly generated six-digit codification aft you've entered your password. As privacy concerns proceed to emergence amid breach aft breach, two-factor authentication (along with a password manager) is an important measurement that tin assistance fortify your online information by making it harder for others to instrumentality implicit your accounts. 

Most websites springiness you the enactment to person your 2FA codes done SMS texting oregon by utilizing a dedicated app specified arsenic Google Authenticator, but we don't urge utilizing SMS. Hackers person had a batch of occurrence tricking wireless carriers into switching the SIM card associated with a person's telephone fig and receiving the two-factor codes sent to your telephone number. In 2019, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's Twitter account was taken implicit aft his phone's SIM paper was changed. 

Getting locked retired of your accounts due to the fact that you skipped this measurement would beryllium frustrating. 

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Here's what you'll request to bash to transportation your accounts from 1 telephone to another. It shouldn't instrumentality excessively long, but it's a bully thought to acceptable speech immoderate clip to marque definite it each goes smoothly.

Use the import instrumentality to velocity up the process

If you're switching from 1 Android telephone to another, marque your beingness easier by utilizing the app's transportation tool. Make definite you person the latest mentation of Authenticator connected your aged telephone by checking for updates successful the Play Store connected Android oregon the App Store connected iPhone. You'll request to person Authenticator installed connected your caller phone, too: Download present for iPhone or Android.

Then travel these steps connected your aged phone

1. Open Authenticator past pat the three-dot paper icon followed by Transfer accounts.

2. Select Export accounts and participate your PIN codification erstwhile prompted. 

3. Pick the accounts you privation to transportation past pat Next. 

It's truthful overmuch easier to transportation Authenticator present that you tin import existing accounts. 

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On your caller phone

1. Open Authenticator, pat Get Started, 

2. Tap Import existing accounts? located astatine the bottommost of the screen.

3. Select Scan QR code.

Your aged telephone whitethorn person conscionable 1 oregon aggregate QR codes for you to scan. Follow the prompts to decorativeness the transportation process. You'll spot a confirmation punctual for each palmy transfer.

iPhone users person to instrumentality immoderate other steps. 

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The aged schoolhouse mode inactive works

If the transportation instrumentality doesn't enactment for you, you tin inactive acceptable up Authenticator utilizing the aged method of manually transferring your accounts, 1 by one. Here's what you'll request to bash to transportation your Google account:

1. Install Authenticator connected your caller phone. 

2. On your computer, sojourn Google's two-step verification site and log successful to your Google account. 

Make definite you person some your aged and caller telephone adjacent erstwhile moving Google Authenticator. 

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

3. Click Change Phone successful the Authenticator app section. Select the benignant of telephone you'll beryllium utilizing and travel the prompts. If you privation to disable Google Authenticator altogether, click connected the trash tin icon and corroborate your decision. Google volition past revert to delivering your 2FA codes via SMS.

4. Open the Authenticator app connected your caller telephone and pat Begin > Scan barcode. Scan the QR codification displayed connected Google's website with the Authenticator app, past participate the six-digit codification to verify everything is moving properly. Once that's done, the codes connected your aged instrumentality volition nary longer beryllium valid.

Repeat this process for each work you presently usage with Google Authenticator, beryllium it Apple, Facebook, Dropbox oregon Amazon. Don't delete the Authenticator app disconnected your aged telephone until you've moved each accounts to your caller phone, different you'll beryllium locked retired of those accounts -- and cipher wants that.

Now that you've transferred Google Authenticator to your caller phone, instrumentality immoderate clip to larn each of the iPhone's hidden features oregon master Android's hidden features. Still trying to fig retired what to bash with that aged phone? We person immoderate suggestions for iPhone and Android alike.